 As a youth player he played for his local club Liepājas Metalurgs, making his first-team debut in 2002.That year he also made his Euro competitions' debut and was sent off against the Austrian club FC Kärnten in a 2002–03 UEFA Cup qualifying round match, which Kärnten won 2–0 on 15 August 2002.With the number of appearances growing each season, Kļava played in Liepāja for 9 seasons.