Life Inside a Latvian Pro Team | The World Through Football

[@hamidbabaali10]

I played 2 seasons in Latvia in the Nakotnes Liga and I love the country and the people! Really helped me in my career and living in Riga was phenomenal

[@johngslot8367]

Thank you for this,sir!Come back to discover our RFS,we recently qualified for Europa League group stage.

[@elcancion]

Quality video, very nice, I am now a Metta supporter

[@SamWardrop97]

Welcome aboard!

[@kiantt11]

This is a super super cool video, and very well made!! I’ve been a Latvian football fan for a while, so it’s super awesome to see this inside view!

[@SamWardrop97]

Thanks a lot!

[@GrandmasterOfchess-w8i]

This Video just boosted and gave me hope on Football❤

[@matrixberzins465]

Very good plot. I have been following Latvian football since I can remember from childhood. If we had the same knowledge and information 30 years ago as today, then Latvian football would be in a much better situation, but fortunately, in recent years, at least at the club level, Latvian football is moving forward and developing. I remember the euphoria in 2004, when we went to the group tournament of the European Championship in Portugal for the first time - we all thought that we knew everything about how to develop football and that we had reached the required level. But the reality turned out to be much harsher, that you have to work further and continue to develop everything and nothing will be fixed by itself - while the competitors (other countries) developed their football and changed the style of the game, etc. we stood still, thinking that we had reached the necessary level to be able to play at the highest level from time to time - many were even quite sure that we would even be able to enter the World Cup group tournament (although it soon actually happened, because we were just behind the play-off round for a place in the World Cup). But then it turns out that Latvian football is in the abyss, while Iceland, which we could easily defeat with results like 4:1 or 3:0, is way ahead of us because they invested in football infrastructure. The Luxembourg national team is ahead of us in the ranking. Belarus is the first club to enter the group stage of the Champions League "BATE". What did we do? We tried to tell everyone and ourselves that we know everything and understand better than others, because we played in the European Championship and even won a point against Germany. Of course, fortunately, we have now become very self-critical and admit that we have made many serious mistakes, which we are trying to correct, and fortunately we have the first positive results - perhaps RFS entering the European League tournament. But yes, FK Metta is a great academy - it's a pity that you didn't post pictures or a short video about the fact that FK Metta will finally have its own football base in 2025.

[@SamWardrop97]

I appreciate the message. Maybe we can do a follow up once that project is complete!

[@lonelynx]

Thanks for making this video and promoting Latvian football! 🇱🇻

[@dannyrocks7748]

Love Latvia my youngest daughter is half Latvian.. beautiful country ❤

[@waynehough13]

great video! love seeing behind the scenes of a team I support. I was on holiday in Riga in 2019 and me and a few mates ended up at a Metta game and have been following them ever since. also just done an epic save with them on Football Manager, managed to go through a Virsliga season unbeaten and get them to the Champions League knockout rounds

[@SamWardrop97]

It’s a beaut place

[@TimoMakkonen1991]

Great content! Nice to see how football is evolving in the smaller countries within Europe. Thanks again for sharing and good luck!

[@SamWardrop97]

Thank you!

[@matissbarannikov1794]

Latvian Sports fan here. Very nice video. It is good to see that people from countries where Football is on a high level come to our country and discover how are things here. Our National team is showing promising signs in the past few years. We won league D In the UEFA Nations League last year.Curious to see what we can do this year League C with new Head coach Paolo Nicolato. In Latvia Ice- hockey and Basketball are the top team sports. I would recommend going to Either a national Basketball team game or a National ice- hockey team game, the atmospherein Arena Riga is just electrifying during these national team games.

[@SamWardrop97]

I had an amazing time. Both on and off the pitch Riga was beautiful.

[@psy-lion]

hey bro! thx for covering! football is not the top sport here but rly hope its going to develop in the upcoming years.

[@SamWardrop97]

I hope so too! It’s a perfect environment for players

[@JotvingiuKunigaikstis]

Come to Lithuania, visit Žalgiris Vilnius, Sūduva or Žalgiris Kaunas. Or maybe even all A League

[@SamWardrop97]

Maybe next trip!

[@sosukeinoue6815]

Really well done video and perspective. Good luck with your season.

[@SamWardrop97]

Thank you very much!

[@BrendonWaikhom]

Great video Sam need more of this video's to encourage us. Please do post regularly ❤

[@SamWardrop97]

That's the plan!

