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The Lithuanian national team has started a training camp ahead of the upcoming friendly matches with Poland and the EURO 2012 qualification match against the European and World Champion Spain. "After the first training sessions, the players pleasantly surprised us - everyone is very committed," said the head coach of the national team, Raimondas Žutautas.
Healthy competition is felt
26 footballers were invited to the team for the two matches and started gathering in Marijampolė on Monday. Later, defenders Deividas Šemberas and Edgaras Česnauskis, playing in Russia, as well as Marius Papšys, who played in the Czech championship yesterday, joined the team.
The first two training sessions took place in the "Arvi" complex in Marijampolė, as it was decided to fix the frozen outdoor fields. On Tuesday evening, the Lithuanians should already test the field of the Marijampolė "Sūduva" sports center stadium.
"On Monday evening, we had a light training session, socialized, and spent some time in the sauna. We allowed the players to recover after weekend championship matches. More intensive work awaits them later," shared the team's strategist R. Žutautas after the training sessions - "After the first training sessions, the players pleasantly surprised us - everyone is very committed, moves well, and is determined. It is evident that the players feel the competition and know that they will have to fight for a spot in the starting lineup. Healthy competition is only beneficial."
They will play in both the youth team and the national team
Three members of the youth (U-21) national team - defender Vytautas Andriuškevičius and midfielders Arvydas Novikovas and Tadas Eliošius - are also working with the team. On Thursday, they will join the youth team for friendly matches against their peers from Latvia in Kaunas.
"On Friday, I would like to see them play against the Poles. I think we will allow the youth to play one half against both Latvia and Poland. The only uncertainty is regarding T. Eliošius, who is struggling with a back injury," explained R. Žutautas.
Players will be allowed to recover from injuries
The coach revealed that several players will be allowed to rest and recover from injuries during the match against Poland. One of the injured players, defender Marius Stankevičius, did not participate in the first training sessions.
"Marius aggravated his Achilles injury and cannot train at the moment. Ramūnas Radavičius slightly strained his ankle, while Darvydas Šernas has a muscle issue, so we want to protect them in the match against Poland. I think we will also allow Deividas Šemberas to rest. However, other players will get opportunities. For example, in defense - Tadas Kijanskas, Valdemaras Borovskis, V. Andriuškevičius, in attack - Tadas Labukas and Nerijus Astrauskas. It's still too early to draw conclusions, much will be decided during the training camp," explained R. Žutautas.
He emphasized that the most important thing is to prepare as best as possible for the qualifying matches against Spain: "As I mentioned, the most crucial thing is that the men's eyes are "burning". The players do not need any extra motivation - they will play against the world champions. Everyone wants to prove that they can win against such opponents."
In both matches, the Lithuanian team will be without goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis, who was called up to the national team. On Monday, in a letter received from the hospital of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, it was stated that the player has a diagnosed injury and has been recommended treatment.
The national teams of Lithuania and Poland will meet at the Kaunas S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium on Friday, March 25th, with the match starting at 21:30. Tickets for the match and season tickets for the Lithuanian national team are available at BILIETAI.lt. Entry to the match with a season ticket is free. On March 29, the Lithuanian national team will also test their strength against Spain in Kaunas.
