© EuroFootball.com
Approaching summer, most European leagues have ended or are close to ending their seasons. Clubs where Lithuanian footballers played are no exception. In the second part of the review of Lithuanian footballers abroad season, you will find out which of them finished the season with their club dropping to a lower league, whose club secured survival on the last day of the competition, and who is already certain to change clubs during this offseason.
Portugal:
Tomas Švedkauskas (20 years old) - "Roma"
2014-2015 season:
Segunda Liga - 13 matches (1170 minutes) - 17 goals conceded (1.3 per match), 5 clean sheets.
Taca de Portugal - 1 match (90 minutes) - 4 goals conceded.
Lithuanian goalkeeper, who is loaned out to other clubs for the second consecutive year, improved his statistics in all categories this season compared to the previous one. Although he played more matches (14 this year, 10 last year) and conceded fewer goals (1.3 per game this year and 1.8 last year), his performance as a goalkeeper was not as impressive this season. However, with two of the four goalkeepers at Roma being 37 years old or older, all opportunities are in the hands of the Lithuanian twenty-year-old.
Next season: The goalkeeper's contract with Roma will last for two more years, so it is likely that Tomas will be loaned out to another club next year. With the club dropping to the third division of the German league after this season, the level of competition should not be a problem for the healthy and performing Lithuanian.
Scotland:
Darvydas Šernas (30 years old) - "Ross County"
2014-2015 season:
1st League - 14 matches (586 minutes) - 2 goals.
Premiership - 5 matches (50 minutes).
Starting the season with Wigry Suwalki in the Polish second division, Lithuanian Darvydas moved to the much stronger Scottish league at the end of January. Although Darvydas often sat on the bench rather than appearing on the field, his arrival at the club coincided with an improvement in the team's results, moving them from last place to ninth. A successful club performance should give positive feelings to the Lithuanian forward, who had not the best season personally.
Next season: The half-year contract with the Scottish club has expired, so this summer, the Lithuanian will have to negotiate a new contract. Although Darvydas's market value has significantly decreased in the last two years, the attention shown to him by several clubs this winter proves that the Lithuanian will have the freedom to choose this summer. However, wanting to attract the attention of the national team coaches again, Šernas will have to play much more than the previous half of the season.
Germany:
Marius Stankevičius (33 years old) - "Hannover 96"
2014-2015 season:
Bundesliga - 2 matches (80 minutes).
Regionalliga Nord - 2 matches (180 minutes).
This year, Marius Stankevičius's football skills were once again appreciated - he signed a contract with one of the world's strongest football league clubs. Although Stankevičius played only two matches in the Bundesliga, during the crucial moments of the season, when Hannover 96 fought for survival, Marius showed up on the field and played eight crucial minutes of the team's season.
Next season: It is already clear that Marius will not stay at the Hannover 96 club - the player himself said so in an interview after the season. With Marius turning 34 soon, next season will be one of the last chances for the defender to play a high-level season and add another successful record to his already impressive career. Having experienced interest, the defender should attract a lot of attention, the only question remaining is whether most clubs will be able to meet the Lithuanian's salary demands.
Arvydas Novikovas (24 years old) - "Aue"
2014-2015 season:
2.Bundesliga - 21 matches (1338 minutes) - 2 goals.
DFB-Pokal - 2 matches (174 minutes).
Sadly, Arvydas Novikovas' season was once again hampered by injuries. More than a year after his last injury, new records have appeared in the long history of the Lithuanian's injuries. This year, in February, the winger suffered a muscle injury. Although after three weeks the Lithuanian tried to return to the lineup, in the nineteenth minute of the match, due to Achilles tendon pain, he was forced to leave the field. Despite Arvydas' efforts to play this season, his attempt to play in the reserve team ended even worse - after three minutes on the field, he was forced to leave the match and end his season. The season for his team ended as poorly as it began - the team finished in seventeenth place and dropped to the third division of the Bundesliga.
Next season: The main offseason goal for one of the best Lithuanian footballers is to avoid injuries that prevented him from finishing the season. Successfully rehabbing, Arvydas should await new challenges: with the team dropping to the third division of German football, the level of competition should be satisfying, and being healthy again, he demonstrated good and noticeable gameplay in the second Bundesliga. After the last years of the contract with Aue, the temptation should not be very tempting for Novikovas to move down to a lower division. The club, however, would not miss the opportunity to earn from the player before the last year of his contract, after which the winger will be able to leave the team for almost nothing, so everything will depend on how Novikovas will manage to avoid health problems constantly stopping his career.
Gratas Sirgėdas (20 years old) - "Stuttgart II"
2014-2015 season:
3.Bundesliga - 3 matches (95 minutes).
For the second year in a row, Gratas Sirgėdas finishes the season playing just three matches per season. The only comforting thing is not that Gratas played almost triple the number of minutes compared to last year (95 minutes this year and 32 last year), but that it seems that the most prolific player in the U-19 European Championship final stage finally recovered from the injury that troubled him for several years and is ready to play at full capacity.
Next season: Even before the end of the season, it was announced that Gratas was changing teams, but he will continue to play in the same country, league, and even in the same city - the Lithuanian will move to the Stuttgarter Kickers team. The main goal for the young defender in the next season should be to avoid injuries and finally play a full season in professional football. In the Third Bundesliga, Sirgėdas' new team finished fourth, only two points away from the possibility of playing promotion play-offs for access to the Second Bundesliga. The team's goals for the next season should be to reach a higher division, so the competition and pressure to perform well for the young Lithuanian should not be lacking.
Markus Palionis (28 years old) - "Regensburg"
2014-2015 season:
3.Bundesliga - 22 matches (1913 minutes) - 1 goal.
After a year without football, Palionis joined the strugglers of the Third Bundesliga, Regensburg, in the fall. The Lithuanian quickly established himself in the team's main lineup, and since the end of January, he even appeared as the team's captain. However, even with the help of an experienced defender from a much higher league, the Regensburg club failed to rise from the last place in the standings and dropped to the fourth strongest league in Germany - the Regional Liga.
Next season: The Lithuanian has a long-term contract with the Regensburg club, so if he and his club do not receive a profitable offer from a club in a higher league, he will spend the next year in the fourth-ranked German league. Knowing that he had played 59 matches in the second Bundesliga before injuries, such a fall should not be too pleasing to the player experiencing his career peak at the moment. On the other hand, after more than a year without football, he should feel pleasure playing again and contributing to the team's results on the field.
