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Before the 10th round of the "General Financing A League" match in Panevėžys, fksuduva.lt spoke with club president Vidmantas Murauskas about the results of the first round and team formation.
The first round of the "General Financing A League" has been played. "Sūduva" is currently in 3rd place on the tournament table. How do you evaluate the results of the first quarter of the season?
"Sūduva" is currently in the place it deserves and has fought for. The expectations at the beginning of the championship were higher, but reality has shown that the team is not fully prepared for such a big challenge. It's not because there was no preparation period or because there are only 13 players, as emphasized. I believe that the full potential of the players is not being utilized. "Sūduva" has 24 players and 3 goalkeepers training, and I think the player selection is wider than 13. The championship has just begun, it's hard to say what place we will take next. We managed to win three important points against "Ekranas" at the start of the season, and that gave us the hope that we can perform well. But as the season progresses, it's clear that there are many strong teams, "Sūduva" is playing inconsistently, and the full potential of the team is not being used. So at the moment, we are in the deserved position.
There was a painful defeat for "Sūduva" in the championship match against "Žalgiris", failing to cross the Vilnius barrier and reach the cup semifinals. Is this an unfavorable team for "Sūduva" or just a coincidence, and do you think you will be able to defeat this team in the future?
It's not an unfavorable team for us. When we lost 4:0, the players were relaxed and overestimated their abilities. This defeat gave the team a certain impetus and showed weaknesses. These were the most unsuccessful matches that could have been. "Žalgiris" demonstrated their best football at that time. You know, when one team plays very well and the other very poorly, a 4:0 result is inevitable. We lost 1:0 away in the cup match, but the fight was even. That day "Sūduva" was not inferior, and the missed goal was more of a coincidence. In the first half, "Žalgiris" controlled the situation, in the second half "Sūduva" played better. In the return match in Marijampolė, we managed to take revenge, but the cup matches are interesting because they consist of two match results and have a certain specificity. In other leagues, it happens that a team from the third or fourth league goes far in cup matches. "Žalgiris" achieved a positive result and deserves to play in the cup final. Our players made great efforts to reach the final. You can only thank the team for that. The result was not disappointing, as reaching the cup final is difficult. This time, luck was lacking the most.
In your opinion, which matches were the best and which performances disappointed the most?
We can highlight the victories in the first matches against "Ekranas" and "Šiauliai". There were more beautiful matches where "Sūduva" played beautiful football. There were also worse matches - the most tragic game was against "Žalgiris". The matches with "Kruoja" were uninteresting. The first half of the match against "Atlantas" was weak and uninteresting. The game with "Dainava" was inconsistent. Perhaps fatigue affects the players, perhaps not everyone is fully committed. Regarding the players, 3-5 players are currently below our expectations. It is obvious and everyone sees it. Something is missing - maybe physical fitness or attitude. This is the coaches' job, and they should know it.
Did you notice any imperfections in the team formation during the first round that you did not expect?
In forming the team, we achieved what we wanted. We worked with the available financial resources, the number of players, and especially considering how many young players we have. Our reserve team finished third last year, having the same number of points as the second place, and only 3 points behind the first place. Two years ago, the reserve team were champions. We potentially have players who should start representing the first team. The question is how much opportunities are given to them and how they are motivated. Currently, I miss the young players playing in the A league. Older players who are not prepared for matches should not play. In my opinion, there is very little trust in young talent.
Before the start of the season, we talked about several tasks that are very difficult for the coach to solve and implement. The first task is to fight for the top spot. The second task is to integrate as many young players into the team as possible. As I mentioned, we are in a place we deserve. However, other teams appeared stronger than expected. Nevertheless, there are too few opportunities for the young players to show themselves.
Will the team be strengthened in the summer?
We are not currently considering that.
The "Sūduva" youth team is performing well in the reserve championship. Is it important for the club to win this tournament?
According to sports principles, it is important to win every match and championship. However, in the reserve championship, the most important thing is the preparation of the players so that more young players can complement the first team. Currently, we have several players who have reached the "age limit" as reserves. They need to move up to the first team because the reserve team principles will not allow them to stay there. Currently, players born in 1995, 1996, and even 1997 are already aiming to join the reserve team. The most important thing is how many young players can join the first team and how many youth team players will move up to the reserves. These goals are the most important for the club. This rotation is done with the aim of having as many local players in the team as possible.
Do you agree that the level of this year's "General Financing A League" is higher than in previous years?
The first round showed that the championship is more interesting. There are more teams of equal level, and there are no outstanding underdogs. The teams are capable of defeating each other, as shown by the points each team has collected. Perhaps Panevėžys "Ekranas" stood out from other teams, not conceding a goal in the first 8 rounds.
How do you evaluate the organization of this year's championship?
The championship has improved. The funds obtained, to my knowledge, were mostly allocated to football promotion, information dissemination, and online television.
