Ritus Krjauklis

Ritus Krjauklis is a defender of Golden Arrows. He was born on 23 April 1986 in Ilūkste, Latvia.

Ritus’s youth career took off in FK Ilūkste, where the footballer spent nine years before moving to the youth system of Dinaburg Daugavpils in 2002. It took Krjauklis another three years to get ready for a professional start.

In 2005, the defender penned his first senior contract with Dinaburg Daugavpils and performed for the club during one season. In 2006, Ritus transferred to Ventspils, but was disappointed with the lack of playing time and returned to his previous team. The footballer netted six goals in 77 fixtures for Dinaburg during two years and went to Ventspils again, which saw him make 25 appearances till 2011. From 2011 till 2012, Krjauklis played for AZAL PFC and Liepājas Metalurgs, but failed to become a regular in the teams.

On 15 July 2012, the defender sealed a deal with South African side Golden Arrows and made his début in the match against Orlando Pirates in August 2012. Ritus took part in 15 games for ‘The Backheel Boys’ as of December 2012.

From 2009, the footballer has been capped 18 times for the Latvia national squad.