title: 1996 Latvian Higher League
text: # 1996 Latvian Higher League
  
  The 1996 season in the Latvian Higher League, named Virslīga, was the sixth domestic competition since the Baltic nation gained independence from the Soviet Union on 6 September 1991. Tenth teams competed in this edition, with Skonto FC claiming the title.
  
  ## First round
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Skonto | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 74 | 9 | +65 | 47 | Qualification for championship group |
  | 2 | Daugava Rīga | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 11 | +30 | 43 | Qualification for championship group |
  | 3 | Dinaburg | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 19 | +11 | 32 | Qualification for championship group |
  | 4 | Baltika Liepāja | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 21 | +2 | 28 | Qualification for championship group |
  | 5 | Universitāte | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 26 | Qualification for championship group |
  | 6 | Starts | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 35 | −15 | 20 | Qualification for championship group |
  | 7 | Vairogs | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 32 | −13 | 18 | Qualification for relegation group |
  | 8 | Lokomotīve | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 | 31 | −13 | 17 | Qualification for relegation group |
  | 9 | Skonto/Metāls | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 38 | −29 | 9 | Qualification for relegation group |
  | 10 | Jūrnieks | 18 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 44 | −33 | 9 | Qualification for relegation group |
  
  ### Match table
  
  | Home \ Away | BAL | DAU | DIN | JŪR | LOK | SKO | SKM | STA | UNI | VAI |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Baltika Liepāja | | 0–1 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 |
  | Daugava Rīga | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 7–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
  | Dinaburg | 1–1 | 1–2 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 |
  | Jūrnieks | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–4 | 0–2 |
  | Lokomotīve | 1–2 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 0–5 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
  | Skonto | 5–0 | 3–3 | 7–0 | 5–0 | 3–2 | | 4–1 | 4–0 | 11–1 | 6–0 |
  | Skonto/Metāls | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–5 | | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
  | Starts | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 0–2 | 3–6 |
  | Universitāte | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | | 0–3 |
  | Vairogs | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | |
  
  ## Second round
  
  ### Championship group
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Skonto (C) | 28 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 12 | +86 | 73 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round |
  | 2 | Daugava Rīga | 28 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 61 | 18 | +43 | 61 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
  | 3 | Dinaburg | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 53 | 31 | +22 | 47 | Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round |
  | 4 | Universitāte | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 39 | Qualification for Intertoto Cup group stage |
  | 5 | Baltika Liepāja | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 38 | |
  | 6 | Starts (R) | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 26 | 69 | −43 | 23 | Dissolved after the season |
  
  **Match table**
  
  | Home \ Away | BAL | DAU | DIN | SKO | STA | UNI |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Baltika Liepāja | | 0–5 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–4 |
  | Daugava Rīga | 3–1 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
  | Dinaburg | 3–0 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 7–0 | 2–1 |
  | Skonto | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | | 4–0 | 6–0 |
  | Starts | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–8 | 0–2 | | 1–0 |
  | Universitāte | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
  
  ### Relegation group
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 7 | Lokomotīve | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 39 | |
  | 8 | Vairogs | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 37 | 54 | −17 | 33 | |
  | 9 | Skonto/Metāls (R) | 30 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 25 | 53 | −28 | 27 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
  | 10 | Jūrnieks (R) | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 61 | −36 | 20 | Relegation to Latvian First League |
  
  **Match table**
  
  Matches 19–24 :
  
  | Matches 19–24 Home \ Away JŪR LOK SKM VAI Jūrnieks 0–2 0–2 2–3 Lokomotīve 2–1 1–1 1–2 Skonto/Metāls 0–1 1–4 1–2 Vairogs 1–1 1–1 2–1 Source: Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. | Matches 25–30 Home \ Away JŪR LOK SKM VAI Jūrnieks 1–2 1–2 5–1 Lokomotīve 1–0 0–2 3–2 Skonto/Metāls 0–0 2–2 3–2 Vairogs 1–2 1–1 0–1 Source: Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. |
  | - | - |
  
  ## Relegation play-offs
  
  The matches were played on 29 October and 3 November 1996.
  
  | Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Skonto/Metāls | 1–2 | Valmiera | 1–0 | 0–2 |
  
  ## Top scorers
  
  | Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Mihails Miholaps (LAT) | FK Daugava Rīga | 33 |
  | 2 | Aleksandr Pindeyev (UKR) | Skonto FC | 17 |
  | 3 | Vladimirs Babičevs (LAT) | Skonto FC | 16 |
  | 3 | Juris Karašausks (LAT) | Dinaburg FC | 16 |
  | 5 | Aleksandrs Fedotovs (LAT) | Dinaburg FC | 13 |
  
  ## Awards
  
  | Best | Name | Team |
  | - | - | - |
  | Goalkeeper | Raimonds Laizāns (LAT) | Skonto FC |
  | Defender | Jurijs Ševļakovs (LAT) | Skonto FC |
  | Midfielder | Vitālijs Astafjevs (LAT) | Skonto FC |
  | Forward | Mihails Miholaps (LAT) | FK Daugava Rīga |
  
  ## Skonto FC 1996
  
  | Pos | Name | Birthdate | P | | | |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | MF | Vitālijs Astafjevs | 03.04.1971 | 18 | 12 | 1 | - |
  | MF | Vladimirs Babičevs | 22.04.1968 | 25 | 16 | 3 | - |
  | - | Vladlen Bausev | 03.03.1967 | 10 | 3 | - | - |
  | DF | Oļegs Blagonadeždins | 16.05.1973 | 23 | 1 | - | - |
  | MF | Imants Bleidelis | 16.08.1975 | 20 | 3 | - | - |
  | - | Konstantin Ivanov | 10.05.1964 | 6 | - | - | - |
  | MF | Valērijs Ivanovs | 23.02.1970 | 27 | 3 | 2 | - |
  | FW | Aleksandrs Jelisejevs | 11.08.1971 | 15 | 10 | 1 | - |
  | GK | Aleksandrs Koļiņko | 18.06.1975 | 9 | –3 | 1 | - |
  | GK | Raimonds Laizāns | 05.08.1964 | 19 | –9 | 1 | - |
  | - | Vsevolods Līdaks | 22.10.1977 | 6 | 1 | - | - |
  | - | Valentins Lobaņovs | 23.10.1971 | 19 | 3 | 2 | - |
  | DF | Boriss Monjaks | 11.04.1970 | 10 | - | - | - |
  | FW | Marians Pahars | 05.08.1976 | 28 | 12 | 2 | - |
  | - | Aleksandr Pindejev | 03.03.1971 | 26 | 17 | 5 | - |
  | - | Igors Stepanovs | 21.01.1976 | 22 | 2 | 3 | - |
  | DF | Jurijs Ševļakovs | 24.01.1959 | 24 | 1 | 5 | - |
  | FW | Andrejs Štolcers | 08.07.1974 | 26 | 6 | 3 | - |
  | DF | Igors Troickis | 11.01.1969 | 26 | 3 | 4 | - |
  | DF | Mihails Zemļinskis | 21.12.1969 | 24 | 4 | 3 | - |
  | Manager: Aleksandrs Starkovs |||||||
  