19 Facts About Marians Pahars

Marians Pahars was born on 5 August 1976 and is a Latvian professional football manager and a former player.

Marians Pahars made 75 appearances for the Latvia national team, scoring 15 goals over an eleven-year period.

Marians Pahars went on to manage Latvia at the under-21 and senior level, before returning to club management with Jelgava.

Marians Pahars's Latvian given name is Marians; however, he was generally known as Marian during his career in England.

When he was about eight years old, Jurijs Andrejevs, a coach from Skonto visited his school, as a result of which Marians Pahars decided to play football.

Marians Pahars started playing as a midfielder, usually on the wings, before moving into a striker's role.

Marians Pahars was still a threat providing his teammates with opportunities, but his form was patchy and inconsistent and he only found the net three more times to take his tally for the season to nine goals.

Marians Pahars did manage to play the closing minutes, as Latvia claimed a place at Euro 2004.

Marians Pahars did make ten appearances during the season, scoring one goal, but it was not enough to save his Saints career, and, in May 2006, after seven years with 156 appearances and 45 goals for the club, it was announced that his contract with Southampton would not be renewed for the following season.

In July 2006 Marians Pahars signed with Anorthosis Famagusta, a Cypriot team managed by former Georgian International Temuri Ketsbaia.

Marians Pahars was then named Latvian Footballer of the Year for a third successive year in November 2001.

In 2010, Marians Pahars accepted an offer to become Aleksandrs Starkovs' assistant at Skonto, alongside legendary Vitalijs Astafjevs He became the champion of Latvia in 2010 , this time in an assistant manager's role.

In 2011, Starkovs left for Baku in Azerbaijan and Marians Pahars became the manager of the club.

In December 2012, Marians Pahars left Skonto, being succeeded by Tamaz Pertia.

Marians Pahars accepted the opportunity to return to coaching, when the offer from LFF allowed him to become the manager of Latvian under-21 national team.

Not long after his appointment, on 11 July 2013, Marians Pahars was promoted, becoming the manager of the nation's senior team, shortly after Aleksandrs Starkovs vacated his position.

Marians Pahars returned to Latvian domestic football, taking charge of Jelgava ahead of their 2018 Latvian Higher League campaign.

Marians Pahars guided them to a sixth-place finish in his inaugural season in charge.

Marians Pahars was a candidate for Honoured to serve Riga in the 2020 Riga City Council election, but was not elected.