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He is one of the oldest European football players representing his country's national football team. Lithuania's national team and "Vėtra" goalkeeper Aidas Preikšaitis is 36 years old.
In the Lithuanian "A Lyga" championship, Aidas Preikšaitis is unmatched by any other footballer of his age. Several years ago, his peers jokingly suggested it was time for Aidas to start preparing for senior competitions, but the "Vėtra" goalkeeper certainly does not think about it.
We are publishing an article by the correspondent of the newspaper "Lietuvos žinios" in the supplement "Sporto Tribūna" about one of the most experienced players competing in Lithuania.
Birth: 1970 07 15 in Naujoji Akmenė. Height: 180 cm Weight: 75 kg Position: central midfielder Clubs: Vilnius "Žalgiris" (1989-1997), Moscow "Torpedo" (1998, Russia), Naberezhnye Chelny "KAMAZ" (1998), Katowice GKS (1999, Poland), Olsztyn "Stomil" (1999-2000, Poland), Berlin "Union" (2000, Germany), Ostrovec Swietokrzyski KSZO (2001, Poland), Emden "Kicker" (2001, Germany), Plock "Wisla" (2002, Poland), Novy Dwor "Šwit" (2003, Poland), Vilnius "Vėtra" (since autumn 2004).
The school of manhood
"When I turned 30, before every season I think about how much longer I will play. I still think about it, but I can't answer the question of how much longer I will play. My contract with "Vėtra" ends after this season. Perhaps the coach Aleksandras Tarchanovas will decide to rely more on young players. I haven't talked to him about it yet. I still have health and the desire to play. If football didn't bring joy, I would have definitely stopped playing," says A. Preikšaitis.
This Lithuanian national team defensive midfielder's acquaintance with football began in the third grade in Naujoji Akmenė, where he attended a sports school. From the age of 13, A. Preikšaitis studied at the Panevėžys sports boarding school, where he planned to keep the admission documents secret from his parents.
"At that time, the Panevėžys sports boarding school had a certain reputation. When parents found out that I had collected various certificates at school and was planning to study in Panevėžys, there was a commotion at home. I explained that I was going only to a selection camp, where 50-60 footballers from all over Lithuania gather, so it is still uncertain if I will be accepted. However, when I was invited to the second camp, my parents had already come to terms with the idea of me going to study in Panevėžys. I had to leave the music school, where I played various instruments. In Akmenė, after music lessons, I would grab the instruments and rush to football training. Sometimes, while changing clothes, the goalkeeper played my trumpet," A. Preikšaitis recounted.
The footballer says that when asked if he served in the military, he answers that he has been serving since he was thirteen. "When you practice sports, you are always constrained by some kind of framework, you must adhere to discipline. In adolescence, there were many temptations, but back then, I passed the exam. I can say that of our former Panevėžys group, I am the only one still playing," explained the experienced player.
Training session by training session
After graduating from the Panevėžys sports boarding school, A. Preikšaitis was invited to Vilnius "Žalgiris" in early 1989, which was then a club in the top league of the USSR football championship. He represented "Žalgiris" for eight years until he started his journey through clubs in Russia, Poland, and Germany in 1997.
When he returned to Lithuania, A. Preikšaitis said he never expected to receive a call-up to the national team.
This 36-year-old defensive midfielder was a key player for Lithuania in the 2008 European Championship qualifying cycle and in matches against the Italians and Scots.
A. Preikšaitis's strengths are endurance and aggressiveness. He used to play as an attacking midfielder, but now performs more defensive functions.
"It's hard to determine by percentage how much endurance is determined by what nature has given and training. Both are important, but training dictates a lot," said the footballer.
Does he enjoy training? A. Preikšaitis responded to this question: "It all depends on what the training session is like. If the training is elongated, monotonous, you get bored. I can say that the current training sessions of coach A. Tarchanovas at "Vėtra" are really interesting - everything is done with the ball, the drills are intense and specific. When Edgaras Gessas coached "Vėtra" this year, it was the complete opposite - the team was 'worn out,' as for four months, we just ran around in preparation for the season. Changing coaches changed the team's game and results. I won't dare predict what place we will take - second or third, but I am confident that "Vėtra" will surely be among the prize-winners this season," explained A. Preikšaitis, who has known A. Tarchanovas since the days they played at the Moscow "Torpedo" club.
Avoiding haircuts
A. Preikšaitis says that the level of the Lithuanian "A Lyga" championship is rising. He felt this in 2004 when he returned to Lithuania from Poland, where he played for clubs of various levels in the country.
"However, Polish and most Lithuanian stadium pitches cannot even be compared - ours, especially in early spring and autumn, often drive you to despair. Our clubs are far from the structure that was in the "Žalgiris" club when it competed in the USSR championships. But such a structure is being created in the "Vėtra" club," said the seasoned goalkeeper.
With an impressive appearance - curly, long hair, A. Preikšaitis is sometimes called by the name of an Indian chief.
"Once my hair was short, but when I cut it, I experienced a meniscus injury - after the operation, a 15-centimeter scar remained. Since then, I have not cut my hair," revealed A. Preikšaitis.
Changed mentality
A. Preikšaitis recalled that in the past, "Žalgiris" lost the European Cup match to Dutch side Eindhoven "PSV" 0-6 because the Vilnius players were already scared of the famous opponents before the game.
"However, the stars look more impressive on TV. When we went to Argentina with the Lithuanian national team, I played against Diego Simeone. When I saw him playing on TV, he seemed like an unstoppable powerful machine. When I saw him up close, it turned out that Simeone was smaller and more ordinary, making mistakes like other players. The same can be said after the match in Naples against the Italian world champions. They are not as scary as they seem. You can play against all opponents. We are all made of the same clay, but until you mature, you don't understand that. In the Lithuanian national team, the atmosphere is now very good, and the players' mentality is such that they are not afraid of any opponent. You need to respect the opponents, analyze their game, but not be afraid," said A. Preikšaitis. .
The footballer says he cannot simply watch matches on TV because he analyzes the game and thinks about how he would behave on the field in different situations.
The opinion of the national team's veteran A. Preikšaitis about the upcoming away match with the Faroe Islands national team is as follows: "It won't be easy because when we played against the Faroe Islands footballers, they defended as a team. At the start of this European Championship qualifying cycle, that team suffered two painful defeats because they opened up and tried to attack the opponents' goal. I think in the match against us, they may go back to their previous tactic of focusing on defense. No matter what, we must win in the Faroe Islands."
