Former Crystal Palace player Andrejs Rubins has passed away at the age of 43.
The left-sided midfielder from Latvia is the second-most capped player in the history of the nation after having played for it 117 times over the course of 13 years.
On Wednesday, Palace issued a statement expressing their condolences after it was first reported on social media by several accounts.
The club’s announcement referred to Rubins’ most illustrious moment in English football, when he scored an incredible goal in Selhurst Park as Palace defeated Liverpool 2-1 in the first leg of their semi-final matchup.
The goal is fondly recalled by Palace supporters despite the fact that the Eagles would ultimately lose the match 6-2 on aggregate.
His only other club goal came in the same competition that year, and it was a key factor in defeating Leicester and sending them to the semifinals.
The pinnacle of his career came when he represented Latvia at Euro 2004, particularly when the tiny Baltic nation held the 2002 World Cup champions to a scoreless draw in Portugal.
Prior to moving back to Riga to play for Skonto FC, Rubins made his senior football debut for Osters IF in Sweden. He eventually joined Palace from there.
After two years and 37 games with Palace, he left the club and joined Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League, where he battled throughout two stints, first in 2003 and then from 2005 to 2007. During those two times, he only made five league appearances.
He signed on with Russian team Shinnik Yaroslavl in 2003, and during the course of two seasons there, he played 51 times and scored four goals, playing some of his greatest games ever.
In his later years, he spent time on the Caspian Sea playing for three different teams, including Inter Baku, Qarabag, and Simurq PFC in Azerbaijan.
In 2013, Rubins gave up playing, claiming a hip problem.
The statement from Crystal Palace added, “The thoughts of everyone connected with Crystal Palace are with Andrejs’ loved ones at this truly sad time.”