© EuroFootball.com
The Lithuanian national team is looking for a new coach. On Thursday, Hungarian Csaba Laszlo was dismissed by mutual agreement, and his place for the remaining two matches of the 2014 World Cup qualification tournament will be taken by assistant Igoris Pankratjevas.
It is likely that the new coach will not be revealed soon: after the end of this qualification cycle, official matches will have to wait until next autumn when the 2016 European Championship qualification tournament begins. It was expected that in this tournament Laszlo's players would compete to advance to the final stage, as the number of participants will be expanded from 16 to 24 for the first time.
"EuroFootball.com" is considering who could replace Laszlo in the national team.
Marekas Zubas, coach of Vilnius' "Žalgiris"
The 49-year-old specialist, who arrived in Lithuania in 2012, quickly became a hero for the "Žalgiris" club. Despite failing to dethrone Panevezys' "Ekranas" in the season before his arrival, this year "Žalgiris" dominantly leads the Lithuanian championship and is confidently approaching the title of champions.
Zubas' players, who have begun to demonstrate disciplined football based on short passes, surprised fans of the country's football with an impressive UEFA Europa League season: successfully passing three qualification rounds, including beating the powerful Poznan's "Lech." However, in the last stage before reaching unprecedented heights for Lithuanian clubs - the group stage - they succumbed without a fierce fight to the much stronger team of "Sazlburg".
The English-speaking specialist does not hide his ambitions in his career - in order to come to "Žalgiris", he decided to give up the position of assistant coach of the Polish national team. With enough experience and excellent knowledge of Lithuanian football, the Pole becomes an undisputed favorite if the Lithuanian Football Federation officials choose a foreign specialist.
Aurelijus Skarbalius, coach of "Haslev" (fourth Danish league)
One of the best national team players of the recent era successfully began his coaching career in Denmark: after leading "Herfolge" for three years and later the "Koge" team for two seasons, Auri took over the helm of one of the country's most famous clubs, "Brondby".
However, the team went through a tough period: due to financial troubles and poor results, the team balanced on the brink of relegation to a lower division. Bringing success to "Brondby" proved to be unsuccessful for the Lithuanian, so he was dismissed at the beginning of this summer.
A few days ago, Skarbalius became the coach of the "Haslev" team playing in the fourth Danish league, but his contract includes the possibility of moving to a more powerful club without obstacles. The specialist himself has stated numerous times that he would consider taking over the national team, although it would not be easy, as he has been settled in Denmark with his family for the second decade. Moreover, his relationship with the LFF officials is not clear.
Valdas Ivanauskas, coach of "SKA-Energia Khabarovsk" (Russian First League)
It was "Ivanas Rūstusis" who competed for a job in the national team with Csaba Laszlo, but the then LFF leadership decided to offer a contract to the Hungarian. Despite this, the emotional specialist never hid the fact that coaching the national team is one of his career aspirations.
As a coach, Ivanauskas has a lot of experience, but most of his jobs have been short-term. After working as an assistant coach of the national team for some time, he achieved one of the biggest victories of his career by winning the Scottish Cup with Edinburgh's "Hearts", but he did not stay in this country and later traveled across Europe: from Gargzdai's "Banga" to Baku's "Standard" in Azerbaijan and Gori's "Dila" in Georgia.
Lately, Ivanauskas has been coaching the "SKA-Energia Khabarovsk" team in the second Russian league, which currently ranks fifth after twelve rounds in the league table.
Virginijus Liubšys, coach of Riga's "Daugava"
One of the most prominent specialists who has coached only three teams in the Lithuanian championship: almost two decades for Panevezys' "Ekranas" and a couple of seasons each for Vilnius' "Vėtra" and Marijampole's "Sūduva".
Firm, demanding, and experienced tactician, 54-year-old Liubšys could be the dark horse choice for a coach. There is no doubt that he would be willing to test himself at the highest level and could surprise many skeptics who claim that Lithuanian coaches only teach to fight and run.
Currently, Liubšys coaches the Latvian club "Daugava" in Riga, but this would not be an obstacle for him to take on a new challenge.
Konstantinas Sarsania, coach of Klaipėda's "Atlantas"
The Klaipėda club's savior would not be considered a candidate if it weren't for a photo published by "sportalas.com" in which the specialist was captured in one of Palanga's cafes with LFF President Julius Kvedaras.
However, this meeting, according to both sides, was random and unrelated to national team affairs. Furthermore, club representatives and LFF leadership maintain continuous communication.
However, Sarsania himself admitted to the press that if offered to coach the national team, he would seriously consider it. Having held high positions as a sports director in clubs like Moscow's "Dynamo" and St. Petersburg's "Zenit", the Russian who has achieved impressive results with "Atlantas" this season, however, his chances are currently seen as slim.
