© fk Riteriai
On Friday, one day before the start of the "TopSport First League" season, Vilnius "Riteriai" signed a contract with another academy graduate, seventeen-year-old David Smyslov, reported by fkriteriai.lt
Born in Russia, the football player started his career in his homeland. In 2017, his father Denis Smyslov started a new life in Lithuania, creating successful businesses here, and then his children arrived in Vilnius. David, arriving in the new environment, chose to continue his career at the Riteriai football academy.
"I am grateful to the club for the opportunity given to me - from joining the academy to playing in the A team. From the first day, both teammates, coaches, and club staff have been good to me and made me feel at home. I want to thank them for that, so I will make every effort to help the club achieve the best results," said the newcomer to the team.
"I am very grateful to Lithuania, which gave me the opportunity to start a new life, and for David to continue his beloved activity - football. I want you to know that there are many Ukrainians, Germans, Russians, and probably other nationalities in my family tree that I don't even know about, so the events in Ukraine particularly pain me. I sincerely hope that this war will end soon and there will be no more senseless deaths," said David's father, who has been living in Lithuania for seven years.
Having completed the entire preparation stage for the new season, D. Smyslov scored two goals in friendly matches. He can make his official debut with the Riteriai stripes this Saturday.
"David is a graduate of our academy who deserves a contract because of his talent. Despite being only seventeen, I have no doubt that he will have his role this year," said the club's sports director Vytautas Masaitis.
The first match of the new "TopSport First League" season for "Riteriai" will be played against Taurage's "Tauro" team at the LFF Stadium on Saturday at 15:00.
