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Lithuanian national team coach Czaba Laszlo spoke at a press conference on Thursday about the upcoming national team matches in international arenas and explained why the Lithuanians did not play friendly matches on Wednesday, even though many European national teams did.
"We only had two options - to play friendly matches in Venezuela or Spain, but we refused. In addition, not many of our footballers would have been able to join the national team at the moment, some are without clubs, others - playing in Lithuanian teams - are not in the best physical shape, as the preparation for the season has just started," said the coach of the Lithuanian national football team.
Talking about the year 2013, the coach emphasized the importance of introducing as many new and young players as possible to the national team, especially highlighting the U-21 team.
"There are definitely good and talented footballers in the country, in the tournament in St. Petersburg I saw a very good striker, in yesterday's scouting in Marijampolė I also saw a few players that I really liked. They could already play in the upcoming match against Slovakia, but for now I don't want to mention any names.
This year we will try to rejuvenate the national team as much as possible, but we will not forget about the results. We will not be afraid that we are young and can play poorly. We need to bring back people's interest in football and belief in the national team - these are the main goals of this year," said C.Laszlo.
The national team coach emphasized that in 2013 the team will also try to organize friendly matches with Western European national teams and even mentioned Germans.
"Negotiations are currently underway, so I cannot accurately name the countries, but we need to be more open, play against teams like Belgium, Switzerland or Germany, strive to make them want to play friendly matches with us.
We know that we are just average in European football, but we will try not to fall down, but gradually rise up," promised C.Laszlo.
During the press conference, the new sponsor of the Lithuanian national football team was also presented. It became the mineral water producer "Druskininkų Hermis".
"The emergence of new sponsors shows that interest in football is growing in Lithuania. In addition, water is vital for every athlete," said C.Laszlo.
