Marians Pahars facts for kids
Pahars in 2020
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 August 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Chornobai, Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine) |
||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994 | Pārdaugava | 17 | (3) |
| 1995 | Skonto-Metāls | 16 | (4) |
| 1995–1998 | Skonto | 85 | (44) |
| 1999–2006 | Southampton | 137 | (43) |
| 2006–2007 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 19 | (4) |
| 2008 | Skonto | 19 | (8) |
| 2009–2010 | Jūrmala | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 295 | (106) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996–2007 | Latvia | 75 | (15) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2011–2012 | Skonto | ||
| 2013 | Latvia U21 | ||
| 2013–2017 | Latvia | ||
| 2018–2019 | Jelgava | ||
| 2021 | Siena | ||
| 2022- | Latvia (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Marians Pahars (born August 5, 1976) is a famous Latvian football manager and a former player. He was known for being a speedy and skillful striker.
As a player, he spent most of his career playing for the English club Southampton. He played in the top leagues in England, like the Premier League and the Championship. He also had two periods playing for Skonto in the Latvian Higher League. Marians Pahars also played 75 games for the Latvia national team, scoring 15 goals over eleven years.
After he stopped playing football, Pahars became a coach. He started as an assistant at Skonto, then became a manager. He managed the Latvia national team at both the under-21 and senior levels. Later, he returned to club management with Jelgava.
In Latvia, his first name is Marians. However, during his time playing in England, he was often called Marian.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Early Days at Skonto
Marians Pahars was born in Chornobai, which is in Ukraine today. His parents were Latvian. When he was about eight years old, a coach from Skonto, Jurijs Andrejevs, visited his school. This visit inspired Pahars to play football. Andrejevs became a very important person in Pahars' football journey.
At 18, he signed with Pardaugava Riga, then moved to Skonto Metāls, and finally joined the Skonto first team in 1995. He started as a midfielder, often playing on the sides of the field. Later, he moved into a striker's role, where he scored many goals.
His best goal-scoring year at Skonto was 1995, when he scored eight goals in just nine games. The next season, he scored 12 goals in 28 games. During this time, he also became a regular player for the Latvia national team. People even called him the "Latvian Michael Owen" because of his talent.
In 1998, he scored 19 goals in 26 games for Skonto. Big clubs from other countries started to notice him. He had trials with teams in Italy, Germany, and Austria. Finally, Gary Johnson, who was the manager of the Latvian national team, suggested him to Dave Jones, the manager of Southampton.
Time at Southampton
Marians Pahars had a trial match for Southampton's reserve team on February 10, 1999. He scored three goals in a fantastic way – one with his head and one with each foot – helping his team win 7–1.
Southampton agreed to pay around £800,000 to Skonto for him. Even though there were some challenges getting a work permit, he joined the Saints in March 1999. This made him the first Latvian player to play in the Premier League.
He played his first game for Southampton on April 5, 1999, coming on as a substitute against Coventry City. His first home game at The Dell was on April 17. He came off the bench to score a crucial goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–3 draw. At that time, Southampton was fighting hard to stay in the Premier League. In the very last game of the season, they needed a win to stay up. Pahars scored two goals in a 2–0 victory over Everton, which saved Southampton's place in the top league.
During the 1999–00 season, he played 33 games and was the club's top scorer with 13 goals. The new manager, Glenn Hoddle, decided to move Pahars to a wider position on the field. The idea was that his dribbling skills and speed could create chances for other players, as well as allow him to score himself.
He started the 2000–01 season very well, scoring six goals as a striker. However, when he moved back to a deeper role, his form became less consistent. He still created chances for his teammates, but he only scored three more goals that season, finishing with nine.
At the start of the next season, he came off the bench to score the winning goal against Bolton Wanderers on September 15, 2001. He scored regularly for the next three months, including the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Charlton Athletic on November 24. This was Southampton's first win at their new stadium, St Mary's Stadium.
After the new year, his goals became less frequent. But he still finished the season with his best total for the Saints: 16 goals in the League and FA Cup. Pahars' 16 goals, along with 14 goals from his strike partner James Beattie, meant they had one of the best scoring partnerships in the Premier League.
In the summer of 2002, Pahars had an operation for a hernia, which made him miss all of the pre-season training. He scored a penalty in a 1–0 win over Everton on September 11, but he never fully recovered from his injury. His season was often interrupted, and he received a red card against Manchester City on October 5. Then, in November 2002, he badly injured his ankle. This kept him out for most of the rest of the season. He even had another operation just before the FA Cup final, making it a very difficult season for him.
