Ventspils hat-trick inspires new goals

FK Ventspils may have a long way to go before matching Skonto FC's run of 14 consecutive championships, but this has not dampened the celebrations of a side who have confirmed they are the new force in Latvian football after picking up a third Virsliga title in a row on Sunday.

Champagne moment
Ventspils secured top spot with three games of the campaign remaining after a 2-2 draw at Skonto and coach Roman Grigorchuk got straight into party mode. "Can't you see, I am all wet," he told uefa.com at pitchside. "The boys did their best even after the final whistle – I am dripping with champagne." It is a taste the Ukrainian should now be used to, although he did allow that this year's vintage found it a smoother journey than previous triumphs.

'First on merit'
"If you compare it with our two previous campaigns, this one was arguably the easiest," Grigorchuk added. "In 2006, the pressure on the team was simply unbelievable. We knew the slightest mistake could see the gold medals slip away. This time, we knew our abilities and strength from the outset and finished first on merit." Winning the league has now become a habit at Ventspils and the players acknowledged their appetite for success was growing all the time. "You just don't get tired of winning," said Serbian defender Saša Cilinšek. "Everyone tipped us for gold, but we never relaxed. Now, we can finally enjoy it."

Slick machine
Grigorchuk maintains that the secret of Ventspils' recent success is simple. "There's a well-oiled system at the club," he said. "We have great cohesion between the president, the managing director, the coaching staff and everyone else." Latvia coach Aleksandrs Starkovs is inclined to agree with Grigorchuk. "Ventspils are very stable and this is true at every level at the club," he told uefa.com. "You have to give credit to the coaching staff and management at the club."

Dream goal
Now the club are setting their goals higher than simply winning the Latvian championship with talk about a serious tilt at qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stage. "The Champions League is a special tournament," said Grigorchuk, whose contract runs until 2012. "For us, it's a new test. We have to give everything we have and even more. We're not building sand castles here; we're not voicing this intention just for the sake of it. This is a plan – will we study and analyse things to work out a systematic approach and solve this very difficult task." With Ventspils' development over the past few seasons and given the inspiration provided by Belarus champions FC BATE Borisov, the port city club will have every confidence they can achieve their dream goal.