Olga Ševcova Explained

Olga Ševcova
Birth Name:Olga Ivanova
Height:1.65 m[1]
Birth Date:1992 11, df=yes
Birth Place:Riga, Latvia
Position:Forward
Currentclub:Fenerbahçe S.K.
Clubnumber:15
Youthclubs1:JFC Skonto
Youthyears2:2004–2006
Youthclubs2:Šitika FS
Years1:2007–2009
Clubs1:FC Skonto/Cerība-46.vsk.
Years2:2009
Clubs2:Gintra Universitetas
Years3:2010–2014
Clubs3:Pärnu JK
Caps3:18
Goals3:5
Years4:2016–2018
Clubs4:Rīgas FS
Years5:2019
Clubs5:FK Dinamo Rīga
Years6:2020–2023
Clubs6:ÍBV
Caps6:69
Goals6:20
Years7:2023-
Clubs7:Fenerbahçe S.K.
Caps7:0
Goals7:0
Nationalyears1:2007–2008
Nationalteam1:Latvia U17
Nationalcaps1:6
Nationalgoals1:2
Nationalyears2:2008–2010
Nationalteam2:Latvia U19
Nationalcaps2:9
Nationalgoals2:0
Nationalyears3:2011–
Nationalteam3:Latvia
Nationalcaps3:60
Nationalgoals3:14
Pcupdate:17 July 2024 (UTC)
Ntupdate:6 December 2023 (UTC)

Olga Ševcova (;[2] [3] born 26 November 1992) is a Latvian footballer who plays as a forward for ÍBV of the Úrvalsdeild kvenna and the Latvia women's national team. She has been named the Latvian Footballer of the Year on six occasions. Ševcova has played for clubs based in Lithuania, Estonia and Iceland, as well as in her native Latvia.

Club career

Ševcova's first club was JFC Skonto, where she played in the boys' youth teams under veteran coach Vladimirs Beļajevs.[4] She joined Šitika Futbola skola in 2004, then moved on to FC Skonto/Cerība-46.vsk. where she played from 2007 until 2009.

Moving abroad, Ševcova then joined Lithuanian Women's A League champions Gintra Universitetas Šiauliai and participated in the club's 2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round campaign.[5] From 2010 until 2014 Ševcova spent five seasons playing for Pärnu JK of the Estonian Naiste Meistriliiga.[6]

In 2011 Ševcova was named Latvian Footballer of the Year for the first time, after five goals in 18 league games for Meistriliiga champions Pärnu and one against Peamount United in a 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round defeat.[7] She won the Latvian Footballer of the Year award for a second time in 2013.[8]

Ševcova did not play in the 2015 season, as she was pregnant.[9] Following the birth of her child, she returned to Latvian Women's League football with Rīgas FS in 2016. After helping Rīgas FS to a "double" in 2017, Ševcova was named Latvian Footballer of the Year for a third time. Continued good form saw her retain the award in 2018 and 2019.[10] In 2019 she was one of several players to depart the dominant Rīgas FS club for newly-formed FK Dinamo Rīga,[11] who then captured the Latvian Women's League title.[12]

In January 2020 Ševcova transferred to the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild kvenna club ÍBV, along with her compatriots Elīza Spruntule and Karlīna Miksone.[13] After a promising 2020 season in which she scored three goals in 16 appearances, Ševcova agreed a new one-year contract with ÍBV.[14] In 2021 Ševcova was voted ÍBV's Player of the Year after she scored six goals in 16 appearances. She extended her contract again in December 2021.[15]

In November 2023 Ševcova was transferred to the Turkish Turkish Women's Football Super League club Fenerbahçe S.K.. Ševcova's transfer was one of the most notable moves in the history of Latvian women's football.

International career

Ševcova has been capped for the Latvia women's national football team. She made her debut on 3 March 2011, in a 2–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying preliminary round defeat by Luxembourg in Strumica.[16] She appeared for the team during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying cycle.[17]

Ševcova became historic as the first ever Latvia women's national team player to score against Sweden or any top 10 ranked national team in the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying match played on 3 September 2019.[18] [19] Latvia was ranked 93 by FIFA and 43 by UEFA (fifth last of all who entered) at the time, in contrast to Sweden's sixth place.

Occasionally Ševcova has been unavailable for national team fixtures due to what the Latvian Football Federation (LFF) has described as: "ģimenes apstākļu" (English: family circumstances), including in the return fixture with Sweden.[20] For the same reason,[21] she was one of several regular national team players who were unable to participate in the November 2021 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification match against England, in which a depleted Latvia team suffered a record 20–0 defeat.[22]

Statistics

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Latvia
201110
2012
201330
2014
2015
201630
201793
201881
201982
202020
202161
202282
Total489

International goals

Scores and results list Latvia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ševcova goal.

