© EuroFootball.com
From the off-season carousel - to the starting line
The teams of the "SMScredit.lt A Lyga" are ready - the battle for medals this season should be as intense as ever.
"It probably won't be the case that two teams will pull away from the others," predicted Justinas Garliauskas, the director of the Lithuanian Football Clubs Association.
Five out of ten league teams start the season with new coaches, three - with new sponsors from abroad. Fans in the stands will see returning stars to their homeland Deividas Šemberas, Dariūs Miceika, Linas Pilibaitis, Vytautas Lukša, while on the sidelines they will be led by Edgaras Jankauskas, Robertas Poškus, Sergejus Aleinikovas.
Although the alignment of ranks in most clubs has taken until the start of the season, it is possible to review the main changes and try to make some initial assessments.
Vilnius "Žalgiris"
Came. Lukas Lidakevičius, Mantas Fridrikas, D.Šemberas, Artakas Jedigarian, L.Pilibaitis, Jakubas Wilkas, Andrezinho, Kristis Andreou.
Left. Andrius Skerla (ended his career and works as M.Zubo's assistant coach), Luka Peričius, Egidijus Vaitkūnas, Pavel Komolovas, Mantas Kuklys, Kamil Bilinskis.
Situation. After a successful last season in Europe, the champion club increased its budget to 9 million euros and significantly revamped its lineup. However, it cannot be said that the departure of several important footballers created gaps that could intimidate the team's supporters. D.Šemberas and M.Fridrikas should replace A.Skerla and L.Peričius in the heart of defense, L.Pilibaitis and, when needed, the same D.Šemberas in the midfield, the team's most productive player M.Bilinskis, at least according to the club's sports director Mindaugas Nikoličius - K.Andreou.
On the wings, with the arrival of A.Jedigarian and the return of J.Wilk from Romania, "Žalgiris" has even strengthened. Furthermore, before the Champions League qualifiers, some former stars could return to the green and white: M.Kuklys and E.Vaitkūnas went to the Czech Republic, while P.Komolovas went to Greece under loan agreements valid until summer.
Klaipėda "Atlantas"
Came. Ovidijus Verbickas, Jurijus Kirilovas, Maksimas Maksimovas, Rokas Krušnauskas.
Left. Donatas Nakrošius, Zigmantas Jesipovas, Ernestas Veliulis, Andrius Urbšys, Lukas Baranauskas.
Situation. "Several times smaller than 'Žalgiris'," - said the president of the port city club Romualdas Jonaitis when asked about the budget for this season. And added: "But we do not compete in terms of budget size."
The residents of the port city have been preparing intensely and meticulously for the season - in winter, "Atlantas" was the first to start playing control matches and organized three training camps abroad. Unlike "Žalgiris," the port city club preserved the core of the team - neither Donatas Kazlauskas, nor Evaldas Razulis, nor any other leaders from Klaipėda left, and the team was supplemented by former Zenit St. Petersburg reserve team captain O.Verbickas, one of the most productive players of last season's 1st League R.Krušnauskas, and a couple of young legionnaires from Russia.
Panevėžys "Ekranas"
Came. Martynas Dūda, Tomas Dapkus, Tomas Salamanavičius, Elivelto, Lukas Kochanauskas.
Left. Coach Arvydas Skrupskis, Tadas Kauneckas, Vaidas Slavickas, Giedrius Tomkevičius, Aurimas Kučys, Arnas Ribokas, Aurimas Vertelis, Marko Andjelkovičius, Vitalijus Kavaliauskas, Arsenijus Buinickis, Egidijus Varnas.
Situation. It cannot be said that it has greatly improved. The financially struggling Panevėžys club, which said goodbye to several experienced footballers at the end of the last championship, during the off-season even transferred several players to foreign teams such as A.Ribokas, A.Buinickis, A.Vertelis, and V.Slavickas, while M.Andjelkovičius moved to Marijampolė.
After the end of the loan agreements, T.Salamanavičius and M.Dūda returned to Panevėžys from Gargždai's "Bangos," and among the more experienced footballers who moved to the "Aukštaitija" stadium was only forward L.Kochanauskas. On the other hand, "Ekranas" youth proved in the autumn of 2013 that they are competitive even when playing against the leaders of the "SMScredit.lt A Lyga."
