Dzintars Zirnis

Football player infobox
playername = Dzintars Zirnis
fullname = Dzintars Zirnis


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1977|4|25
cityofbirth = Riga
countryofbirth = Latvia, USSR (now Republic of Latvia)
height = 1.80 m
currentclub = Liepājas Metalurgs
clubnumber = 4
position = Defender
nickname =
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = ?-?
?-?
?-?
1996
1997-
clubs = FK Flaminko Jūrmala
Kvadrāts Riga
Pārdaugava
Baltika
Liepājas Metalurgs
caps(goals) = ? (?)
? (?)
? (?)
? (?)
00 0 (0)
232 (7)
nationalyears = 1997-
nationalteam = Latvia
nationalcaps(goals) = 58 (0)
pcupdate = 04:50 26 January 2008
ntupdate = September 14, 2008

Dzintars Zirnis (born April 25, 1977 in Riga) is a Latvian football midfielder, currently playing for FK Liepājas Metalurgs and the Latvian national team.

Club career

Zirnis played for FK Flaminko Jūrmala, Kvadrāts Riga , Pārdaugava and Baltika before joining FK Liepājas Metalurgs in 1997. In September 2004 he played in the UEFA Cup for Metalurgs in which the club beat Faroe Islands club, B36 Tórshavn 11-2 over two legs in the first qualifying round, then beat Swedish club Östers IF in the second qualifying round. Metalurgs were beaten by German club, FC Schalke 04 in the first round, 9-1 over two legs.cite news
title = The miracle man of Metalurgs
last= Korolev
first= Michael
publisher = UEFA
date = 2005-10-05
url = http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=349177.html
accessdate = 2008-01-26 ] On 1 October 2005 Zirnis was part of the Metalurgs team that beat FK Ventspils 5-1 to seal the clubs first ever Virsliga championship

International career

Zirnis made his debut for Latvia on 19 August 1997 in a 0-0 draw with Azerbaijan.cite news
title = Dzintars Zirnis
publisher = wldcup.com
date = 2004
url = http://www.wldcup.com/euro/2004/teams/313_dzintars_zirnis.html
accessdate = 2008-01-26 ] In November 2003 he was a part of the Latvian team that beat Turkey over two legs to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2004 finals; the first time Latvia had qualified for a major international tournament.cite news
title = Joyful Latvia make history
publisher = UEFA
date = 2003-11-19
url = http://www.uefa.com/news/kind=1/newsid=127133.html
accessdate = 2008-01-26 ] and played at the finals in 2004.

He was sent off in the Baltic Cup final against Lithuania in Kaunas on 22 May, 2005.cite news
last= Gimbutas
first= Kestutis
title = Lithuania lift Baltic Cup
publisher = UEFA
date = 2005-05-22
url = http://www.uefa.com/competitions/worldcup/news/kind=1/newsid=303751.html
accessdate = 2008-01-26 ]

On 17 November 2007 he scored an own goal to give Liechtenstein the lead in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group F match which Latvia eventually won 4-1.cite news
title = Latvia save best till last
publisher = UEFA
date = 2007-11-17
url = http://www.uefa.com/competitions/euro/fixturesresults/round=2241/match=83745/report=rp.html
accessdate = 2008-01-26 ]

He has played over 42 international matches for the Latvia national team.

Honours

Club
*Virsliga Champions (1): 2005
* Virsliga Runners-up (3): 2003, 2004, 2006
* Latvian Cup Winners (1): 2006
* Baltic League Champions (1): 2007

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=33555|name=Dzintars Zirnis