Varazinskis sets sights on Argyle stay
The 16-year-old goalkeeper from Latvia was one of nine first-year apprentices who were paraded this week by Plymouth Argyle. Now Varazinskis is hoping to justify the faith placed in him by the Pilgrims' coaching staff.
The teenager came to the Home Park club's attention when they sent a youth team to the Latvian capital, Riga, in May last year. Varazinskis played against the Pilgrims, and did so well that he was invited to Plymouth for trials during the course of last season. They went well, and the two-year apprenticeship is the consequence.
Varazinskis will now compete with Liskeard lad Oliver Chenoweth for a place in the Pilgrims' Football Youth Alliance and FA Youth Cup sides in the coming campaign. He is lodging with former Argyle full-back Brian McGlinchey and his family, and is looking forward to his new life in Plymouth.
"I think it will be very exciting for me," Varazinskis declared. "It's a new country, a new club and a new squad for me. It's always scary to change your life, but it's also exciting."
Asked about his ambitions, he replied: "English football is the best in the whole world. I hope to stay here in England all my football career."
Varazinskis has come to Argyle from Metalurgs Liepajas, one of the top three clubs in Latvia, and he is a Latvian youth international. He will be part of his country's Under-17 squad this season, but he was playing for the Under-15 side when he faced the Pilgrims last year. "I kept a clean-sheet, and I played very well," he said. "We won 3-0, but we could have drawn or even lost."
Gordon Bennett, the head of Argyle's youth department, recalled that game in Riga. He said: "The lad was outstanding. What impressed us was not only his shot- stopping ability, but also his command of the penalty area and his defence.
"Raivo came over here subsequently on four occasions. Rhys Wilmot, our goalkeeper coach, and [head of youth coaching] Mike Pejic were very impressed by his attitude and his enthusiasm.
"There remained one big stumbling block. Under FIFA and UEFA regulations, his club would be entitled to a £75,000 compensation fee if he was offered a professional contract here, and that sort of figure is outside the economics of Plymouth Argyle. We had to have serious talks with his club, and in the end – because the player was very keen and very anxious to come – we reached a compromise agreement which will be based largely on his performances with Argyle's first team and Latvia's senior international team."
ARGYLE'S final first-team friendly before the start of the new Coca-Cola Championship campaign on August 8 will take place at Swindon Town on Saturday, August 1 (3pm).
The fixture against the League One team at the County Ground will take Argyle manager Paul Sturrock plus coaches Kevin Summerfield and John Blackley back to the club which they served before they returned to Home Park in November 2007.
The Pilgrims have revealed that their only friendly at Home Park this summer will take place on Wednesday, July 29 (7.45pm). They have not yet announced the opposition, but it is understood that Argyle may well be facing a Scottish Premier League side.
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