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Panevėžys. The "Ekrano" team was joined by two foreign players. Until the end of the season, "Ekrano" will have a Latvian and a Belarusian player, with registration numbers 27 and 15.
Ruslan Michalcuk (No.27) - FK "Jūrmala" left-back, who played as the captain of the "Jūrmala" team last week. Since August 10th, this player has been training in Panevėžys.
According to the head coach of FK, Virginijus Liubšys, "last spring, "Ekranas" had to play three friendly matches against "Jūrmala". Already then, I paid attention to this player, he left a very good impression on me. It is no secret that when E. Česnauskis left for Kiev's "Dynamo" club, "Ekranas" had problems with left-backs. K. Mykolaitis and G. Tomkevičius play well, but I felt we needed a more experienced player. When we couldn't reach an agreement with the "Vilnius" club regarding Ramūnas Radavičius, we called Ruslan Michalcuk. I think he will be useful for the "Ekrano" team."
Vitalij Makrickij (No.15) came to "Ekranas" (also until the end of the season) from the Minsk "Torpedo-Maz" club. He was recommended to "Ekranas" by Liudas Rumbutis, a former Minsk "Dinamo" player who started his sports career in Panevėžys and has now earned the title of the best footballer in Belarus. FK "Ekranas" strategist Virginijus Liubšys described the forward from Belarus as "agile, aggressive, with a playing style similar to Povilas Lukšys'."
Both of these players are traveling with the "Ekrano" team to Norway to participate in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round matches. Coach V. Liubšys categorically disagrees with the opinion that the strategy of "not taking legionnaires" is changing for "Ekranas".
"I am not changing my 'politics'. It remains the same as it was. Simply, in order to achieve the highest goal - the Lithuanian champion title - 'Ekranas' is temporarily strengthening its players. The same, by the way, is done by all A league clubs aiming for the highest goals. During the middle of the season, it's quite difficult to invite players from Lithuania, and 'Ekranas' reserves are not yet at such a high level of skill, so we strengthened the team with two legionnaires. It is a temporary measure, but I hope it will be beneficial for 'Ekranas'," said V. Liubšys.
At the request of the Marijampolė FK officials, "Sūduva" hosted the "Ekrano-2" midfielder Lauras Januševičius for a week of review.
"Ekrano" coach commented on this situation. "He is a good player, but he rarely makes it to the main lineup in 'Ekranas', and he needs to play. We agreed with the "Sūduva" officials that this player will train with their main team. For Lauras, this will be a good opportunity to improve his professional skills, especially since he will be mentored by experienced Italian coaches."
Next week, the right-back of "Ekrano" was also invited for a review in Marijampolė.
