© E. Žaldario
Matas Ramanauskas, who grew up in Kėdainiai and later moved to the National Football Academy, signed a contract with "Riteriai" in the summer of 2019 and has been representing the main team since then. In other words, he has not played for any other club in his professional career, and last Sunday he was given a jersey with the number 100, symbolizing that the player entered the two-digit zone based on the number of matches played.
"A hundred matches mean a lot to me as a young player and motivate me to work even harder. Many experiences, many lessons learned, and overall, a lot has been achieved, but this is just the beginning. We continue to work," the 23-year-old footballer appreciated the remarkable achievement.
Four years after graduating from the NFA, M. Ramanauskas, as he himself says, received an unexpected call from the former club's sports director Virmantas Lemežis. Upon hearing the offer, the then eighteen-year-old Matas responded positively.
"Actually, such an offer pleasantly surprised me. I wanted to climb the career ladder, so I didn't have to think long about the decision. The first season was the most interesting for me - everything was new, I needed to adapt to the team. The last season was also serious, interesting, and intense, it's just a pity that it didn't end successfully for us. The fight for a place in Europe was decided in the last matches, and the game in Europe, as well as the bronze won, are the most vivid highlights of this past stage," M. Ramanauskas explained.
The defender did not hesitate for long when the club offered to extend his first expired contract.
"There were many factors that influenced my decision: the club's trust in me, playing time. I felt and still feel that there are unfinished tasks and unachieved goals in this club. After all, this year we are still in the fight for the LFF Cup. For many of us, this would be the first trophy in our careers, a historic one for the club, so motivation is certainly not lacking. So far, this goal is not visible in the tournament table, but we are making every effort to achieve it," said the footballer.
After joining "Riteriai" in 2019, M. Ramanauskas had the opportunity to evaluate Terem Moffi's physical data and Felipe Brisola's technical skills, which the team's centurion considers the best players in the team.
For example, T. Moffi's physical qualities were such that catching him during training and, even more so, taking the ball away from him, was impossible. F. Brisola, of course, did whatever he wanted with the ball, his understanding of football, vision, made him stand out," summarized M. Ramanauskas, the first centurion of the team.
