Incredible Experience: A Lithuanian Found Himself Among the Stars of the Italian National Football Team

2024-11-14 16:27

Former Kaunas "Be1 NFA" academy student Ernestas Gudelevičius recently received special recognition.

The 19-year-old midfielder of the Lithuanian youth national team got a unique opportunity to train with the Italian men's national football team.

The "Squadra Azzurra," preparing for UEFA Nations League matches against Belgium, was stationed in Florence. E. Gudelevičius also has a contract with the local club "Fiorentina." Italy's national team coach Luciano Spalletti decided to involve more players in the training process.

One of them was the talented E. Gudelevičius, who trained shoulder to shoulder with stars such as Nicolo Barella, Sandro Tonali, Federico Dimarco, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and others.

The Italian national team will face Belgium on Wednesday in Brussels. E. Gudelevičius had already received an invitation to join the Lithuanian national team camp in June. Previously, Ernesto's name rang throughout Europe when he scored two goals against the French youth (under 19) national team. Our U-19 national team sensationally defeated one of the strongest European teams, France, with a score of 2-0 in the elite qualifying round of the European Championship.

According to Andrius Markevičius, the owner of the "Be1 NFA" academy, the relationship between Kaunas and ACF "Fiorentina" has been friendly for several years. The famous Italian club has long been monitoring the work of the "Be1 NFA" academy and its most promising students.

"The Italians are very pleased with E. Gudelevičius's current progress within their ranks. Ernestas is one of the most talented students of our academy. He arrived in Kaunas at the age of 12 and immediately joined a group of older players. Later, he participated in trials with the most famous Italian clubs. Considering the player’s interests and the best conditions offered to him, we recommended that Ernestas continue his career specifically at the club in Florence. The management decided to offer our student a professional contract for three years, and this year it was extended for another three years," said the owner of the "Be1 NFA" academy.

His words indicate that such success stories prove that there is no shortage of talent in Lithuanian football; it just needs to be nurtured and revealed properly. According to A. Markevičius, E. Gudelevičius is not the only "Be1 NFA" student who has achieved significant sports success abroad. Recently, the attention of another Italian football giant, Torino "Juventus," was drawn to fifteen-year-old Arnas Jucius.

This "Be1 NFA" U-18 team member returned a few days ago from a trial with the "Juventus" club. Several other young "Be1 NFA" players are currently in the sights of scouts from the highest leagues in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland, so during the winter transfer window, they will be participating in the trials of these academies.