Football in Latvia is sad.
Former national team star Andre Rubens has passed away at the age of 43.
Terrible, says Andreas Ravelli, who coached Robbins at Austers in the late 1990s.
Andrejs Rubins was one of the greatest Latvian footballers of all time.
He played 117 caps – the second most in the country’s history – and helped take the team to its first major tournament to date: the European Championships in Portugal in 2004.
His talent led him to the Premier League where he spent three seasons at London club Crystal Palace between 2000 and 2003.
But his senior career began at Östers IF.
“A very nice man”
This is where a shy 19-year-old Andrejs Rubins came to test his wings overseas for the first time.
Then Andreas Ravelli was the coach.
– I remember that he was very fast, left-handed, technically skilled and creative. He already had at that time all the prerequisites for success, but somehow … God damn it, Ravelli sighs.
– He kind of didn’t get into the group. He was very shy, had difficulty with language and we were probably pretty bad at taking care of him. But I remember him as a very nice person.
“It’s way too early”
Ravelli reacts with shock when he hears of the death of Andre Rubin.
– I had no idea that this had happened. Sad to hear that horrible. 43 years… It’s still too early, he says.
The news of Andre Rubin’s death came on Wednesday.
The cause of death is not yet known.
“We are deeply saddened to hear that our former player Andre Rubens has passed away at the age of 43. Our thoughts are with their loved ones at this incredibly sad time.”‚ Crystal Palace writes in a statement.