Vladimirs Koļesņičenko (Russian: Влади́мир Колесниче́нко; born 4 May 1980 in Riga) is a retired Latvian Russian footballer and the former chairman of Latvian Higher League club Skonto Riga.
Being a member of Skonto Riga footballing system, Koļesņičenko started his career in 1996 with Skonto-Metāls, later joining the same club in 1997, but this time with a different name - Skonto Riga. He played there until 2002, becoming league's top scorer in 2000.
In 2003, he left his native Latvia, joining Russian club Torpedo-Metalurg. After an unsuccessful period with this team (only 7 matches played and no goals scored) he returned to Skonto Riga in 2004. In the same year another challenge from Russia came Koļesņičenko's way, as he joined FC Moscow.
This change was also unsuccessful, and after playing only one match, he yet again returned to Latvia, this time with the newly created and ambitious FK Venta from the city of Kuldīga. The club's ambitions were high, but its finances turned out to be just a bubble as the club went bankrupt and couldn't even manage to finish its first season in the top-flight soccer.
In 2006 Koļesņičenko joined FK Ventspils, playing there for 2 years and becoming a vital first eleven player. In 2009 Vladimirs accepted a challenge from Azerbaijan, joining his fellow international teammates Andrejs Rubins and Ģirts Karlsons at Inter Baku. He soon returned to Latvia, continuing to struggle abroad. Yet again it was Skonto Riga, who took him under their wing.
In 2010, he joined Chornomorets Odesa, but couldn't help the club secure a place in the Ukrainian Premier League. After only six games with no goals he was released. Koļesņičenko faced several personal problems and couldn't find a club for almost a year. In 2011, he was signed yet again by Skonto Riga, where he finished his professional career with ten games and one goal, retiring in August 2011, being just 31 years old.
Koļesņičenko made his international debut for Latvia in 1997, playing 47 international matches and scoring 5 goals. He did not participate at EURO 2004 and finished his international career in 2011.
1997-2003 |
2003-2006 |
2006-2009 |
2009-2011 |