Andris Vaņins

Andris Vaņins is a Latvian professional goalkeeper currently playing for FC Sion in the Swiss Super League.

He started his professional career aged only 17 at FK Ventspils and played there for six years. In 2003, Andris joined Torpedo Moscow but was never to play for their first team. He moved to FC Moscow in the 2004/05 season in search for much playing time in the main squad, however, he had to play with the reserves instead. After a disastrous two-year spell in Russia, Vaņins returned to his motherland and joined FK Venta. He was put near the panic mode there as the club went bankrupt in the middle of the season and Andris managed to play only one game with the Latvian club.

In 2006, Vaņins enjoyed a meteoric rise after signing a contract with his feeder club Ventspils where he shortly became a first-choice goalkeeper and helped the team to win the Latvian Higher League thrice in a row (in 2006, 2007 and 2008). In 2008 the crafty goalkeeper was even awarded the Latvian Footballer of the Year title.

In 2009, the Swiss club Sion got interested in the Latvian player and Vaņins moved to Switzerland to compete in the Super League. In his debut season with Sion, Andris established himself as the best FC Sion player of the season. He repeated the feat in the following campaign as thanks to his terrific performances Sion won the Swiss Cup in the 2010/11 season.

Andris Vaņins is a regular international for Latvia since 2000 where he cemented his place as a first-choice since 2007.