A tenacious defensive midfielder, his ball-winning ability and astute positioning provided vital protection for the Latvian defence. Career record: 113 caps and 15 goals for Latvia; club career at Skonto, PFC CSKA Moscow, FC Kuban Krasnodar.
One rank above: Andrejs Rubins at #7.
One rank below: Kaspars Gorkšs at #9.
Latvia's editorial top five: Māris Verpakovskis · Marians Pahars · Vitālijs Astafjevs · Aleksandrs Koļinko · Andris Vaņins.