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When Brazilian footballers kick the ball, the goalkeeper doesn't even know which way it will fly. This is how the coaches of the "Vilnius" team describe the influx of Brazilians who have joined this strongly rejuvenated club. Before this season of the "A" league, the capital team signed contracts even with seven representatives of this strongest football state - two defenders and attackers, and three midfielders, one Brazilian player has remained from the previous season. According to team president Algimantas Breikštas, when forming the team, a choice was made between two countries - the Czech Republic and Brazil. These are the two strongest football countries in the world ranking. No club has had so many foreign players in total yet. Not to mention Brazilians. To this international mix we add two Poles and a Georgian and we have almost an analogy to England. What to say about the home-grown player. Sometimes it's good to have at least one Englishman on the field. For example, in 1999 in a match between "Southampton" and "Chelsea", there wasn't a single British player in the starting lineup at all. And there it practically became a standard norm. The stadium commentators jokingly remarked during the "A" league matches between Marijampolė's "Sūduva", where also two Brazilians play, and "Vilnius" - "for five litas we saw three teams on the field: "Sūduva", "Vilnius", and the Brazilians". And a total of 12 players from other countries appeared on the field that day - besides Brazilians, we saw three Georgians and a Senegalese. Whether this will help the country's football and the Vilnius team itself is really unclear - there have been opinions that because of this, the Vilnius club has become less attractive. Without a doubt, football is already in the blood of Brazilians. Perhaps they are born seeing not only smiling sisters and parents but also a football. The question arises - will they really help the capital team? This situation somewhat resembles the example of our neighbors, the Poles. The team "MKS Pogon" from Szczecin in the Polish football championship has already entered the history of Polish football (probably, just like "Vilnius" in Lithuania). In one league match this month, the "Pogon" team started without a single Pole in their ranks - a Slovak player ran onto the field and ten Brazilians. However, even with such a mix of players, it wasn't enough - they lost 0:2. This is the strategy of the team's owner Antonio Ptak, with which he intends to win the country's championships. Ptak surprised the entire Polish football community in December with his ambitions and interesting statements and actions. Ptak's vision is to at least be among the winners. "However, I cannot achieve this with Polish footballers," he said at the time. "Why? Because the best ones already play for Warsaw's "Legia" and Krakow's "Wisla", so I decided to sign contracts with good players from Brazil." Few believed him, of course. However, Ptak quickly went to Brazil, signed contracts with a dozen Brazilians, and also hired a coach from Brazil. "We cannot buy the best Brazilians, but we can assemble a good enough team from young and talented players capable of defeating any opponent in Poland. Although Szczecin is one of the most important Polish ports and there is definitely something to see in the city, it is unlikely that the twenty Brazilians brought by Ptak will have the opportunity to see the city's sights. Ptak built them a separate hotel 450 kilometers away from the city, as he did not find anything suitable for them in the port. However, the team is not performing well in the championship - they lose much more often than they draw or win. The team already has its fourth coach this season (the Brazilian they hired did not even get a license), the team composition changes in every match. According to Ptak, they are trying to find the "formula for winning". And that's not all - the team has already sent scouts to Brazil to find new talents. Arguably the most famous and experienced visitor is defender Amaral, who previously played for "Fiorentina" and "Besiktas" and even represented the Brazilian national team. However, he was recently released from the team, like many others. "Yes, in some cases we made mistakes. Perhaps we brought some players to Europe too early, unprepared. However, I will not change my principles, I will not change my policy even if not everything goes as desired. "Pogon" will be a Brazilian team," - reiterated Ptak. "These are not bad players, we took them from the second division in Brazil, which is stronger than our main league." Indeed, next year the country's football rules may change. If they are approved, the team must have at least 8 Polish players, and the number of foreign players allowed on the field at the same time will be set. Then about half of the Brazilians will probably have to leave. "These are good players, but probably the best solution will be to create a team where half of the players are experienced Poles and the other half are fantastic Brazilians," says the rare Polish player in the team, defender Przemyslaw Kazmierczak."
