Celtic’s potential Qualifying Round 1 opponents in the 2020/21 Champions League: Riga FC of Latvia…
Ahead of Sunday’s draw for the first qualifying round of the Champions League, I’m reviewing the 17 potential opponents who lie ahead for Celtic.
With all but one of the possible options now known, we’ve already covered the first ten:
• FK Sileks of North Macedonia
• Kuopion Palloseura of Finland
• FC Ararat-Armenia of Armenia
• KI Klaksvik of Faroe Islands
• Connah’s Quay Nomads FC of Wales
11/17: Riga FC of Latvia
The Latvian representatives in the 2020/21 Champions League will be Riga FC, who have a UEFA co-efficient of 3.5, compared to Celtic’s 34.
Founded
Riga was established in 2014 in the Latvian capital of the same name, following the merger of two existing sides, FC Caramba Riga and Dinamo Riga. Initially playing under the banner of FC Caramba/Dinamo, the club’s current name was adopted in 2016.
Colours
The club wear sky blue jerseys with white shorts and socks at home, whilst the away kit is an all-black outfit.
Stadium
Riga FC play their home games at the Skonto Stadium in the heart of the capital.
The capacity there is 8,000, whilst the club’s home attendances average just 500. As the name suggests, it was the home of perennial domestic champions Skonto Riga, until their liquidation in 2016.
The Latvian national teams also tend to play their matches here.
Season 2019/20
As the Latvian season runs from March until November each year, qualification for the 2020/21 Champions League is based on the campaign which ended in late 2019. Riga won the 9-club Latvian Higher League by seven points from fellow capital side FK RFS, with FK Ventspils a further 12 points adrift in third spot.
Domestic record
It has been a brief but successful start to life for Riga FC, winning the Latvian First League in their debut season of 2015, then improving year-on-year until their first Latvian Higher League title in 2018, which they retained the following year. They also completed a double in 2018 by winning the Latvian Cup, having been beaten finalists in the previous two competitions.
European record
Riga FC has competed well in the last two European campaigns, winning three and drawing four of their 10 matches.
They made their continental debut in the first qualifying round of the 2018/19 Europa League, up against CSKA Sofia – Stan Petrov’s old team – eliminated only on penalties after both sides won their respective home legs 1-0, the Bulgarians scoring with all five shootout attempts in Riga.
Riga’s first Champions League appearance came last July against our old friends from Dundalk, the Latvians earning a 0-0 draw at Oriel Park, just as Billy McNeill’s Celts had done back in 1979. The return leg also finished goalless, meaning that Riga’s second European tie would end as the first one did, with a penalty shootout. A sudden-death miss by Armands Petersons saw the Irish team go through to face Qarabag of Azerbaijan by 5-4, whilst Riga dropped into the Europa League to meet the Polish side, Piast Gliwice.
An incredible finish in the away leg, with three goals in five minutes, saw Riga return to Latvia just 3-2 down. Despite then going behind early in the second leg in the Skonto Stadium, a quick equaliser from that man Petersons and a late winner from, ironically, a Polish striker, Kamil Bilinksi, saw the Latvian club win 2-1 on the night to qualify on the away goals rule.
Riga would face another former Celtic European opponent in the third qualifying round, HJK of Finland, a late Bilinksi equaliser in Riga seeing the first leg finish 1-1.
The Latvians would then come from behind twice in Helsinki, Ukrainian Roman Debelko completing his double with just 10 minutes remaining to enable a second consecutive Riga success on away goals.
The Europa League Play-off would see Riga paired with yet another name familiar to Parkhead supporters, although I suspect most of us are still a bit too raw to think about this one. FC Copenhagen would seal a 3-1 home win with a stoppage-time goal from Mohammed Daramy, that strike proving crucial as Riga only managed to pull one goal back through Brazilian Felipe Brisola in the Skonto Stadium, to exit the competition on a 3-2 aggregate.
Having edged out Dynamo Kiev to qualify from the Group Stage behind Sweden’s Malmo, the Danish side then eliminated Celtic in the Round of 32 in Glasgow, after a sickening late collapse from the Hoops. Copenhagen will try to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Turkish outfit Istanbul Basaksehir when the competition reconvenes tomorrow.
Previous meetings
Celtic have never faced Latvian opposition in European competition.
Current personnel
You will have picked up already perhaps that many of the Riga FC squad hail from outwith Latvia, with players from Brazil, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Albania, Serbia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia and Colombia.
The head coach is also a Russian, former Spartak Moscow manager Oleg Kononov. I’m sure there is a pun or ten in there.
I hope you enjoyed that look at the eleventh of our potential European opponents and their previous record in continental competition.
More to follow soon.
Hail Hail!
Matt Corr
Follow Matt on Twitter @Boola_vogue
