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Tomorrow the NFKA "A League" 2005 season begins. The team from the port city of Klaipėda will start it with a match against Marijampolė. There have been quite a few changes within the ranks of the third-place winners of the previous season, and now we will review them.
Perhaps the most important change is the resignation of longtime "Atlantas" coach Vacys Lekevičius from the head coach position. He was replaced by former assistant Igoris Pankratjevas. The team also parted ways with M. Karalius, A. Puotkalis, and D. Kunevičius, who were on loan from the FBK team. The team was also left by defender Vidas Alunderis, who left abroad.
During the mid-season break, "Atlantas" welcomed a number of newcomers: R. Žvingilas, R. Maciulevičius, A. Tautvydas returned to the club, while defender A. Tolis switched from Marijampolė's "Sūduva". The team also acquired two foreigners - Moroccan B. Hamduščis and Pole M. Piochas, who played in Germany last season.
To prepare for the season, the team participated in two tournaments. In the first tournament to win the Mayor's Cup of Klaipėda, the team was not fully assembled and did not show good play. However, in the second "Palanga Juzė" tournament, they performed excellently and won it. The forwards Rimantas Žvingilas and Aivaras Laurišas stood out in the team. But the tournaments did not pass without losses - during the "Palanga Juzė" tournament, defender Robertas Ringys broke his hand.
Although the preparation for the season was not as smooth as the team's coaches would have liked, the players are ready to fight, as evidenced by their qualification for the semi-finals of the LFF Cup, defeating teams like Kėdainiai and Vilnius along the way. This shows that, as always, "Atlantas" promises to be a tough nut to crack for all competitors in the Lithuanian championships.
