Nerijus Barasa
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 June 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Mažeikiai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder Right back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1994 | Mažeikių Romar | 6 | (0) |
| 1995 | Atlantas Klaipėda | 1 | (0) |
| 1996 | Baltika Liepāja | 3 | (0) |
| 1997–1999 | Kareda Šiauliai | 50 | (3) |
| 2000 | FBK Kaunas | 23 | (2) |
| 2001–2002 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | 15 | (0) |
| 2003 | FC Lada Togliatti | 13 | (0) |
| 2003–2005 | FC Alania Vladikavkaz | 44 | (0) |
| 2005 | Krylia Sovetov Samara | 4 | (0) |
| 2005–2007 | FBK Kaunas | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Hearts (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2001–2006 | Lithuania | 26 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 March 2007. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Nerijus Barasa (born 1 June 1978 in Mažeikiai) is a former Lithuanian professional footballer. He played as a right-back or defensive midfielder.
Barasa started his career with FBK Kaunas in 1994 before joining Atlantas Klaipėda the following season. After a year in Latvia with Baltika Liepāja, he returned to Lithuania with his family, then FBK Kaunas came in for him .
Kaunas beckoned for Barasa in 2001, where he spent the following 5 seasons; 4 in the Russian Premier League with FC Krylia Sovetov Samara and FC Alania Vladikavkaz and one in the Russian First Division with FC Lada Togliatti. During this period he was called up to the Lithuanian national team, earning his first cap in 2001.
At the end of the 2005 season, Barasa moved to Scotland, signing for FBK Kaunas, then being immediately loaned to Heart of Midlothian. He joined the Tynecastle side on 13 January 2006 and spent a total of 16 months with the Edinburgh club before moving back to Kaunas.
In October 2006, Barasa was at the centre of controversy when he and compatriot Saulius Mikoliūnas were booed by Hearts fans for perceived poor form in a game against Rangers. This prompted Hearts' Sporting Director Alex Kozlovski to suggest that the supporters had ulterior motives for booing them, expressly their nationality.[1] This claim was contested by fans representative groups and Kozlovski later apologised and retracted it.[2]
Barasa missed half of the 2006–07 season due to injury and left Hearts in the summer of 2007, before also rescinding his contract with Kaunas. After that he retired in order to pursue business interests in Samara, Russia, where he lives with his wife. His last game was against Celtic in the Scottish Premier League on 14 January 2007.
International goals
- Scores and results list Lithuania's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 July 2001 | Skonto Stadions, Riga, Latvia |  Latvia | 1–0 | 1–4 | Baltic Cup |
| 2 | 18 August 2004 | Dynamo Stadium, Moscow, Russia |  Russia | 3–4 | 3–4 | Friendly |
Honours
National Team
- Baltic Cup
- 2005
References
- ↑ Fans groups dismiss discrimination claim, Scotsman.com Sport, 21 November 2006.
- ↑ Kozlovski says sorry, Scotsman.com Sport, 25 November 2006.
External links
- Nerijus Barasa career statistics at Soccerbase
- Hearts appearances at londonhearts.com