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Iļja Vestermans (28 September 1915 – 2005) was a Latvian football forward of Jewish origin.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 September 1915 | ||
| Place of birth | Rīga, Russian Empire (now Latvia) | ||
| Date of death | 2005 (aged 89–90) | ||
| Place of death | Florida, U.S. | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1931 | Maccabi Riga | ||
| 1933–35 | Hakoah Riga | ||
| 1935 | Hakoah Vienna | ||
| 1936–1937 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ||
| 1937 | Hakoah Vienna | ||
| 1938 | Racing Paris | ||
| 1939–1940 | Philadelphia Passon Phillies | ||
| 1941–1943 | New York Americans | ||
| 1945 | Brooklyn Hispano | ||
| 1946–1947 | New York Electrical Workers Union Team | ||
| International career | |||
| 1935–1938 | Latvia | 23 | (13) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He was born in Riga. For most of his career he played with the Riga Jewish community sports club Hakoah. He made his debut in the Latvia national football team in 1935 against Lithuania and scored two goals in the match.
In the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification Vestermans scored in both matches as Latvia beat Lithuania and scored the single goal for Latvia against Austria in the decisive match for the World Cup spot.[1]
In his 23 matches for Latvia Vestermans scored 13 goals.[2] He was the third-highest scorer in the Latvia national team before the start of the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, however, Vestermans had far less appearances than Ēriks Pētersons and Alberts Šeibelis who had a better goal-tally. Vestermans was considered one of the most talented footballers in Latvia, rated especially high for his dribbling skills.[3]
Vestermans left Latvia for Austria 1935 to play professionally in Hakoah Vienna, later playing in Racing Paris and in the United States to where he fled in 1938. He died at the age of 90 in Florida.
References
edit- ^ World cup history (in Russian) Archived 13 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ RSSSF
- ^ Karlsons, Pēteris (1 January 2005). ""Gribēt ar vienu gribu, varēt ar vienu spēku..." No Latvijas futbola vēstures". Laiks (in Latvian). Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
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