© EuroFootball.com
On Saturday, thousands of supporters will flock to the city of Glasgow in Scotland - fans of the Edinburgh and "Gretna" clubs will be waiting for their favorites to win the cup final at "Hampden Park" stadium, which will close the football season. The match will start at 17 o'clock our time and will be broadcast live by Tango TV.
These matches will be like a duel between David and Goliath - the little-known "Gretna" became the first club to reach the cup final playing in the third strongest league in Scotland and thus earn a spot in the UEFA Cup, while "Hearts" affected by the "revolution" led by Lithuanian businessman Vladimir Romanov, strengthened by international level players this year, managed to squeeze in between the two Glasgow clubs that dominated the country for many years.
However, the rise of "Gretna" was also influenced by more than just ideas - just four years ago, the owner of the club that entered the fourth division of Scottish football, millionaire Brooks Mileson, invited experienced Scots to the team and for the second consecutive year managed to win the championship where they participated and will seek promotion to the "Premier" league.
Although the town of Gretna, with only 2700 inhabitants, could only be compared to small Lithuanian villages like Akmenė or Rūdiškės in size, the team has a considerable number of fans and it is believed that about 10,000 people, with a thousand receiving tickets as a gift from B. Mileson's children, should come to support the team in Glasgow.
Meanwhile, the "Hearts" club, which has been based in the country's capital for more than 130 years and whose only significant trophy won in the last 40 years was the Scottish Cup in the 1997/98 season, will have the support of an impressive army of about 35 thousand "Jambos" fans at Hampden stadium.
The importance of the match is well understood by the Lithuanian strategist based in Edinburgh, Valdas Ivanauskas, who temporarily takes on the role of head coach of "Hearts" until the end of the season. Having already helped the team to secure the second place in the Scottish "Premier" league and get a ticket to the next season's Champions League qualification tournament, the coach encouraged his players to become "eternal heroes of the club".
"If they manage to win the cup, they will become heroes for life. Their names will be forever linked to the history of Hearts, whether they stay or leave. I think we need to win. This is the final, a very important experience, simply need those players who have already played in cup finals and have that experience," the coach said.
Speaking to the Scottish media, V. Ivanauskas also admitted that the match is generating considerable interest in his homeland: "It is important that the players are focused, everyone in Edinburgh is waiting for this match just as the whole of Scotland is. I told the players to stay calm and enjoy this week, we are happy to be in this situation. Many people called me from Lithuania - my friends, acquaintances, journalists from newspapers. These will be special matches in Lithuania and I know that many people will come to watch the final. It will be a great day, and I must be sure that the team is ready."
Meanwhile, the forward from Lithuania with perhaps the most experience in such important competitions, Edgaras Jankauskas, speaking to journalists gathered at Tynecastle stadium for the presentation of the 2006/07 season ticket campaign, spoke cautiously and admitted that beating a lower league team might be harder than it seems at first glance.
"Yes, of course, we all want to win and finish the season with the cup in our hands. But the final is a completely different thing, because it is just one game and anything can happen that day. Everyone thinks we are favorites, and we actually are, but I would rather choose to play against a "Premier" league team than against a team from lower leagues, because they play as if it's their last game of their life. We respect them a lot and I think it will be the same in the match. If you don't respect your opponents, you can lose," E. Jankauskas affirmed.
Although during his career the Lithuanian won numerous titles and a Scottish journalist asked about the number of medals he has, he couldn't even mention, in the footballer's memory, the season in Belgium where E. Jankauskas convincingly won the country's champions title but lost in the cup final.
"I remember when I played in Belgium for the "Brugge" club, we won the league champions title with a 25-point lead and reached the cup final, where we had to play against what seemed to be a weaker team, "Genk". What happened? We lost 4-0. It was a big shame to finish the season without a trophy when you thought you had to win. That experience stayed with me for a long time and I just wanted to pass on this message to my teammates - that playing against a weaker team doesn't mean you have already won the cup. "Gretna" wants to win just as much as we do," 31-year-old Lithuanian legionnaire stated.
As befits an experienced player, E. Jankauskas tried to set an example for his teammates and reassure them: "It would be right to forget our achievements so far. We won the second place, but now is not the time to think about that. We have to forget it and focus on our last matches. Every trophy is important, it makes you happy and remains in your memory - that is a big thing. Playing in a final and not winning is terrible."
The only players who will not be able to help "Hearts" in the cup final are the injured defender from Portugal Jose Goncalves, the Brazilian full-back Samuel Camazzola who has been recovering from an injury for several months, and Neil McCann, who has hardly played in the team. Defenders Steven Pressley and Takis Fyssas returned to the lineup, so V. Ivanauskas, who allowed nine players to rest in the last Scottish championship match against "Rangers", will be able to choose almost from a full lineup.
However, there should be no major changes compared to the last few matches - from the start of the match, the club veterans goalkeeper Craig Gordon and defender Robbie Neilson will take the field, as well as the aforementioned S. Pressley, T. Fyssas, Senegalese Ibrahim Tallahas replacing Andy Webster in the center of defense.
In the defensive line, Deividas Česnauskis will line up, Portuguese Bruno Aguiar, who secured a place in the main lineup while training with V. Ivanauskas, Paul Hartley, Rudi Skacel, and forwards Roman Bednar and E. Jankauskas. Other Lithuanians Saulius Mikoliūnas and Nerijus Barasa will most likely stay on the substitutes' bench and will have the opportunity to appear on the field after substitution.
