Aleksandrs Cauņa

Aleksandrs Cauņa

Cauņa with CSKA Moscow in 2014
Personal information
Full name Aleksandrs Cauņa
Date of birth (1988-01-19) 19 January 1988
Place of birth Daugavpils, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
(now Republic of Latvia)
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
CSKA Moscow
Number 19
Youth career
1995–2002 Dinaburg
2002–2005 Skonto Riga
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006 Olimps Riga 10 (2)
2006–2011 Skonto Riga 61 (14)
2009Watford (loan) 5 (1)
2011CSKA Moscow (loan) 3 (0)
2011– CSKA Moscow 58 (3)
National team
2007– Latvia 45 (12)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 April 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 October 2015

Aleksandrs Cauņa (pronounced [ˈt͡sɑuɲɑ]; born 19 January 1988) is a Latvian football player, currently playing for CSKA Moscow in the Russian Premier League and Latvia national football team.[1]

Club career

Born in Daugavpils, at youth level Cauņa played for Dinaburg, being brought to Skonto Riga system at the age of 14 in 2002, where he spent 3 years. In 2006 he joined the Latvian First League side Olimps Riga, playing 10 matches and scoring 2 goals. In 2006 he re-joined Skonto Riga and got a place in the starting eleven. He was named the best youth player in Latvia despite playing only half the season in 2006.

In January 2008 Cauņa was invited to join the Premier League club Chelsea on trial and he trained with the club's reserves.[2] After the 2008 season Cauņa was on trials at several Premier League clubs, including Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland, but moves eventually fell through as managers Paul Ince and Roy Keane left the clubs.[3][4]

On 2 February 2009 he joined English Championship club Watford on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season, with a view to a permanent move.[5] On 3 March he made his debut, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for Jon Harley in the 2–1 defeat at to Plymouth Argyle at Home Park. Cauņa scored his first Watford goal on his full debut for the club, firing a powerful half-volley in a 2–2 draw with Southampton at Vicarage Road on 7 April 2009.[6] He returned to Skonto at the end of the season.

On 25 August 2010 he went on trial with English Premier League side Blackpool, playing in their Lancashire Senior Cup tie against Morecambe later the same day at Bloomfield Road, but didn't stay with the club.[7]

At the start of 2011 Cauņa went on trial with the Russian Premier League side PFC CSKA Moscow, and on 1 February 2011 he was loaned to the club for 4 months.[8] He made his debut on 17 February in the UEFA Europa League match against PAOK.[9]

On 27 June 2011 CSKA bought out his rights from Skonto and he signed a five-year contract with CSKA.[1] On 18 October 2011 Cauņa scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League group stages in a 3–0 victory over Trabzonspor.[10]

Cauņa scored his first Russian Premier League goal for CSKA on 19 August 2012 in a match against Mordovia Saransk. On 26 August 2012 Cauņa scored his second RPL goal against Krylia Sovetov Samara – a powerful blast from 30 metres,[11] that was later highly rated and put him in the team of the week.[12] On 26 September Cauņa and CSKA matched up against FC Tom Tomsk at the 1/16 stage of Russian Cup. CSKA came out with 1–0 win, with Cauņa being a goalscorer. He made an undeniable shot with left foot from outside the penalty area.

International career

Cauņa has been a vital member of the Latvia national team since his international debut in 2007. He scored his first two international goals in 2009 – in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Luxembourg (a 4–0 win) and Switzerland (a 2–2 draw). His third goal came on 11 August 2010 in a 4–1 friendly match defeat to Czech Republic. It was his first appearance after recovering from a serious injury and being out of football for almost six months. On 12 October he scored an excellent last minute bicycle kick to level against Georgia on UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match. In 2008 he helped the team win the Baltic Cup.[13] As of 3 November 2013 he has made 40 appearances for Latvia, scoring 11 goals.[14]

Statistics

Club

As of 1 August 2015[15]
Club Season League Cup1 League Cup Continental2 Other3 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
CSKA Moscow (loan) 2011–12 40000040
CSKA Moscow 1301071211
2012–13 2534120314
2013–14 4000100050
2014–15 5010200080
2015–16 2000200041
Total 5336112100735
Career total 5336112100735

1Includes Russian Cup.

2Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

3Includes Russian Super Cup.

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 28 March 2009 Luxembourg Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 2–0 4–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 9 September 2009 Latvia Skonto Stadium, Riga   Switzerland 1–1 2–2 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 11 August 2010 Czech Republic Stadion u Nisy, Liberec  Czech Republic 1–4 1–4 Friendly
4. 12 October 2010 Latvia Skonto Stadium, Riga  Georgia 1–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
5. 9 February 2011 Turkey Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya  Bolivia 1–1 2–1 Friendly
6. 4 June 2011 Latvia Skonto Stadium, Riga  Israel 1–2 1–2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
7. 2 September 2011 Georgia (country) Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilissi  Georgia 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
8. 6 September 2011 Latvia Skonto Stadium, Riga  Greece 1–0 1–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
9. 1 June 2012 Estonia Võru Stadium, Võru  Lithuania 1–0 5–0 2012 Baltic Cup
10. 7 September 2012 Latvia Skonto Stadium, Riga  Greece 1–0 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
11. 22 March 2013 Liechtenstein Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz  Liechtenstein 1–1 1–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
12. 10 October 2015 Iceland Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík  Iceland 2–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Honours

Club

Skonto Riga
CSKA Moscow

International

Latvia

Individual

References

External links

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