Millions of people around the world dream to train with the best football players however, a young player from a small town in Babite, Latvia, that became a reality. Goalkeeper Rihards Matrevics joined West Ham in 2015 when he was just 15 years old and joined with the U18 side.
From Latvia To London
Matrevics played 27 matches for the U18’s and made one appearance for the U23’s. The ex-Hammer said that it was a huge change going from playing grassroots football in Latvia to playing with a Premier League side and said that it took him two years to fully adjust. He also added that “It was a completely different world” and that football culture in England and the pressure was completely different.
The Latvian international said that his best season with the Hammers was the 2017/18 season as he got the chance to train twice a week with the first team. However, he didn’t feel as motivated towards the end of his time at the club and added that he didn’t perform to his standards. He mentioned that felt that he still had a chance to earn a contract with the club, when looking back at it. Matrevics felt really encouraged to be training amongst some of the players and added:
“I used to make a lot of saves from Dimitri Payet’s shots. Even though he would put them in the corner I would still save them. I got home really happy afterwards. I remember watching him play in France and seeing him score from 30 yards out, and thinking I’m saving this guy’s shots in the training ground, and now he’s doing this on TV and the whole worlds watching, it was great”.
The Non-League Experience
After the 2017-18 season, Matrevics signed for non-league side Barnet FC for two seasons, Matrevics explaied that in non-league football, there is much more pressure on the manager from the fans and they are more likely to get sacked than a youth team coach for a player’s mistake.
He also stated that players in non-league football don’t pass as much from the back as in youth football, he explained:
“In the Premier League academy sides there’s a lot of people who can do flicks and tricks, but they can’t pass the ball, they can’t do the simple things”.
Matrevics is now back in Latvia playing for Virsliga (top tier) side Valmiera FC and has huge ambitions for the season which started about a month ago. His goal is the to become the first choice keeper for Valmiera and to get about 30 games this year, including cup competitions such as the Latvian Cup and the Europa Conference League Qualifiers.
His other goal is to get selected for the national team in June, where Latvia will have friendlies against Germany, Estonia and Lithuania. As Matrevics has started and won the last two games for Valmiera FC and having played for the Latvian U21’s, U19’s and U17’s, both of his goals are within his sights if he keeps up his great form.
Image Source: https://twitter.com/WestHam/status/718408232134381568