The start of the 2003–04 season was also affected by injuries. He tried to come back in reserve games, but the injuries kept returning. However, he did manage to play in the final minutes when Latvia qualified for Euro 2004. This motivated him to get fully fit, and he returned to Southampton's starting lineup for three games, all of which they won. His first goal of the season, and his first in over a year, came against local rivals Portsmouth on December 21, 2003. He scored a fantastic goal in a 3–0 home win.
After recovering from one injury, he got injured again during the 2004–05 pre-season in a match against Swindon Town. A hard tackle on the same ankle that had already been operated on three times kept him out for the early part of the season. He tried to make comebacks in reserve games, but the problems kept coming back. This meant he missed the entire season, which was very frustrating, especially as Southampton was relegated after 28 years in the top league.
The 2005–06 season was another tough one with many injuries. He made ten appearances and scored one goal, but it wasn't enough to continue his career at Southampton. In May 2006, after seven years, 156 games, and 45 goals for the club, it was announced that his contract would not be renewed.
After the last game of the season on April 30, 2006, Pahars took part in a 'lap of appreciation' around the St Mary's pitch. It was an emotional goodbye for him and many Southampton fans.
Later Club Experiences
In July 2006, Marians Pahars signed with Anorthosis Famagusta, a team in Cyprus. This team was managed by former Georgian player Temuri Ketsbaia.
His injury problems continued during his time at the club, and because of this, he was released in January 2008.
In 2008, he returned to his former club Skonto. He played there for one season and helped the club achieve good results in the national championship. After that season, he left Skonto and joined Jūrmala, where he played two more games before ending his playing career.
International Football Career
Marians Pahars joined the Latvia national team in early 1996. His first game was on March 12, 1996, in a friendly match against Cyprus, which Latvia lost 1–0. He scored his first goal for his country in his ninth game, against Poland, in a 3–2 friendly defeat on February 17, 1997.
On September 2, 2006, he returned to play for the Latvia national team in a match against Sweden. In total, he played 75 games and scored 15 goals for Latvia.
Even though Latvia did not qualify for the World Cup Finals, they had success in June 2001. They beat Estonia and Lithuania to win the Baltic Cup, with Pahars scoring in both games. Because of his great performances, Pahars was named Latvian Footballer of the Year for the third year in a row in November 2001.
Despite his injuries, he managed to play in the final minutes when Latvia secured a spot in the European Championships in 2004. This happened after a 2–2 draw against Turkey on November 19, 2003.
He continued to struggle with injuries, but he scored his first international goal since May 2002 in a 3–1 friendly win over Kazakhstan on February 18, 2004.
Because of his many injury problems that season, he was a substitute for all three of Latvia's group matches at Euro 2004. However, he did get to experience the championships by coming off the bench in all three games.
Managerial Career
Coaching at Skonto
In 2010, Marians Pahars accepted an offer to become Aleksandrs Starkovs' assistant coach at Skonto. He worked alongside the legendary Vitālijs Astafjevs. As an assistant manager, he helped the club become the champion of Latvia again in 2010.
In 2011, Starkovs left to coach in Azerbaijan, and Pahars became the manager of Skonto. He managed the club for two seasons, helping them win the Baltic League in 2011 and the Latvian Football Cup. They also finished as runners-up in the Latvian Higher League in 2012.
In December 2012, Pahars left Skonto, and Tamaz Pertia took over as manager.
Managing Latvia's National Team
Pahars got another chance to coach when the LFF offered him the role of manager for the Latvian under-21 national team. Not long after, on July 11, 2013, Pahars was promoted to become the manager of the nation's senior team, after Aleksandrs Starkovs left the position.
As manager, Pahars led Latvia to win the 2014 and 2016 Baltic Cups. However, he was not able to guide the team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2014 or 2018, nor for the UEFA European Championship in 2016.
Coaching at Jelgava
Pahars returned to Latvian club football, taking charge of Jelgava for their 2018 Latvian Higher League season. In his first season, he guided them to a sixth-place finish.
In his second season, Jelgava finished in seventh place in the Latvian Higher League. Pahars left the club at the end of that season.
Short Spell at Siena
On January 26, 2021, he was hired by the Italian club Siena. At that time, the club was in the fourth-tier league, Serie D. He resigned less than a month later, on February 10, after a series of negative results.
Achievements and Awards
As a Player
Skonto
- Virslīga: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
- Latvian Football Cup: 1995, 1997, 1998
Individual Awards
- Latvian Footballer of the Year: 1999, 2000, 2001
As a Manager
- Baltic Cup: 2014, 2016
See also
In Spanish: Marian Pahars para niños
