Andrejs Rubins death: Former Crystal Palace player dies aged 43
Former Crystal Palace midfielder Andrejs Rubins – who played 117 times for his country Latvia – dies aged 43 as the Selhurst Park club pay their respects
- The Latvian is the second most capped player to have played for the country
- Enjoyed a two-year spell at Crystal Palace during which he scored a memorable goal
- The player left the Eagles in 2002 for Spartak Moscow in the Russian top flight
Former Crystal Palace player Andrejs Rubins has died aged 43.
The left midfielder has represented his country Latvia 117 times in 13 years, making him the second most capped player to have played for the country.
Palace released a statement on Wednesday sharing their condolences after it was initially reported on social media by various accounts.
Crystal Palace fans remember the left midfielder fondly for his goal against Liverpool in 2001.
Andrejs Rubins played 37 times for Crystal Palace between 2000 and 2002 before leaving for Spartak Moscow
The club statement referred to Rubins’ most notable moment in English football when he scored a superb effort in Palace’s 2-1 semi-final first leg win over Liverpool at Selhurst Park.
The Eagles would go on to lose the draw 6-2 on aggregate but the goal will be remembered by the Palace faithful.
His only other goal for the club came in the same competition that season, playing a significant role in defeating Leicester en route to the semi-finals.
Andrejs Rubins’ most significant moment in his career was playing for his country at Euro 2004
The highlight of his career was competing with Latvia at Euro 2004, especially when the tiny Baltic state held the 2002 World Cup finalists to a 0-0 draw in Portugal.
Rubins first appeared in senior football at Osters IF in Sweden before returning to Riga to play for Skonto FC. It was from there that he joined Palace.
After leaving Palace after two years and 37 appearances, he went to Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League with whom he struggled for two spells, first in 2003 and then from 2005 to 2007, making just five league appearances.
Crystal Palace then lost the draw to Liverpool, but the goal is enshrined in Palace folklore
In 2003 he joined Russian club Shinnik Yaroslavl where he enjoyed some of the best football of his career, playing 51 times in two years and scoring four times.
His end of career took him to the Caspian Sea where he played for three clubs, namely Inter Baku, Qarabag and then Simurq PFC in Azerbaijan.
Rubins retired from the game in 2013 due to a hip injury.
“The thoughts of everyone associated with Crystal Palace are with those close to Andrejs at this truly sad time,” Palace concluded in their statement.
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