© EuroFootball.com
For the 41st time in the best Lithuanian football player elections, the triumph was achieved by Moscow's "CSKA" and Lithuanian national team player Deividas Šemberas. In the voting, the second place was taken by Marius Stankevičius representing the Italian team "Brescia", while the third place was held by last year's laureate, Edinburgh "Hearts" forward Edgaras Jankauskas.
Although 27-year-old D. Šemberas, who plays in the positions of midfielder and defender, may not have aimed to be a leader in his team, this year he was a key player in the main lineup of the "army team" and, having missed only seven out of 55 official matches played during the very long season, contributed to one of the most successful years in the club's history. In 2005, "CSKA" not only "swept" all the prizes in Russia - winning the national championship title, securing the Russian Cup and Super Cup, but also became the first club in the country to win the UEFA Cup tournament.
The football year was completely opposite for M. Stankevičius. Although the 24-year-old versatile full-back this year was one of the best while playing for "Brescia" and emerged as a leader in the Lithuanian national team, the teams did not perform very well. As we all know, Lithuanians failed to surprise in the World Cup qualifiers, while "Brescia" failed to maintain its position in the strong Italian "Serie A" league in the 2004 season and dropped to a lower division, where things have been difficult for this team so far.
During the last two years, E. Jankauskas, who competed for the title of winner with R. Poškus, this time finished third in the elections and thus swapped places with D. Šemberas, who climbed two steps. This happened because the 30-year-old forward had a not so successful year in 2005 in his career - the Lithuanian, who was loaned to "Nice", did not fit in France and in the summer joined Vladimir Romanov's "revolution" by moving to the Edinburgh "Hearts" team, where he gradually began to recover and show his true game.
The first selection for the best Lithuanian football player took place in 1965. The winner was the Vilnius "Žalgiris" forward Petras Glodenis, who came from Telšiai. He was also recognized as the best in 1973. The selections have been organized since their inception by the Lithuanian football patriarch Stasys Paberžis.
"I am very pleased that these elections have been around for 40 years. I am grateful for this to Romas Pikčilingis, who has been helping me since 1993. I believe that this beautiful tradition will continue for a long time," said S. Paberžis, who was awarded the LFF Order of Merit for Lithuanian football last year.
Interestingly, the only Saulius Mikalajūnas, who was recognized as the best in 1999, has never played for "Žalgiris". All other winners of the elections started their professional player careers at this legendary Lithuanian club.
Edgaras Jankauskas triumphed the most times, five, in the selections (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004), followed by the current Lithuanian national team assistant coach Valdas Ivanauskas and the new president of Vilnius "Žalgiris" Arminas Narbekovas, who were recognized as the best four times each. The latter won the title for four years in a row (1985-1988).
Results of the 2005 best Lithuanian football player elections:
1. Deividas Šemberas (Defender/Midfielder - Moscow, Russia) 307 points: 68 first places - 39 second places - 25 third places
2. Marius Stankevičius (Defender/Midfielder - Italy) 232 points: 47 first places - 36 second places - 19 third places
3. Edgaras Jankauskas (Forward - France/Edinburgh, Scotland) 179 points: 23 first places - 39 second places - 32 third places
4. Robertas Poškus (Forward - Saint Petersburg "Zenit", Russia) 90 points: 12-23-18
5. Žydrūnas Karčemarskas (Goalkeeper - Moscow "Dynamo", Russia) 57 points: 2-14-23
6. Mantas Savėnas (Defender - Panevėžys "Ekranas", Lithuania) 39 points: 6-7-7
7. Nerijus Barasa (Defender/Midfielder - Samara "Krylya Sovetov", Russia) 33 points: 4-6-9
8. Deividas Česnauskis (Defender - Edinburgh "Hearts", Scotland) 30 points: 4-3-12
9. Tomas Danilevičius (Forward - "Avellino", Italy) 18 points: 2-2-6
10. Andrius Skerla (Defender - Tomsk "Tom", Russia) 17 points: 1-3-8
11. Edgaras Česnauskis (Defender - Kiev "Dynamo", Ukraine) 13 points: 0-5-3
12. Aurelijus Skarbalius (Defender - "Brondby", Denmark) 12 points: 1-2-5
13. Saulius Mikoliūnas (Defender - Edinburgh "Hearts", Scotland) 11 points: 1-2-4
14. Rolandas Džiaukštas (Defender - Ramenskoye "Saturn", Russia) 10 points: 1-3-1
Also mentioned in the elections: Ignas Dedura (Defender - Moscow "Spartak", Russia), Gediminas Paulauskas (Defender - Panevėžys "Ekranas", Lithuania), Mantas Samusiovas (Defender - Moscow "Torpedo", Russia), Donatas Vencevičius (Midfielder - "Sundsvall", Sweden), Tomas Žvirgždauskas (Defender - "Halmstad", Sweden), Aidas Preikšaitis (Midfielder - Vilnius "Vėtra", Lithuania).
