Deniss Rakels

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Deniss Rakels
Deniss Rakels in 2017
Personal information
Full name Deniss Rakels
Date of birth (1992-08-20) 20 August 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth Jēkabpils, Latvia
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Hutnik Kraków
Number 92
Youth career
Jēkabpils RSS
Jēkabpils SC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 FK Liepājas Metalurgs-2
2009–2010 FK Liepājas Metalurgs 40 (27)
2011–2014 Zagłębie Lubin 9 (0)
2011–2013 → GKS Katowice (loan) 47 (16)
2014–2016 Cracovia 61 (26)
2016–2018 Reading 14 (3)
2017–2018 → Lech Poznań (loan) 11 (0)
2018 → Cracovia (loan) 12 (1)
2018–2021 Pafos 48 (3)
2018 → Riga (loan) 12 (2)
2019 → Riga (loan) 12 (3)
2021–2023 RFS 27 (10)
2023 Super Nova 15 (4)
2023– Hutnik Kraków 19 (6)
International career‡
2008 Latvia U-17[1] 3 (0)
2010 Latvia U-19 3 (0)
2011–2013 Latvia U-21 8 (3)
2010–2019 Latvia 32 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 March 2021
Rakels playing for Liepājas Metalurgs

Deniss Rakeļs (born 20 August 1992) is a Latvian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Polish club Hutnik Kraków.

Club career[edit]

Early career in Latvia[edit]

Rakels started his youth career in his local club Jēkabpils RSS, later on moving to another club from the same city - Jēkabpils SC. In 2007, he left, signing for FK Liepājas Metalurgs-2 in the Latvian First League. While playing for the reserve team of Metalurgs, he was an outstanding team leader - he scored regularly and was impressive with his speed to finish the through balls. In 2009, only 17 years old, he was taken to the first team by that time Metalurgs manager Rüdiger Abramczik. He had no difficulties to fit into the first team level soon after joining, becoming a regular first eleven player. Even more - he scored in nearly every appearance. In fact, just after a few appearances Rakels had already completed 2 league hat-tricks. His technique and footballing skills impressed many coaches all around the world, despite him being just 18.[2] In December 2009 he went on trial with the Italian Serie A side Sampdoria. In April 2010 he joined Swiss Super League team Basel on trial,[3] and in August 2010 in a league game against FK Ventspils he was scouted by Werder Bremen scouts.[4]

Zagłębie Lubin[edit]

In December 2010, it was announced that Rakels would go on a training camp together with Russian Premier League giants Rubin Kazan in January 2011, but the player himself decided to reject the offer, because the Polish Ekstraklasa club Zagłębie Lubin were interested in signing him.[5] This scenario turned out to be true and on 30 January 2011, after passing medical tests, Rakels signed a three-year contract with them.[6] Later on the player himself admitted that till the very last day before signing a contract with Zagłębie the representatives of the Ukrainian Premier League club Karpaty Lviv had been trying to persuade him to join their club, despite several previous refusals from the player.[7]

Loan to GKS Katowice[edit]

On 17 August 2011, Rakels was sent on a season-long loan spell to I liga club GKS Katowice to gain experience due to his limited game time in Lubin.[8] He scored 5 goals in 20 matches for the club, returning to Zagłębie after the season. It was reported that Rakels would be loaned to GKS for another season in August 2012.[9] In his second season with GKS Rakels scored 11 goals in 27 matches, becoming one of the league's top scorers. In July 2013 he went on trial with the English Football League Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion, but did not stay with them, despite scoring a goal in a pre-season friendly match.[10] Before the start of the 2013–14 Ekstraklasa season Rakels returned to Zagłębie Lubin.[11]

Cracovia[edit]

On 15 January 2014, Rakels signed a half-year contract with Cracovia, the contract was later extended.[12]

Reading[edit]

On 28 January 2016 Rakels signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Reading for an undisclosed fee.[13] Rakels made his Reading debut on 6 February 2016, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute for Matěj Vydra, in their 0–0 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.[14] He scored his first goal for Reading when he struck a late winner in a 4–3 win at Charlton Athletic on 27 February 2016.[15]

Rakels was stretchered off during Reading's EFL Cup second round match against Milton Keynes Dons on 23 August 2016 with a suspected fractured ankle.[16] This Injury kept Rakels out of first team football for the remainder of the 2016–17 season, making only a handful of Under-23 appearances.[17]

Rakels was released by Reading at the end of his contract on 30 June 2018.[18]

Loan to Lech Poznań[edit]

On 16 June 2017, Rakels underwent a medical with Lech Poznań ahead of a season-long loan deal.[19][20] 10 days later, on 26 June 2017, Reading confirmed that Rakels had joined Lech Poznań on a season-long loan deal.[21]

Loan to Cracovia[edit]

On 17 January 2018, Reading confirmed that Rakels' loan deal with Lech Poznań had ended, and that Rakels had joined Cracovia on loan for the remainder of the season.[22]

Pafos FC[edit]

On 16 July 2018, Rakels signed for Cypriot First Division club Pafos FC, and then immediately joined Latvian Higher League club Riga FC on loan.[23]

FK RFS[edit]

On 2 July 2021, Rakels signed for FK RFS on an 18-month contract.[24]

International career[edit]

