© EuroFootball.com
This is what many were talking about even before the end of this year's Lithuanian football season, was confirmed with plenty of evidence - in the traditional elections of the best player in Lithuania, organized by the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF), the captain of the Panevėžys "Ekrano" team won with a significant advantage.
The 23-year-old leader of the country's champions collected 573 points in the survey. Second place was taken by his team mate defender (175 pts.), third place went to the forward of Marijampolė's "Sūduva" (134 pts.), fourth and fifth positions were shared by the defender of "Vėtra" and the attacking leader of "Atlantas".
The best Lithuanian football player participated in the LFF employees' elections, members of Lithuanian regional federations, leaders and coaches of the country's football clubs and schools, as well as representatives of sports media. A total of 200 respondents participated in the survey and 42 football players playing in Lithuania were listed. The detailed survey results will be announced next week.
These years were truly successful for M.Savėnas. The "Ekrano" defender, along with his teammates, finally won the country's champion title, became the most productive player of the "A Lyga" championship with 27 goals, and successfully debuted in the Lithuanian national team.
"This season was truly the best of my career, but I hope there will be even better ones," said the "Ekrano" captain.
When asked if he expected such an evaluation, Mantas noted that he did not have such a goal, but at the end of the season, when everyone assured him that he was the best, then the football player himself believed it. "But I didn't think about it," said M.Savėnas, who finished third in last year's elections.
According to Mantas, such a successful and productive game this season was primarily due to good preparation and the fact that he managed to avoid injuries. In the opinion of the "Ekrano" captain, the whole team, which played stably throughout the season, had a lot to contribute to this title. By the way, M.Savėnas is the only "Ekrano" player who played in all 36 matches of the "A Lyga" championship this year.
What does the leader of "Ekrano" want to improve in his game? "There are no perfect people, so there is always something to improve," says the best Lithuanian player of this year's matches.
The head coach of the "Ekrano" team, Virginijus Liubšys, noted that M.Savėnas deserved this title, which he achieved through hard and persistent work. "Mantas has talent, a desire to improve, so if he does not stop and continues to work like this, he has every opportunity to become a really good football player who will glorify Lithuania in the future, like Marius Stankevičius or other former "Ekrano" football players playing abroad," said V. Liubšys.
Talking about his other player G. Paulauskas, the head coach of "Ekrano" mentioned that "this season was incredibly successful for Gediminas." According to V. Liubšys, good performance in the club opened the doors to the national team for the defender, who successfully debuted this year. "Gediminas truly deserves the second place, which he also earned through honest work," said V. Liubšys.
M. Savėnas agreed with the coach. "Gediminas played well throughout the season, was a reliable defensive pillar, performed well representing the national team, he truly deserves this place," noted the "Ekrano" captain.
