Ferencvaros and Ludogorets were already quite modest, but on paper, RFS is the most accessible opponent for RSC Anderlecht in this European Cup. Here are five things to know about the Latvian club.
RFS has completed its season and has been crowned champions of Latvia.
In a rare scenario, Anderlecht will face an opponent that, without the European Cup, would be somewhat “on holiday” at this time. Indeed, the last matchday of the Latvian championship took place last weekend. RFS won against Grobina, thereby securing their third national championship title.
The previous week, it was the Latvian Cup final, where RFS also triumphed against FK Auda, claiming the third cup in their history. This marks the second double championship-cup for the Riga club after 2021.
A young club that has only recently claimed its first titles.
RFS is not a historic club in Latvian Football. Several Riga clubs have historically dominated local football: RFK Riga pre-war (the club disappeared after World War II) with 8 championship titles, Skonto Riga after the collapse of the USSR boasting 14 consecutive titles but going bankrupt in 2016, and finally, Riga FC, which has won 3 titles and remains RFS’s biggest current rival.
RFS, which stands for Rigas Futbola Skola (Riga Football School), was founded in 2003 by former Skonto Riga academy director Vladimirs Belajevs. It’s akin to Jean Kindermans forming a brand-new club after leaving Anderlecht and calling it Neerpede FC. In 2016, following Skonto’s bankruptcy, RFS inherited their registration number and thus partly their identity, going on to win three of the last four championship titles, establishing themselves as the number one club in the country.
Gent also crossed paths with them.
RFS had previously only participated in one European Cup group stage in their history, during the 2022-2023 season. A year earlier, they had been eliminated in the final qualifying round… against Gent, who had nevertheless conceded a surprising 2-2 draw in Latvia. The Buffalos did the bare minimum at Ghelamco Arena (1-0) to qualify, but RFS made a good impression, far from disappointing.
However, the Latvian club’s European exploits are rare, although it should be noted that when RFS faces teams weaker on paper, they rarely falter. The standout performance in recent times is certainly the elimination of APOEL Nicosia in the Europa League playoffs this season. Yet the 2-2 draw against Galatasaray on matchday two of the league phase also proves that the club is more than capable of holding its ground against a formidable opponent!
Two former Pro League players in their squad.
After struggling more than expected against RFS, Gent seized the opportunity to… attract the top scorer of the Latvian club: Darko Lemajic (31 years old). A transfer that seemed somewhat of a gamble and an impulsive decision after the Serb impressed with his stature against the Buffalos. In Belgium, he may not have shined brightly, but he was somewhat lacking… and he has since returned to Latvia, where he concluded this season with 10 goals in 23 matches.
He’s not the only player from the Jupiler Pro League in the RFS squad. The Latvian goalkeeper, Fabrice Ondoa, is also a familiar face: from 2018 to 2020, he played 30 matches for KV Oostende. He is the undisputed starter for the Riga club this season, following a rather chaotic trajectory, having been trained at FC Barcelona and is a cousin of André Onana.
RFS does not play in “its” stadium.
Football is not the number one sport in Latvia (that title goes to ice hockey), and thus stadiums do not meet European standards, even for the country’s top club. So, it won’t be in their usual stadium, LNK Sporta Parks, which had recently been renovated, that the match between RFS and Anderlecht will take place.
The encounter will indeed occur at Daugava Stadium, which recently hosted matches for the Latvian national team. This is the stadium of FK Metta in the league, but it is hosting RFS’s matches during the league phase of this Europa League (while RFS could play their preliminary matches at Sporta Parks). A 10,000-seat stadium, but it is likely to sound empty this Thursday.
A cheaper squad… than Mario Stroeykens or Kasper Dolberg.
The entirety of RFS’s squad is valued at €9.4 million by Transfermarkt. The two most expensive players in the group are not even worth a million euros: they are Emerson Deocleciano (€900,000) and captain Ziga Lipuscek (€800,000).
For comparison, which we know isn’t entirely fair, Mario Stroeykens and Kasper Dolberg are valued at €10 million each; Anders Dreyer, the most expensive player at Anderlecht in the market, is valued at €12 million. A world of difference, thus, which leaves the Mauves with no choice: they must win this Thursday.
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