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On Monday, the Lithuanian champion "Ekranas" from Panevėžys started preparations for the new season by holding the first official training session of the year.
Not all players participated in it due to injuries - Mindaugas Gardzijauskas, who is still recovering in Kaunas, and the new team member Ruslanas Michalčiukas - he will join the training process from Tuesday. Meanwhile, the striker Egidijus Varnas, who returned to the team, was sweating alongside his other teammates.
According to "Ekranas" head coach Virginijus Liubšys, the first two weeks will consist of light introductory training sessions. On January 21, the team is scheduled to have the first serious match of the year in the Latvian capital, Riga, against the Vice-Champion of Latvia, "Skonto" club.
From January 23-28, "Ekranas" players will have their first training camp in Palanga, and then they will travel to Latvia where, on the 28th, they will test their strength against last season's Latvian champion, Liepaja's "Metalurgs" team. After a week of training at home, on February 5, the Panevėžys team will play away against the Latvian FK "Ventspils" team, and on the 11th or 12th against the Estonian Vice-Champion, Tallinn's "Levadia" club.
From February 16-26, the national champions plan to have a training camp in Germany. There, the "Ekranas" players will play two friendly matches - against the German First Bundesliga club "Hannover 96" and the Second Bundesliga team "Saarbrucken". If the trip to Germany doesn't work out, from February 13-18, "Ekranas" would participate in a training camp in Palanga.
The Lithuanian football A League championship of this season is expected to start on April 2. At the end of March, the Super Cup matches should be played, where the national champions "Ekranas" will face the winners of the Lithuanian Football Federation Cup, Kaunas FBK "Kaunas".
As noted by "Ekranas" head coach V. Liubšys, this year the team aims to defend the Lithuanian champion title and try to perform as successfully as possible in the Champions League qualification matches. According to the coach, in those matches, one stage must be overcome, and if the draws favor the team, perhaps even two stages.
These goals are not unattainable, especially since the core of the team has not changed for the past few years. The experienced Arvydas Skrupskis reliably guards the goal, and, by the way, he will take on the role of playing coach this season. The goalkeeper Paulius Grybauskas, the deputy of A. Skrupskis, also plays reliably.
"Ekranas" coach sees certain problems in the team's defense, although two Lithuanian national team players, Gediminas Paulauskas and Arūnas Klimavičius, play there. However, according to V. Liubšys, a few truly promising defenders are growing, who should become key players in the near future.
According to the coach, the "Ekranas" defensive line is quite capable. The team captain, the best Lithuanian player of 2005, Mantas Savėnas, will continue to represent the national champions, along with Aurimas Kučys, Mindaugas Gardzijauskas, Donatas Petrauskas, Giedrius Tomkevičius, Dominykas Galkevičius, Dainius Saulėnas, as well as the newcomer R. Michalčiukas. "In the defensive line, we have quite a few capable players, but we hope that they will avoid injuries," - said V. Liubšys.
According to the national champions' coach, there are three really good attackers in the team - Povilas Lukšys, Egidijus Varnas, and Vitalijus Kavaliauskas. "I believe that when needed, D. Saulėnas can also play well in the attack, as he is a true forward," emphasized V. Liubšys. "Nevertheless, the team is still lacking a central defender and a right-back to be fully complete."