[@jakepowell7603]

Crazy to see this video pop up about Metta as they were the team I watched whilst in Riga a couple of years ago and I could have sworn they got relegated that game! The fans seemed a friendly bunch and sang all game despite their small number.

[@SamWardrop97]

They’re still fighting away in the Virsliga!

[@arnoldsbaltnegeris3962]

Metta have not been relegated since they joined the top league quite a long time ago, but they have always been on the brink. The format of the top league is that the worst team drops down, whereas the second worst team has play-offs with the second best team of League 1. As far as I remember, Metta has always played in these play-offs and has always won, since the gap between the top league and League 1 is quite large. But, I believe, Metta has never put reaching top positions as the priority, they are rather a platform team for young academy players to make the next step in professional football.

[@tunes24427]

Fair play good for you, really interesting behind the scenes

[@SamWardrop97]

Appreciate it!

[@LukeTucker-ml7bm]

great video sam good insight well put together. just a grass roots player myself. but find out it really interesting your insight travelling around the world etc.

[@SamWardrop97]

Thank you! Credit goes to the editor for the flow of it! Hopefully more to come 🎥⚽️🌍

[@kirilsgutujevs9674]

This is an unreal video. I subbed right away and went to look for more videos as I wanted to see what other cities you went to. Please keep this up!

[@SamWardrop97]

We have a few in the pipeline! Hoping to visit 3-4 more places by the end of this year.

[@breenirwin2356]

Decent standard of facilities in lativa here in Ireland 🇮🇪 the standard of facilities not very good way behind. Great video and insight 👍

[@SamWardrop97]

Interestingly a lot of the facilities here in Latvia are owned by the council / city and not the clubs.

[@breenirwin2356]

@@SamWardrop97 Same in Ireland one of our biggest and most famous clubs in Shamrock Rovers currently in conference league with Chelsea no less have council owned home ground

[@Aimqail]

Really nice insides, greetings from germany :=)

[@SamWardrop97]

Thanks for watching!

[@StadiMies]

Superb video. Keep them going!

[@SamWardrop97]

Thank you mate!

[@palamydes]

Very enjoyable video! And very well put together 👏 Good life experiences!

[@SamWardrop97]

Thanks for the feedback! Hopefully some more cool places to come

[@DaleClaassen]

Very original video. Love the insight into life here. Where to next?

[@SamWardrop97]

Thanks! I’m going to keep the answer to this one quiet! It’s somewhere I’ve never played football before though!🌍

[@fensterputzernuernberg]

It is a great video... i am sure many football players would find this highly captivating

[@SamWardrop97]

Hope so! Thanks for the nice message

[@davidp9182]

super cool concept

[@SamWardrop97]

Thanks David!

[@JannieVanZyl]

Great video. Malta would be interesting... I accidentally ended up with a trial for a team in their top flight following a taxi ride one night. South Africa could also be.a great destination for your series.

[@SamWardrop97]

The wonderful world of football. What a story! I’ll add them to the list 📝

[@PaulMooney-s4u]

Brilliant mini doc loved it ✌🏻

[@SamWardrop97]

Cheers Paul!

[@hello-there4991]

Cracking video sam!

[@SamWardrop97]

Thank you!

[@benwardrop5918]

Great insight

[@thesportlightNG]

Hello Sam.... Love this video, did you contact the team first before visiting or you just went there when you got to Latvia

[@robijsnovickis3615]

Oo Sloka my home town😁😁

[@FalseNi9e]

Very good video mate I like this content type

[@SamWardrop97]

More to come!

[@AFE_football]

Great video and more importantly message.

[@SamWardrop97]

Absolutely

[@nojacernia4785]

Cross the border to my homecountry Lithuania 🇱🇹😁, I currently live in the northeast of Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@marc00000n]

Singapore next pls!

[@nicholasbaric3761]

Hey Sam, Great video. Was just wondering, how would you go about contacting someone in Latvia? I'm from Australia and i know for a fact that people at my club and clubs i've played for in the past wouldnt have any contacts there. Cheers :)

[@SamWardrop97]

Thanks Nic! My advice would be to look for people involved in the teams and clubs in Latvia and reach out.

[@ZachWalker8926]

Come to Colorado!

[@SamWardrop97]

The Switchbacks would be cool!

[@dmitrijsbudics353]

Paldies for video about Latvian 🇱🇻 football ⚽️

[@SamWardrop97]

My pleasure!

[@GrandmasterOfchess-w8i]

For International players, how do I contact the Club?