Rakels was a member of Latvia U-19 and Latvia U-21 football teams. In June 2010 he was firstly called up to the Latvia national football team for the 2010 Baltic Cup by the manager Aleksandrs Starkovs, who was impressed by the youngster's great form in the national championship.[25] He made his international debut on 18 June 2010 in a 0–0 draw against Lithuania, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute and replacing Andrejs Perepļotkins.[26]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of match played 29 September 2021[27][28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Liepājas Metalurgs 2009 Virslīga 14 9 — 1[a] 0 — 15 9
2010 26 18 1 0 — 2[b] 0 — 29 18
Total 40 27 1 0 — 3 0 — 44 27
Zagłębie Lubin 2010–11 Ekstraklasa 4 0 0 0 — — — 4 0
2013–14 5 0 0 0 — — — 5 0
Total 9 0 0 0 — — — 9 0
Katowice (loan) 2011–12 I liga 20 5 0 0 — — — 20 5
2012–13 27 11 0 0 — — — 27 11
Total 47 16 0 0 — — — 47 16
Cracovia 2013–14 Ekstraklasa 8 0 0 0 — — — 8 0
2014–15 33 11 3 1 — — — 36 12
2015–16 20 15 4 1 — — — 24 16
Total 61 26 7 2 — — — 68 28
Reading 2015–16 Championship 12 3 2 0 0 0 — — 14 3
2016–17 2 0 0 0 1 0 — — 3 0
2017–18 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Total 14 3 2 0 1 0 — — 17 3
Lech Poznań (loan) 2017–18 Ekstraklasa 11 0 0 0 — 3[a] 0 — 14 0
Total 11 0 0 0 — 3 0 — 14 0
Cracovia (loan) 2017–18 Ekstraklasa 12 1 0 0 — — — 12 1
Total 12 1 0 0 — — — 12 1
Pafos 2018–19 Cypriot First Division 17 1 4 0 — — — 21 1
2019–20 8 1 1 0 — — — 9 1
2020–21 23 1 2 0 — — — 9 1
Total 48 3 7 0 — — — 55 3
Riga (loan) 2018 Higher League 12 2 3 1 — — — 15 3
2019 12 3 0 0 — 7 0 – 19 3
Total 24 5 3 1 — 7 0 — 34 6
RFS 2021 Higher League 3 0 3 0 — 1[b] 0 — 7 0
Career total 269 81 23 3 1 0 14 0 0 0 307 84
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the Europa League
  2. ^ a b Appearances in the Champions League

International[edit]

Latvia
Year Apps Goals
2010 2 0
2011 0 0
2012 0 0
2013 3 0
2014 1 0
2015 8 0
2016 0 0
2017 7 0
2018 6 1
2019 5 0
Total 32 1

Statistics accurate as of match played 10 October 2019[29]

International goals[edit]

Scores and results list Latvia's goal tally first.[29]
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 15 November 2018 Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan  Kazakhstan 1–1 1–1 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D

Honours[edit]

Liepājas Metalurgs

Individual

  • Virslīga top-scorer: 2010

Personal life[edit]

Rakels is of Polish descent. He has many tattoos on his body, they include his name, his mother's name, and a wish for his parents written in Arabic.[30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Deniss Rakels". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  2. ^ Rakeļs raises Metalurgs expectations 5.07.2010, uefa.com
  3. ^ "Lapa īslaicīgi nav pieejama".
  4. ^ "Lapa īslaicīgi nav pieejama".
  5. ^ "Rakels tomēr nav vienojies ar Kazaņas "Rubin"". tvnet.lv. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  6. ^ Deniss Rakels podpisał kontrakt z Zagłębiem Lubin Archived 17 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine 30.01.2011, onet.pl
  7. ^ "Rakels stāsta par pāreju uz Poliju un ukraiņu uzmākšanos". sportacentrs.com. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Rakels izīrēts uz Polijas 1. līgu, Putniņš ielaiž četrus vārtus". sportacentrs.com. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Rakels arī šosezon būs izīrēts Polijas pirmās līgas klubam Katovices GKS". kasjauns.lv. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Transfer News: Brighton eye move for Latvian international Deniss Rakels". skysports.com. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Rakels pieteikts Polijas Ekstraklasei "Zaglebie" sastāvā". sportacentrs.com. 3 August 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Deniss Rakels w Cracovii!". cracovia.pl. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Rakels is a Royal". readingfc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Reading 0-0 Wolves". www.readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  15. ^ "Charlton 3-4 Reading". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Reading FC striker Deniss Rakels could be facing long lay-off with suspected fractured ankle". getreading.co.uk. Get Reading. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Reading FC injury update: Deniss Rakels no closer to first-team return". readingchronicle.co.uk. Reading Chronicle. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Mendes and Quinn amongst those set to leave club". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Rakels na testach medycznych". lechpoznan.pl (in Polish). Lech Poznań. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Lech czeka na dokumenty z Reading". lechpoznan.pl (in Polish). Lech Poznań. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Rakels loaned to Lech Poznań". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Rakels returns to Cracovia on loan". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Riga FC sastāvu pastiprina Deniss Rakels". rigafc.lv/ (in Latvian). Riga FC. 16 July 2018. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  24. ^ "RFS PASTIPRINA D.RAKELS". fkrfs.lv/ (in Latvian). FK RFS. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Starkovs nosauc kandidātus Baltijas kausam". sportacentrs.com. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  26. ^ "Latvijas Futbola federācija". www.lff.lv. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  27. ^ "Deniss Rakels". www.90minut.pl (in Polish). 90minut. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  28. ^ Deniss Rakels at Soccerway. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  29. ^ a b "Rakels, Deniss". National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  30. ^ "ParSportu.lv". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.

External links[edit]

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