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On Monday, July 31, at the end of the registration period for players of the 2006 season in the clubs of the "A League," Lithuanian teams made their final changes. The most active was the championship leader "Kaunas," and their lineup was also adjusted by "Sūduva," "Atlantas," and "Vėtra."
"Vėtra" said goodbye to three players
The Vilnius "Vėtra" club mutually terminated contracts with two foreigners and one Lithuanian. Three players are leaving the ranks of the capital team – 25-year-old goalkeeper Mirza Merlani, 21-year-old defender Aleksandras Pšeničnikovas, and 33-year-old striker Vidas Dančenko. Experienced Lithuanian V. Dančenko played four matches in the "A League," Russian Aleksandras Pšeničnikovas represented "Vėtra" in two Lithuanian championship matches, and Georgian Mirza Merlani defended "Vėtra" goal in one match in the "A League" and two in the Intertoto Cup.
"Atlantas" registered three foreigners
On Monday, Klaipėda's "Atlantas" registered three new foreign players - two forwards and one defender. This was reported by the newspaper "Vakarų ekspresas."
In the forward line, 29-year-old Russian Anton Kočerga and 25-year-old Bosnian Duško Vraneševičius will play. A. Kočerga previously played for Grozny's "Terek" team and has also represented Kaliningrad's "Baltika" and Orekhovo's "Spartak," while D. Vraneševičius played for Novi Grad's "Sloboda" club.
In the defense, 24-year-old Ivo Begičius from Croatia, who recently participated in a trial with "Vėtra," will play for "Atlantas." The player started his career at Split's "Hajduk" and his last team was Zagreb's "Hrvatski Dragovoljac," which dropped out of the Croatian top league this year.
"Kaunas" will be represented by A. Bartkus, K. Gnedojus, and a Moldovan
"Atlantas" also bid farewell to two very promising players - goalkeeper Andrius Bartkus and defender Kazimieras Gnedojus.
The twenty-year-olds will represent the Lithuanian "A League" leader "Kauno." A. Bartkus scored two goals for "Atlantas" in the "A League" championship this season and recently participated in a trial with Edinburgh's "Hearts" club.
The head coach of "Kaunas," Eugenijus Riabovas, officially stated to the "A League" website that the footballer should return to Lithuania on Tuesday evening and start training with the new team soon. K. Gnedojus was also expected to appear at the evening training session for "Kaunas."
"I have great expectations for the newcomers, as they are promising players. Our team lacked a defensive midfielder and a defender. I hope the former "Atlantas" players will fill the gaps," said the "Kaunas" coach.
The leader of the Lithuanian championship was also supplemented by another foreign player. The Kaunas team registered Moldova's youth national team forward Petru Stîngă. Previously, he played in his homeland for Ribnita's "Iskra-Stal" team, and he has also represented the capital's teams "Dacia" and "Victoria."
"So far, P. Stîngă has not participated in any of "Kaunas" training sessions. He is currently sorting out his visa," said Eugenijus Riabovas, the head coach of "Kaunas," to alyga.lt website.
These are not all the news from Kaunas - the club "Šilutė" decided to loan twenty-year-old Legionnaire from Russia, Ilgiz Fattakhov. The defender rarely played in the team of the Lithuanian vice-champions, so it will be more beneficial for him to play for a weaker team.
A. Osipovičius and no more C. Sagna in "Sūduva"
Marijampolė's "Sūduva" was complemented by a familiar foreign player from Belarus, Aleksandras Osipovičius. The 29-year-old player previously played for Vilnius' "Žalgiris" and in the 2005 "A League" championship, as a forward, he scored two goals. In his earlier career, he also played for Minsk's "Dinamo," Warsaw's "Polonia," and Radom's "Radomiak."
As already announced, there are no longer Mantas Samusiovas, who joined Russia's "Khimki" club, in the ranks of the people of Marijampolė, while the Nigerian Legionnaire Christian Sagna moved to Romania and will play for Ploiești's "Petrolul" club, coached by former "Sūduva" coach, Italian Rino Lavezzini.
