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Less than two months before the start of the 2005 "A Lyga" championship in Lithuania, football clubs in the country are actively preparing for the upcoming season and forming new team compositions. Let's take a look at the recent changes in the eight teams that competed in the national championship last year.
New winds in the FBK "Kaunas" club
For the "Kaunas" team, this winter of 2005 is exceptional. Although for the past five years, the Kaunas residents have been able to call themselves Lithuanian champions, this time the club owner Vladimir Romanov has new and even greater ambitions. By acquiring a controlling stake in "Hearts", Romanov rented out one of the most talented players of "Kaunas", S. Mikoliūnas, as well as M. Kižys. He also wanted to transfer the best player of the "A Lyga", A. Gedgaudas, and the young G. Vičius, but the latter refused.
Later, Romanov bought D. Česnauskas from Moscow's "Lokomotiv" and also sent him to "Hearts", and in his place until summer, he rented T. Tamošauskas, who played last season in the reserve team of Moscow's "Dynamo". The residents of Kaunas wanted to invite another player from "Dynamo", the goalkeeper of the Lithuanian national team Ž. Karčemarskas, but his club did not release him.
However, the owner of "Kaunas" club was not only strengthening the Scottish club - the team of Lithuanian champions should be supplemented by two Brazilian legionnaires: the 19-year-old Brazilian youth team defender Dione, as well as the 20-year-old defender Vaninas. Another Brazilian, 18-year-old Fabian, and a 21-year-old Ecuadorian Carlos Valverde also participated in the team review, but it seems that contracts were not offered to the latter.
Among the players who left the team are goalkeeper G. Padimanskas, who moved with former defender D. Gvildžius from Kaunas to Marijampolė and will represent "Sūduva", M. Karalius, who moved to Tallinn's "Levadia", and also the defender D. Žutautas, who recently signed a three-year contract with Vladikavkaz's "Alania" and will join the team with his national team friend N. Barasa.
The "Ekranas" nucleus will consist of home-grown players once again
Panevėžys "Ekranas" was almost inactive in the player market. The policy of the country's vice-champion club is to cultivate young players, and although there were a couple of legionnaires among the Panevėžys players last season, they did not fit into the team and left the team after the season. Therefore, it seems that the former junior national team coach V. Liubšys will most likely try to aim for the title in the coming years relying only on his pupils.
Two Panevėžys attackers today went for trials at foreign clubs - the most productive player of last season's "A Lyga" P. Lukšys will participate in the trial of Grodzisk's "Groclin Dyskobolia" club, and V. Kavaliauskas will try to establish himself in the South Korean "Bucheon" team.
"Atlantas" - with a new coach and legionnaires
The most important change during the break in the "Atlantas" team was undoubtedly the withdrawal of V. Lekevičius from the head coach position and the transition to the presidency - the controversially reputed strategist was replaced by his assistant I. Pankratjevas.
The seaport team is leaving only players borrowed from "Kaunas", while in the team review, 3 legionnaires and 3 Lithuanians participated: Moroccan forward B. Hamdouch, Russians defender A. Sidorov and forward A. Tsokov from Oriol, forwards R. Zvingilas from "Kaunas" and D. Saule nas from "Vilnius", as well as defender A. Tolis from "Sūduva".
However, according to the newspaper "Vakarų Ekspresas", both Russians did not satisfy the coaches of "Atlantas" and have already returned home, and the former Žalgiris player D. Saulėnas' club president V. Lekevičius refused due to financial reasons, so only the Moroccan and two Lithuanians remained to train with the team.
"Žalgiris" is not surprising during the break
Traditionally, the legendary Vilnius "Žalgiris" spends the break between seasons without any surprises, with the head coach K. Latoža resigning and E. Riabovas taking over the coaching duties after a year and a half break.
The team will not have the former longtime defender 35-year-old Andrejus Tereškinas, who moved to the Latvian "Jūrmala". I. Morinas also tried to find new clubs, unsuccessfully trying to establish himself in Ramenskoye's "Saturn", and M. Malinauskas and T. Gražiūnas, who participated in the trials of Polish clubs Belchatow's "GKS" and Lublin's "Zaglebie" respectively, but later returned to "Žalgiris".
