Astafjevs named Latvia's number one

Veteran Latvia and Skonto FC midfielder Vitalis Astafjevs has been voted Latvia's player of the year by the Latvian Football Federation.

Astafjevs honour
The 36-year-old, who has won 139 caps and scored 13 goals for his country since making his international debut in 1992, was handed the honour ahead of Blackpool FC defender Kaspars Gorkss and FC Kuban Krasnodar midfielder Juris Laizans. The result meant that last year's winner, FC Rubin Kazan goalkeeper Aleksandrs Kolinko, was out of the top three. Meanwhile, FK Ventspils striker Vits Rimkus was named the best player in the Latvian league in 2007 while Roman Grigorchuk was voted the coach of the year having won both the Latvian league and cup with Ventspils.