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Approaching the new season, Lithuanian champions have received a very solid reinforcement.
Zalgiris, nurturing ambitious plans, has attracted one of the best Lithuanian footballers of the past decade, D. Semberas, to their ranks.
A month ago, the player who was a free agent stated that he did not intend to play in the A League, but changed his mind.
"I think it would be difficult to see me playing professionally in Lithuania. I can't imagine myself in the Lithuanian championship," said the veteran.
The goalkeeper, who has accumulated experience at the highest level of football, spent the majority of his career at the Moscow CSKA club, achieving significant victories in Russia and European tournaments.
In 2005, D. Semberas, who was voted the best Lithuanian footballer of the year, began his journey to professional football at Vilnius' "Zalgiris." He played 25 matches for the capital's team from 1996 to 1998, scoring 3 goals. The defensive goalkeeper helped the Vilnius team win the LFF Cup in 1997.
D. Semberas' successful game drew the attention of strong Russian clubs. In 1998, he moved to the Moscow "Dynamo" team, where he played for 3 seasons. The footballer played in 88 matches for this team and scored 2 goals.
Returning to Zalgiris for the best period of his career, the footballer played for the Moscow CSKA club. D. Semberas represented the team from the Russian capital for a decade. From 2002 to 2012, he was one of the most important pillars of this team, playing 254 matches and scoring 1 goal.
While playing for the CSKA team, the former Lithuanian national team player became the champion of the Russian "Premier" League three times (in 2003, 2005, 2006), won the country's cup six times, and the Super Cup four times.
In 2005, he managed to win trophies in Europe - CSKA Moscow became the winner of the UEFA Cup.
In 2012, the footballer moved to the Russian First Division club "Alania" in Vladikavkaz, where he played 46 matches.
Semberas is a record holder in the Russian championships. He has played the most matches as a foreign player in this country.
Three times (in 2003, 2004, and 2006), the defensive goalkeeper was included in the list of the 33 best players in the Russian Premier League. In 2005, he won the award for the best footballer of the year in Lithuania.
The defensive goalkeeper represented the Lithuanian national team 82 times, the under-21 team 8 times, and the under-18 team 5 times.
He made his debut for the national team in November 1996 during a friendly match with Indonesia and played his last match in a duel in March 2013 against Slovakia.
Defending his country's honor, Semberas played against powerful national teams such as Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic, Serbia, and Romania.
The footballer helped the Lithuanian national team to win the Baltic Cup in 1997 and 1998.
The official presentation of D. Semberas will take place on Tuesday at 12:30 at the Vilnius City Municipality.
