FK Žalgiris

Žalgiris Vilnius

Full name	Vilniaus futbolo klubas "Žalgiris"[1]
Nickname(s)	Žaliai Balti (The Green Whites)
Founded	1947 (1947)
Ground	LFF Stadium
Ground Capacity	5,067
Ground Coordinates	54°40′07″N 25°17′39″E / 54.66861°N 25.29417°E / 54.66861; 25.29417Coordinates: 54°40′07″N 25°17′39″E / 54.66861°N 25.29417°E / 54.66861; 25.29417
Chairman	Vilma Venslovaitienė
Head coach	Valdas Dambrauskas
League	A Lyga
2016	A Lyga, 1st
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Futbolo Klubas Žalgiris, commonly known as Žalgiris Vilnius or simply Žalgiris is a Lithuanian professional football club based in Vilnius. The club competes in the A lyga, the top flight of Lithuanian football. The club was founded as Dinamo in 1947. They won the Lithuanian Championship 7 times, Lithuanian Football Cup 11 times and Lithuanian Supercup 6 times and is the most successful club in Lithuania.

The team's colours are green and white. The club plays at LFF stadium in Vilnius which has a capacity of 5,067.

History

Foundation and Soviet period

The first incarnation of the club played in 1946 as a national team of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic when it competed in USSR Group III Zone 4 championship and it was one of the clubs which represented one of the Soviet republics. The club consisted of Spartakas Kaunas and Dinamo Kaunas players. Their first match was against Stroitel Moscow which ended 1–1 and they were managed by French coach Emil Pastor. That year they finished in fourth place in RSFSR Western Zone championship.^[2]

The club is thought to have been founded in 1947 when it was moved from Kaunas to Vilnius and its name was changed to Dinamo Vilnius.^[3] First official match of the formed club was played on 16 May 1947 against Lokomotiv Moscow, who managed to defeat local team 1–2.^[4] Steponas Petraitis scored the first official goal for the club that day, beating goalkeeper from a penalty spot in 44th minute.^[5] The next year club changed its name to Spartakas Vilnius and used this name until the end of 1961 season. In 1962, they changed their name to Žalgiris.

Žalgiris competed in Soviet Union football league system from 1947 to 1989. Team achieved its first promotion to the top tier in 1952, but came last next season.^[6] The club's most successful season was in 1987 when they finished third in the Soviet Top League and qualified for 1988–89 UEFA Cup where they played against Austria Wien, while also for the first time in club's history reaching semi–finals of the 1987/88 Soviet Cup (after being eliminated in quarter-finals of the 1955, 1959/60, 1964 campaigns) and 1987 USSR Federation Cup. The club represented the Soviet Union at 1987 Summer Universiade which they won by defeating the South Korean team. In the following season they finished fifth and again qualified for UEFA Cup where they faced IFK Göteborg in the first round and Red Star Belgrade in the second. In 1989 the club finished in fourth place and for third year in a row qualified for UEFA Cup. They managed to play one game in 1990 at the start of the season before withdrawing due to re-establishment of Lithuania's independence and joined the Baltic League which consisted of clubs from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Therefore, they lost their place in UEFA Cup, which was taken by Chornomorets Odesa.^[7]

1990–2007

After restoring Lithuania's independence, the club started competing in the newly founded A Lyga. During this period the club saw further success by winning the Lithuanian championship three times (1991, 1991–92, 1998–99) along with various second and third-place finishes.

2008–present

Name history
Year	Name
1947	Dinamo Vilnius
1948	Spartakas Vilnius
1962	Žalgiris Vilnius
1993	Žalgiris-EBSW Vilnius
1995	Žalgiris Vilnius
2009	VMFD Žalgiris
2015	Žalgiris Vilnius

The club ceased its operations after the 2008 season due to financial problems. Team players, coaches and fans of the club (Pietų IV) who were seeking to save the name of Žalgiris detached from FK Žalgiris and on February 23, 2009, established VMFD Žalgiris^[8] The new side was allowed in to the Lithuanian I Lyga (second-tier league), and then returned to the top division next season.

For the 2011 season Žalgiris had new head coach Vitalijus Stankevičius.^[9] Žalgiris kept the core of the team and signed contracts with 10 newcomers. The team theoretically had the ability to compete with Ekranas for the Lithuanian champions title with 3 tours remaining until the end of the season but lost a key match to Sūduva and finished in the second place.