[@Billwilson8]

“One fun fact Latvian roads are shit” 😂😂😂😂 what a cool group of guys

[@FKCesis]

A hidden gem of a city is Cēsis and if you have been to Latvia but haven't been to Cēsis, you have never really been in Latvia...😄

[@timofeymurashko786]

🙌

[@Hendrik-jan-de-tuinman]

So when is Sam going to play for a club again?

[@SamWardrop97]

When I find the right one!⚽️❤️

[@illdill4761]

How can you get a trail in a team like this?

[@SamWardrop97]

Establish yourself as a player in the place you live first.

[@Mark-ib2st]

Why did you leave Sweden

[@dudarsky]

As a Latvian, i've never watched football, especially local leagues. It's hockey and basketball here, nothing else really matters.

[@SamWardrop97]

You should give it a try! A beer watching the sunset in the Skonto is a beautiful thing!

[@wrobertz]

I’m from the uk and play football here but think I could play for a Latvian team as there is less competition there and I can also speak the language

[@SamWardrop97]

It’s still very competitive! The top teams in the division play in Europe. But I must admit, it gives players who are 2nd / 3rd division in most countries a chance to play in a 1st division.

[@benwardrop5918]

👍👍

[@harriskhan6115]

hi there. Do someone know how to make a contract with any team in latvia

[@SamWardrop97]

Start with getting a contract with a team in the place where you are currently living!

[@jamesgill3759]

What level is the Latvian top league comparable to England and Scotland?

[@abatematteoantonio3724]

un club di ligue 2 vincerebbe il campionato...

[@SamWardrop97]

Good question and very hard to compare. There is a lot between the teams in Latvia. Some would play top flight in UK and some wouldn’t.

[@abatematteoantonio3724]

@@SamWardrop97forse in ligue 2 .

[@thomascat7044]

League One / League Two level in England, midtable Scottish Premiership to bottom of Championship. There's a big discrepancy in finances and level between top half and bottom half Latvian Virslīga teams. One of the top clubs RFS played Hearts in UECL 2 years ago, in pretty close games Hearts won both and looked comfortable enough, but they were tough matches. Metta, the showcased team, would probably fit in mid/lower table Scottish Championship.

[@abatematteoantonio3724]

@@thomascat7044 sei stato in un club dove da bambino giocava un ragazzino kristpas gabrowskis era uno dei 5 migliori in europa unico talento del calcio lettone dal 2004 .. guarda i suoi vecchi video ..lo spettacolo del calcio..

[@Wolfijzs]

why bros intro is fl studio opening sound

[@abatematteoantonio3724]

non dimenticare omicidio di un agente sportivo ..il rapimento di un giocatore

[@SamWardrop97]

News to me! It must have happened outwith the week I was there.

[@abatematteoantonio3724]

@@SamWardrop97 2-3 anni fa l'omicidio di un agente dei calciatori .. si dice la mafia russa .. il rapimento di un giocatore nigeriano .... era molto richiesto .... non mi convincono i ragazzi richiesti in club di serie A -B in italia sono troppi .... e non certo top ... forse fisicamente ... e naturalmente troppi legionari extra ue ... non hanno senso per un campionato come quello lettone

[@lkrnpk]

@@SamWardrop97 it was a few years ago, 2018, the kidnapping, and agent was killed in 2021 There is a lot of Russian mafia money in Latvian football or money of people with similar ''inclinations'' so some shady stuff can happen sadly

[@helvijskalnins3264]

Theres no way a player in Latvia is earning 50k a month. A year, yeah sure. But not in a month

[@SamWardrop97]

The top few teams have lots of money to spend. It’s not an average. There’s outliers in every team in every division across the globe when it comes to pay.

[@shpala]

@@SamWardrop97 Still, it has to be a mistake. 50K a year would be tops for even the best players on the top teams. (I was born and grew up in Riga.)

[@helvijskalnins3264]

@@SamWardrop97 It's 100% not right. League games probably dont get more than 500 attendance, and the tickets cost like 5 euros. And football is the last team sport latvians watch, so theres not much sponsorship money (basketball and hockey is much more popular). There's not a team paying some guy 600k a year. That's Ligue 1 type money.

[@lorencs7162]

The guy from RFS who played in Bundesliga makes 40k a month, I was told by a guy who played last year for Valmiera FC

[@shpala]

@@lorencs7162 RFS has a player who used to play in Bundesliga?

[@陈塞巴斯蒂安]

WELCOME TO CHINA !