List of international goals scored by Olga Ševcova
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 11 March 2017 Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus 1–0 1–0 2017 Aphrodite Women Cup
2 6 April 2017 Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia4–0 4–0 2019 FIFA World Cup qual.
3 8 May 2017 Savivaldybė Stadium, Šiauliai, Lithuania3–0 3–0 2017 Women's Baltic Cup
4 1 September 2018 TNTK Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia3–0 4–0 2018 Women's Baltic Cup
5 16 June 2019 Jāņa Skredeļa Stadium, Riga, Latvia2–0 2–0 2019 Women's Baltic Cup
6 3 September 2019 Daugava Stadium, Liepāja, Latvia1–0 1–4 2022 UEFA Women's Championship qual.
7 21 October 2021 Daugava Stadium, Liepāja, Latvia1–2 1–4 2023 FIFA World Cup qual.
8 1 September 2022 Petar Miloševski Training Centre, Skopje, North Macedonia2–3 2–3 2023 FIFA World Cup qual.
9 6 October 2022 Võru Sports Center Stadium, Võru, Estonia2–1 2–3 2022 Baltic Women's Cup

Style of play

An adaptable attacking player, Ševcova is capable of playing in most forward positions on the pitch.

Honours

Club

Skonto/Cerība

Gintra-Universitetas Šiauliai

Pärnu JK

Rīgas FS

Dinamo Rīga

International

Latvia

Individual

2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022[4] [23]

Notes

  1. Web site: Olga Ševcova . soccerdonna.de . 24 February 2024 . de.
  2. News: Andris Vaņins trešo gadu pēc kārtas atzīts par Latvijas labāko Futbolistu . 8 January 2022 . . 21 December 2017 . Latvian.
  3. Web site: For the third time in a row and overall for the fifth time in his career, Ольга Иванова (Olga Ivanova) has been named Latvian Footballer of the Year, playing daily in the FK Dinamo Rīga and in the Latvian national team. Olga becomes the best player in the Women's Football League and the best player in the Women's Football League team. Next destination Olga➡️ ✈✈✈ ??? . MNG Sports Agency . 8 January 2022 . 24 January 2020.
  4. Web site: Biogrāfija . . 6 January 2022 . Latvian.
  5. News: "Gintra-Universitetas" škočių barjero neperžengė . 8 January 2022 . Šiaulių kraštas . 3 August 2009 . Lithuanian.
  6. Web site: Olga Ševcova . . 8 January 2022 . Estonian.
  7. News: Link . Eno-Gerrit . Pärnu vutimängija valiti Lätis aasta parimaks . 8 January 2022 . . 12 December 2011 . Estonian.
  8. News: Vaņins atzīts par gada labāko Latvijas futbolistu . 8 January 2022 . Ziņu Portāls Latvijai . 13 December 2013 . Latvian.
  9. News: Didzis Matīss: ""JK Pärnu" atbilst tuvāk Lietuvas izlases līmenim" . 8 January 2022 . . 27 February 2015 . Latvian . Nespēlē šobrīd ne pie mums, ne pie viņām Olga Ivanova. Izmantojot iespēju, gribētu apsveikt Olgu ar ģimenes nodibināšanu un novēlēt veiksmi turpmāk!.
  10. News: Par pērnā gada labākajiem Latvijas futbolistiem atzīti Šteinbors un Ševcova . 6 January 2022 . . 24 January 2020 . Latvian.
  11. News: Birjuks . Arkādijs . Sieviešu futbola intrigas: dominējošo "Rīgas FS" pamet vairākas spēlētājas . 8 January 2022 . Sporta Centrs . 16 January 2019 . Latvian.
  12. News: Birjuks . Arkādijs . "Dinamo" triumfē Sieviešu Futbola līgā, pārtraucot "Rīgas Futbola skolas" dominanci . 8 January 2022 . Sporta Centrs . 28 September 2019 . Latvian.
  13. News: Ásgeirsson . Guðmundur Aðalsteinn . ÍBV fær fimm erlenda leikmenn (Staðfest) . 8 January 2022 . . 1 February 2020 . Icelandic.
  14. News: Einarsson . Magnús Már . Olga Sevcova áfram hjá ÍBV . 8 January 2022 . . 23 November 2020 . Icelandic.
  15. News: Þórbergsson Steinke . Sæbjörn Þór . Olga og Viktorija framlengja við ÍBV . 8 January 2022 . . 3 December 2021 . Icelandic.
  16. This is the first match listed of Ševcova's appearances at the Latvian Football Federation website. But the 'Biogrāfija' page on the same profile says her debut came in a 3–1 Women's Baltic Cup defeat by Estonia on 25 April 2009.
  17. Web site: Women World Cup Qualifiers Europe 2017/2018 » Teams (Latvia) . WorldFootball.net . 29 August 2019.
  18. Euro 2022 qualifying dispensed with the preliminary round, in which Latvia had been eliminated since their return to international play for UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying. This meant that Latvia faced some much higher ranked opponents than before.
  19. News: Birjuks . Arkādijs . Ročāne: "20. minūtē pieskrēju klāt trenerim, bet viņam asaras acīs . 8 January 2022 . Sporta Centrs . 4 September 2019 . Latvian.
  20. News: Poļakovs . Iļja . Dāmām pārbaudījums un mācībstunda Zviedrijā . 8 January 2022 . . 22 October 2020 . Latvian.
  21. News: Bācis . Ivars . Kvačovs: Sagaidu pašatdevi un disciplīnu visas spēles gaitā . 8 January 2022 . Sporta Centrs . 30 November 2021 . Latvian.
  22. News: Kvačovs: Priecēja, ka meitenes atdeva sevi līdz galam . 8 January 2022 . . 1 December 2021 . Latvian.
  23. News: Ārmanis . Toms . Latvijas gada futbolisti Ševcova un Gutkovskis . 17 December 2022 . . 16 December 2022 . Latvian.