Approaching the second qualifying round of the Champions League, FK "Žalgiris" is preparing for battles and has strengthened its lineup with a solid purchase - 28-year-old Romanian Liviu Antal, who arrived in Vilnius from the Cluj CFR team.
A defender from Romania began his professional career in 2007 at the Kiažnos "Concordia" team, and the following season moved to the "Targu Mureș" club. From 2009 to 2012, L.Antalis played three solid seasons at Galatio's "Otelul" team and significantly contributed to the team's first and only triumph in the Romanian championship. In addition, in the 2011-2012 season, the "Žalgiris" newcomer played six matches in the Champions League group stage, facing "Manchester United," Lisbon's "Benfica," and "Basel," and even scoring a goal against the latter.
In 2012, L.Antalis moved to the "Vaslui" team, where he shone even brighter. The second season of the Romanian was impressive: in 32 Romanian championship matches, the defender scored 15 goals and became the tournament's top scorer. As a player whose value had risen significantly, he was soon attracted by Ankara's "Gençlerbirliği" club, which leased the footballer to the Jerusalem "Beitar" team, but parted ways with him after the season.
"I know that 'Žalgiris' is the best team in Lithuania, competing in the Champions League and four-time consecutive national champions. I hope that my goals will contribute to the team's results and help them achieve their goals. I played my last match in the Romanian championship in May, so I didn't have a long vacation, but now I have already started preparing, and I believe I will soon be ready for important future battles," shared the "Žalgiris" newcomer in his first impressions.
From 2015, L.Antalis played for Tel Aviv's "Hapoel" team and was loaned to the Târgu Jiu "Pandurii" club. In 2017, the Romanian agreed with the CFR team, where he finished the season by playing his last match on May 13th. In the Cluj club, L.Antalis appeared in seven matches but did not score any goals.
The 28-year-old Romanian represented his country's U-21 team twice during his career. In 2011, he also represented the country's senior team in a friendly against Paraguay.
"We were already in active negotiations with this player in the winter, but we couldn't reach an agreement then. However, we continued to maintain contact with the player and are happy that we managed to come to an agreement. We hope that in the remaining weeks, we will be able to prepare the player for the Champions League matches, and he will be a great option. Liviu Antal feels best as a right-back, as well as forward and after forwards. The player has accumulated a vast experience: he played in the Champions League, scored goals, and became the top scorer of the Romanian championship.
We have had quite a few connections with Romanian football. This is evidenced by the transfer of Deivydas Matulevičius to "Pandurii," Jakub Wilk's move to "Vaslui," and the acquisition of Adi Rocha, who was an excellent player in the "Steaua" team. An interesting fact is that one of the leaders of the 'Ludogorets' team are Romanians - Claudiu Keseru and Cosmin Moti, and we will have Antal, who will compete against his compatriots," said the club's sports director Mindaugas Nikolačius about the acquisition of a defender from Romania.
L.Antalis will wear the armbands marked with the number 17 and will be able to make his debut in the third round of the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) Cup against Klaipėda's "Atlantas" already this Saturday.
Welcome #Liviu #Antal! His last club was @CFR_1907_Cluj.https://t.co/wHKjLatliX#fczalgiris pic.twitter.com/AyEjBIhDVc – FC Žalgiris Vilnius (@fc_zalgiris) June 20, 2017
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