The 2012 season was started by signing Croatian Damir Petravič as the new team manager.^[10] Last year top scorer Deivydas Matulevičius was loaned to Cracovia Kraków. 10 new players joined Žalgiris including former Heart of Midlothian forward Calum Elliot and all-time most capped Lithuanian national team player Andrius Skerla, who returned to the club after fifteen years.^[11][12] In May D. Matulevičius returned to Vilnius due to Cracovia being relegated from Polish Ekstraklasa and losing the right to sign a contract with 23-year-old forward.^[13] After 9 trophyless years Žalgiris managed to beat Ekranas in a 3–1 penalty shootout and win the 2011–12 Lithuanian Football Cup.^[14][15] In the summer tansfer window Matulevičius was bought by a Romanian club and replaced by a Polish striker Kamil Bilinski.^[16] Club enjoyed a mixed success in their return to European football, managing a draw in the first leg against Admira Wacker, but losing 5–1 in Austria. Soon after the defeat Petravič decided to resign and was replaced by a Polish specialist Marek Zub.^[17] Žalgiris finished second in the A Lyga for the second year in a row.^[18][19]

The 2013 season began with Žalgiris winning Lithuanian Supercup after beating last year A Lyga champions Ekranas.^[20] Club undergone quiet transfer window signing 6 players, including Polish international Jakub Wilk and young Lithuanian midfielder Artūras Žulpa, while Elliot left the team.^[21][22][23] Žalgiris defended Lithuanian Football Cup title on May 19. Highly intensive match once again lasted until penalties, with a result 2:2 on scoreboard after 90 minutes and 3:3 after the extra time. Finally Žalgiris managed to prove their advantage over Šiauliai winning the shootout 8–7.^[24] In the summer club enjoyed one of the most successful campaigns in their European football yet. They eliminated St Patrick's Athletic from Ireland, Pyunik from Armenia and Lech Poznań from Poland. Žalgiris were defeated by Red Bull Salzburg in the play-off round. Despite this the team had a chance to qualify for the group stage because of the ban for Fenerbahçe, but UEFA decided to change the practise and award the free place by a random draw, which was won by APOEL.^[25][26] The ending of the season was dramatic for the club, as faith of A Lyga was decided in the final round of the season. Žalgiris had a chance to secure champions title, but lost 1–3 to Sūduva. Now team had to wait news from Klaipėda, where Atlantas were leading by a one-goal margin in a match against Banga, but on 83rd minute former Atlantas striker Aurelijus Staponka scored an equalizer for Gargždai team.^[27] After 14 years break Žalgiris once again became Lithuanian champion, overtaking Atlantas by 2 points margin.^[28] At the end of the season club captain Andrius Skerla declared about the end of his playing career.^[29]

Stadium

For the majority of the time Žalgiris played in Žalgiris Stadium. This stadium was the biggest in Lithuania and had a capacity of 15,029.

Since 2011 Žalgiris plays in LFF Stadium (Lithuanian Football Federation stadium). This arena, formerly known as Vėtra Stadium, was built in 2004 and holds up 5,500 people.

After the bankruptcy of FK Vėtra football club, LFF took control of the stadium.

Currently it is under construction to meet level 3 UEFA stadium status. The capacity will be extended to 8,000.

It is situated 400 metres up the Aušros vartų and Liepkalnio streets from the Gate of Dawn (Lithuanian: Aušros vartai)

Kit

From the establishment of the club, Žalgiris colours are green and white, therefore the kit is green and white striped jersey and green/white variation of shorts and socks. In the past there have also been checkered green-white jersey designs. Away kits are usually plain white or green.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1947–1972	—	—
1973–1979	unknown
1980–1987	Adidas	—
1988–1989		DANIELI
1990–1991	unknown
1992	Umbro	FINPLAN
1993	unknown
1994	Adidas	EBSW
1995	Umbro
1996–1997	Diadora	—
1998		—
1999	Adidas
2000	unknown
2001–2002	Hummel	Ūkio Bankas
2003–2005	Adidas	—
2006	unknown
2007–2009	Hummel	—
2010–2012		Unibet
2013–2015	Kappa[30]	Top Sport
2016–present	Nike[31]

Logos

• 
  2009–2012 
• 
  2012–

Supporters

The official club of Žalgiris's fans is named Pietų IV. The members of Pietų IV support the team during every game in Lithuania and in Europe and never leave the team alone. This community is united by their love and loyalty to Žalgiris. Pietų IV is the leader of organised supporting in Baltic states.

