M. Kuklys ends football career

2025-01-06 09:55 © alyga.lt

The true Lithuanian football legend and multiple-time national champion Mantas Kuklys has decided – he is putting an end to his professional football career.

"After long hesitation, I decided that it was time to end my career as a football player. I didn't want this day to come, but every journey has its end. The decision was truly very difficult because I love this sport immensely and especially being on the pitch; it will definitely not be easy. I am very happy that I am ending my career where I started it – in my hometown," M. Kuklys began his farewell speech.

Mantas started his professional football career back in 2006 when he debuted at his hometown club FK "Šiauliai," which was still active at the time. The 37-year-old midfielder defended the honor of the Sun City for a total of seven years. During these years, he became one of the players with the most matches played in the history of the "Šiauliai" club – he wore the yellow and black jersey 171 times, scoring 29 goals and providing 11 assists.

Throughout his professional football career, the player competed in the highest division of Lithuanian football, playing a total of 386 matches, and based on this statistic, the Šiauliai native ended his career in second place among the players with the most matches played in the entire league's history.

During his 18-year career, he also played for clubs like Turnhout in Belgium, Vilnius "Žalgiris," Prague "Bohemians," and "Zhetysu" in Kazakhstan.

Mantas's talent was not limited to clubs. The footballer played 38 matches in the national jersey of the Lithuania national football team and stood out with an assist in the World Cup qualifying match against Slovenia and in the European Championship qualifying match against Portugal.

"I would like to thank many people. I would start with Rimantas Viktoravičius, thanks to whom I probably became a professional player because if it weren't for him, it likely wouldn't have happened. To Rytis Tavoras for giving me the opportunity to play in the main team of Šiauliai when I may not have been worthy of it yet; this is probably where this entire journey began. To Roma Stapulionis for instilling life values and for his love of sports. To Vilma Venslovaitienė for her trust, love, for pushing me, and for the biggest contribution to my development as a football player. To Mindaugas Nikoličius for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to play in the best football team in Lithuania. I would also like to thank the coaches – Marekas Zubas, Valdas Dambrauskas, Erik Van Meir, Edgar Jankauskas, Dmitrijs Ogajs, Mindaugas Čepas, and others who provided a lot of knowledge both on the pitch and in life."

"I want to thank Gintautas Mirauskas for those two times I worked with him, both before and now, for being sincere, honest, and keeping his word."

"I would also like to thank my teammates – Egidijus Vaitkūnas and Saulius Mikoliūnas. I probably spent the most time with them, both in one room and on the football pitch, so I really appreciate their advice, their criticism; it was truly very important to me. I love you, and thank you very much."

"Thanks to all the players with whom I had the opportunity to share both the pitch and be teammates. I truly met many good personalities and friends, and will definitely keep in touch with most of them."

"A big thank you to the entire 'Pietų IV' fan community, with whom we developed an extraordinary bond over nearly 10 years."

"I would also like to thank all my friends who supported and sometimes criticized me. I truly know that you supported me sincerely."

"I want to thank my close ones, first of all, my parents-in-law, who gave me a hard time, advised me when needed, defended me, and criticized me; I am truly grateful to them. To my father for boundless love, for giving me the last penny just so I could go somewhere for a tournament or get to training. For waiting for me in the car after training when practices were very late in the evening; this truly stuck with me and meant a lot. To my mom for being, after Dad's death, my main supporter who stood by me and who even when the weather was bad told me not to go to training, encouraging me even more to be stubborn and want to go and play my beloved game of football, which I truly love very much."

"And probably the biggest thank you goes to my family – Dovilė, Meida, and Norius for always being there, for supporting me when I was struggling, when I was happy, when I was sad, when I cried out of happiness, and when I cried out of pain. Please know that I love you very much, and you are the most important people in the world to me."

"Thank you to everyone who criticized and sometimes didn't believe in me – thanks to you, I had this wonderful career, lasting nearly 30 years."

"This was Mantas Kuklys, and this is the end of my beautiful story," concluded M. Kuklys, who has ended his professional football career.

FK "Šiauliai" thanks Mantas for his significant contribution and unparalleled dedication to his city team and Lithuanian football and wishes him all the best in his next life challenge.

Indeed, the paths of Mantas and the Sun City Football Academy do not diverge – the Lithuanian football legend has been entrusted with the role of head coach of the reserve team in the upcoming season in the "TOPsport First League."