© EuroFootball.com
This year, the winners of the previous season of the LFF I League, who will debut in the "A League," do not plan to surrender in advance. Although such statements may seem like empty words, "Šiauliai" has its arguments: during the offseason, the club was strengthened with capable players, and the team is led by experienced and ambitious coach Vytas Jančiauskas, who claims that fifth place in the "A League" may not be the limit.
The intentions to fight in the "A League" are not groundless, as the first official result of the season - in the quarterfinals of the LFF Cup, "Šiauliai" narrowly defeated a significantly strengthened team with a combined score of 2-1.
After last season, where they won 22 matches, drew 5, and suffered 5 losses, scoring 81 goals and conceding 21 (the best result in the league), collecting 71 points, "Šiauliai" became the champions of the LFF I League and earned a spot in the "A League." The club bid farewell to goalkeeper Artūras Šulčius and Deividas Ramonas, as well as forwards Mantas Zagreckas and Mindaugas Urbonavičius (who moved to Pakruojis "Kruoja"). As we recently reported, former Lithuanian national team and FBK "Kaunas" forward Remigijus Pocius, who is leaving to play for one of the lower league clubs in Sweden, will also soon leave the club. However, the arrival of two players from "Atlantas" during the offseason undoubtedly provided a boost to the Šiauliai team.
In the offseason, the team welcomed a player from "Warri" (Nigeria), an 18-year-old candidate for the Nigerian youth national team. The head coach of "Šiauliai" described the new player as a talented player who is not yet mature enough for his age. The young Nigerian did not have much opportunity to showcase his abilities in official matches due to an injury, only playing towards the end of the return leg against "Vilnius." Additionally, the team was bolstered during the winter by a 32-year-old right-back who used to be a key player for FBK "Kaunas" and arrived from Plungė, as well as an eighteen-year-old defender also from Plungė.
This year, as in the previous season, the goalkeeper for "Šiauliai" will be the experienced V.Žutautas, who has defended the goal seven times for the Lithuanian national team and has previously played for Šiauliai's "Kareda," "Hako'ach Ramat Gan" in Israel, and Rūdiškės "Vėtra." V.Žutautas was unanimously chosen as the captain of Šiauliai by his teammates, with D.Lunskis and G.Juodeikis serving as his deputies.
On January 3, the team began preparing for the new season in Šiauliai and then went on a ten-day training camp in Ukraine in mid-February, where they played four friendly matches. In early March, preparing for the LFF Cup matches, the Šiauliai team spent five days in Palanga. The team's coach, V.Jančiauskas, was satisfied with the preparation phase, stating, "We have prepared to the best of our abilities given the conditions."
When asked to name potential team leaders, V.Jančiauskas emphasized the good team atmosphere: "Each line has its leaders, but they also need to have good assistants. It is mostly important to have a good team atmosphere so that players are not divided into camps. Look at the famous Real Madrid - the players are stars, but they do not become champions. It is important that everyone plays not for themselves but for the team." The former strategist of "Vėtra" assured that at the moment, there is a very good team atmosphere in "Šiauliai."
For now, the team's forwards are playing a bit unevenly, but the EuroFootball.com website reported that the Šiauliai coach is not surprised by this, as in the last preseason matches, these players proved themselves as forwards. However, the worth of the Šiauliai forward line is not underestimated by the fact that the club has two of the most productive trio players from the previous season of the LFF I League: 23-year-old Gintaras Siciūnas (20 goals), who, according to the coach, still lacks experience, and 25-year-old Denis Vasilkov (19 goals). These players scored in the last friendly matches in Riga against the local "Olimps": D.Vasilkovas - two goals, and G.Siciūnas - one goal. D.Vasilkovas also looked strong in the return leg of the LFF Cup against "FC Vilnius," threatening the opponent's goal multiple times, but luck was not on his side that day.
Due to necessary work at the Šiauliai municipal stadium, "Šiauliai" will play their first match of the "A League" away. The final completion of the city's stadium - installing the required 3000 seats according to UEFA requirements - is expected by the end of May.
On April 3, in Kaunas, "Šiauliai" will play the first quarterfinal match of the LFF Cup against FBK "Kaunas," with the return leg taking place on April 9 in Šiauliai, but EuroFootball.com will announce later where these matches will be played.
This year, the following matches of "Šiauliai" have been played:
FBK "Kaunas" 1 - 2 "Šiauliai" (friendlies) "Vilnius" 1 - 2 "Šiauliai" (friendlies) "Elim" (Ukraine) 0 - 2 "Šiauliai" (friendlies) "Stall" (Ukraine) 1 - 0 "Šiauliai" (friendlies) "Spartak" (Ukraine) 2 - 0 "Šiauliai" (friendlies) "Krymteplica" (Ukraine) 1 - 0 "Šiauliai" (friendlies) "Riga" (Latvia) 2 - 3 "Šiauliai" (friendlies) Tallinn "Flora" (Estonia) 1 - 2 "Šiauliai" (friendlies) Riga's "Olimps" (Latvia) 1 - 3 "Šiauliai" (friendlies) "FC Vilnius" 1 - 1 "Šiauliai" (LFF Cup eighth-finals first leg) "Šiauliai" 1 - 0 "FC Vilnius" (LFF Cup eighth-finals second leg)