Meanwhile, the strengthening of the club's president J. Loputis as usual is looking for players in neighboring countries - the team review of "Žalgiris" was attended by Belarusians J. Veriovka, A. Sinčiura and V. Šepetovskis from Minsk's "Zvezda-VA BGU". They joined the existing compatriots A. Osipovičius and A. Šilo who have previously played for the team.
An updated "Vėtra" is preparing for the season with a foreign coach
Having started well in 2004 but ending it unsuccessfully, Vilnius "Vėtra" has undergone significant rejuvenation during the break, as five players of the team have announced the end of their football careers - goalkeeper M. Poškus, defenders R. Stonkus and G. Kontautas, midfielder G. Rimkus and forward V. Karvelis.
S. Borovskis, the new head coach, invited his son Aleksejus, who plays as a defender, to the team, while "Vėtra" is trying to fill the remaining gaps with five reserve team players, including Lithuania's youth team goalkeeper A. Kacinkevičius.
"Šilutė" will once again rely on loaned players
It seems that "Šilutė" is not planning many changes, as the team's composition currently seems to be the most unclear of all league teams - this is because the seaside club is once again preparing to borrow several players from "Kaunas" and "Atlantas", but this will also have to be done later.
By the way, in a recent tournament in Klaipėda, the "Šilutė" squad consisted mostly of players belonging to "Kaunas", but for now, it's difficult to say which of them will remain in the coast for the upcoming season.
It is already clear that this year in Šilutė, Deividas Lunskis will no longer play, last season the Kaunas players M. Kižys, Milanas Pastva, Artūras Rimkevičius were rented out, and currently, only forward Maksimas Alilujevas, who previously played for "Žalgiris", participated in the club review.
Strengthened "Sūduva" has big ambitions
The Marijampolė "Sūduva" has ambitious goals, firstly deciding to strengthen with experienced Lithuanian players. The Suvalkija club signed a contract with the long-time national team defender, the best player of the 2003 "A Lyga" D. Maciulevičius, outbidding two former "Kaunas" players, goalkeeper G. Padimanskas and defender D. Gvildis.
A lot of influence on the team's composition also had the fact that the team is coached by the strategist from Italy R. Lavezzini, who decided to invite legionnaires who played in his homeland - after the review, contracts were signed with 26-year-old defender from Chile E. Ferrari, 20-year-old Italian defender Valerio Sposato, and 31-year-old Brazilian striker Ottavio Braga, who also holds Italian citizenship.
The defenders N. Bestalanny and A. Tolis left "Sūduva", as well as the safeties R. Melsbakas and G. Širmelis, who moved to Tallinn's "TVMK", the goalkeeper A. Ramonas will probably not play next season due to a shoulder injury, and one of the team leaders, forward T. Radzinevičius, recently participated in the trial of the Grodzisk "Groclin" club, so his future is currently unclear.
"Vilnius" is looking for reinforcements abroad
After an unsuccessful past season, in which "Vilnius" remained last in the Lithuanian championship, the club's leaders appointed K. Latoža, who resigned from "Žalgiris", to the position of head coach and decided to not only rely almost exclusively on Lithuanians but also strengthen the team with players from abroad.
At the beginning of January, eleven foreigners from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, and Cameroon arrived for the club review at the capital's club. Four were selected: two Poles - 27-year-old goalkeeper Maciej Kijewski from one Polish club and 21-year-old defender Adrian Mrowiecas from Krakow's "Wisla", 22-year-old Brazilian defender Gleitonas Barbosa from the Polish "LKS Luck" and 20-year-old Cameroonian forward Pierre Oliver Bakalak from Hong Kong. According to the sports director of the Vilnius club Ivan Švabovičius, contracts will be signed with the latter players.
Leaving the "Vilnius" team are goalkeeper A. Dilys, defender T. Rimas, midfielder A. Sivinskis, as well as forwards G. Butavičius and D. Saulėnas, who tried to move to "Atlantas". Meanwhile, N. Astrauskas, who participated in the trial of Liublin's "Zaglebie", will nevertheless remain in Vilnius.
