Jānis Ikaunieks (footballer)

Jānis Ikaunieks
Personal information
Full name Jānis Ikaunieks
Date of birth (1995-02-16) 16 February 1995
Place of birth Kuldīga, Latvia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 FC Metz
Number 28
Youth career
Liepājas Metalurgs
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 Liepājas Metalurgs 19 (3)
2014 FK Liepāja 32 (23)
2015– Metz 12 (0)
2015– Metz II 14 (4)
National team‡
2011 Latvia U-18 2 (1)
2013 Latvia U-19 1 (0)
2014 Latvia U-21 3 (0)
2014– Latvia 14 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 November 2016

Jānis Ikaunieks (born 16 February 1995 in Kuldīga) is a Latvian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for the French Ligue 1 club FC Metz and Latvia national football team.

Club career

FK Liepāja

As a youth player Ikanieks played for the youth teams of Liepājas Metalurgs, scoring 11 goals in 20 matches in the 2012 Latvian First League season and helping Liepājas Metalurgs-2 win the championship. In 2013 he was taken to the first team. Ikaunieks debuted in the Latvian Higher League. Throughout his first professional season Ikaunieks played 19 league matches, scoring three goals. After the end of the season the club was dissolved due to financial difficulties and Ikaunieks alongside other players transferred to its successor, the newly established FK Liepāja.[1] Starting the season as a nominal substitute Ikaunieks strikingly rose to the first eleven and was named Latvian Higher League player of the month in May.[2] On 11 June 2014 Ikaunieks scored four goals in a 7-0 victory over FC Jūrmala.[3] All in all, he scored 23 goals in 32 league matches and became the second top scorer of the championship behind Vladislavs Gutkovskis from Skonto. In August 2014 Ikaunieks went on trial with the Croatian Prva HNL champions Dinamo Zagreb.[4] In September he was named player of the month for the second time in the season.[5] In October explicit interest in the player was reported for AFC Ajax, FC Metz, VfB Stuttgart and Udinese Calcio.[6] On 5 December 2014 Ikaunieks was named the best midfielder of the season and was simultaneously voted as the best player of the 2014 Latvian Higher League.[7]

FC Metz

On 23 December 2014 the chairman of FC Metz, Bernard Serin confirmed that Ikaunieks will join the Ligue 1 side on a four-year deal.[8] The transfer on an undisclosed fee was officially affirmed on 7 January 2015. Ikaunieks made his debut for Metz’ first team on 20 January 2015, coming on as a substitute in the Coupe de France 1/16 finals match victory over US Avranches.[9]

International career

Ikaunieks was a member of Latvia U-18, Latvia U-19 and Latvia U-21 football teams. He made his debut for Latvia national football team on 13 October 2014, playing all 90 minutes in a 1-1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying draw against Turkey.[10] It was later calculated that Ikaunieks had repeated the record of Māris Verpakovskis who debuted in 1999, being exactly 19 years, 7 months and 25 days old.[11]

International goals

Jānis Ikaunieks: International Goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 29 March 2016 Gibraltar, Gibraltar  Gibraltar 0 – 1 0–5 Friendly
2. 29 March 2016 Gibraltar, Gibraltar  Gibraltar 0 – 5 0–5 Friendly

Career statistics

As of 20 November 2016[12]
Club performance League Cup Continental Other Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Latvia League Cup Europe Other Total
2013 FK Liepājas Metalurgs Higher League 1933010 —233
2014 FK Liepāja 322331 —3524
Total 51266110005827
2014–15 Metz II Championnat de France amateur 62 —62
2015–16 32 —32
2016–17 50 —50
Total 144000000144
2014–15 Metz Ligue 1 4020 —60
2015–16 Ligue 2 8010 —90
Total 120300000150
Career total 77309110008731

Honours

Player

Club

Liepājas Metalurgs II

Individual

Personal life

His elder brother Dāvis is also a professional footballer, playing for FK Liepāja.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Virslīgā spēlēs FK "Liepāja"". liepajniekiem.lv. 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  2. ↑ "Virslīgas labākie maijā - J.Ikaunieks un Beškarevs". sportacentrs.com. 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  3. ↑ "Jānim Ikauniekam pokers, "Liepāja" ar 7:0 pazemo "Jūrmalu"". liepajniekiem.lv. 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  4. ↑ "Zagrebas "Dinamo" interesējas par J.Ikaunieku". nra.lv. 2014-08-06. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  5. ↑ "Labākie septembrī - Jānis Ikaunieks un Viktors Dobrecovs". sportacentrs.com. 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  6. ↑ "Stuttgart an Ikaunieks dran?". n24.de. 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  7. ↑ "Jānis Ikaunieks - Latvijas "SMScredit.lv Virslīgas" labākais pussargs un futbolists". liepajniekiem.lv. 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  8. ↑ "Bernard Serin: "Albert Cartier et son staff ont toute ma confiance"" (in French). wort.lu. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Jānis Ikaunieks debitē, "Metz" tikai pagarinājumā uzvar 3. līgas klubu". sportacentrs.com. 2015-01-20. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  10. ↑ "Latvija-Turcija (1:1)". lff.lv. 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  11. ↑ "Ikaunieks atkārto Verpakovska vecuma rekordu debijā izlasē". irliepaja.lv. 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  12. ↑ "J.Ikaunieks". uk.soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Latvia - D. Ikaunieks - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
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