The establishment date of Pietų IV is considered October 1985. Since that time fans have been supporting the team while singing, waving flags and creating impressive choreography. Fans helped Žalgiris to survive the financial crisis. During hard periods they organized various events and collected enough money to remain. Pietų IV and the managers of the club together are the founders of Žalgiris Vilnius.

Žalgiris supporters maintain friendly relations with fans of Atlantas and Utenis. Internationally, there are close historical ties with supporters of Dynamo Kyiv,^[32][33] Karpaty Lviv and Dinamo Tbilisi.^[34]

Achievements

Domestic

Lithuanian Championship:

• Champions - 7

1991, 1991–92, 1998–99, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

• Runners-up - 9

1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999, 2000, 2011, 2012

• 3rd place - 4

1990, 1995–96, 2001, 2010

• Lithuanian Cup:

• Winners - 11

1991, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 2003, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016

• Finalists - 5

1990, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2001

• Lithuanian Super Cup:

• Winners - 6

2003, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

Soviet Championship:

• Soviet Top League:

• 3nd place - 1

1987

• Soviet First League:

• Champions - 1

1982

International

• Summer Universiade:

• Champions - 1

1987

• Intertoto Cup:

• Semi-finalists - 1

2005

Club ranking

UEFA coefficient

Correct as of 3 June 2017.^[35] The table shows the position of FK Žalgiris (highlighted), based on their UEFA coefficient club ranking, and four clubs, which are closest to Žalgiris position (the two clubs with the higher coefficient and the two with the lower coefficient).

2017	2016	Mvmt.	Club	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017 Coeff.
232	259,5	+28	Viitorul Constanța	1.3600	1.3750	1.0250	0.4500	1.6600	5.870
	227	-5	ASA Târgu Mureș	1.3600	1.3750	1.0250	1.4500	0.6600
	188	-44	Rapid București	2.3600	1.3750	1.0250	0.4500	0.6600
235	224	-11	MŠK Žilina	1.3000	1.3250	0.5500	2.2500	0.4250	5.850
236	269	+33	FK Žalgiris	0.7250	1.7500	1.1000	1.1500	1.1000	5.825
237	359	+122	Dundalk	0.2000	0.0500	0.9000	1.1400	3.5250	5.815
238	221	-17	Heart of Midlothian	2.3600	0.6500	0.8000	0.6000	1.3750	5.785

Participation in European cups

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Score	Agg.
1988–89	UEFA Cup	1/32		Austria Wien	2–0, 2–5	4–5
1989–90	UEFA Cup	1R		IFK Göteborg	2–0, 0–1	2–1
		2R		Red Star Belgrade	1–4, 0–1	1–5
1992–93	UEFA Champions League	1R		PSV Eindhoven	0–6, 0–2	0–8
1993–94	Cup Winners' Cup	1Q		MFK Košice	0–2, 0–1	0–3
1994–95	Cup Winners' Cup	1Q		Barry Town	1–0, 6–0	7–0
		1R		Feyenoord	1–1, 1–2	2–3
1995–96	Cup Winners' Cup	1Q		NK Mura	2–0, 1–2	3–2
		1R		Trabzonspor	2–2, 0–1	2–3
1996–97	UEFA Cup	PR		Crusaders	2–0, 1–2	3–2
		1R		Aberdeen	1–4, 3–1	4–5
1997–98	Cup Winners' Cup	1Q		Hapoel Be'er Sheva	0–0, 1–2	1–2
1998–99	UEFA Cup	1Q		ÍA	2–3, 1–0	3–3 (a)
		2Q		Brann	0–1, 0–0	0–1
1999–00	UEFA Champions League	1Q		Araks Ararat	2–0, 3–0	5–0
		2Q		Dynamo Kyiv	0–2, 0–1	0–3
2000–01	UEFA Cup	1Q		Ruch Chorzów	2–1, 0–6	2–7
2001–02	UEFA Cup	1Q		Maccabi Tel Aviv	0–6, 0–1	0–7
2002	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R		Budapest Honvéd	1–0, 0–0	1–0
		2R		Sochaux	0–2, 1–2	1–4
2003	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R		Örgryte IS	1–1, 0–3	1–4
2004–05	UEFA Cup	1Q		Portadown	2–2, 2–0	4–2
		2Q		Aalborg BK	1–3, 0–0	1–3
2005	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R		Lisburn Distillery	1–0, 1–0	2–0
		2R		Dinaburg	2–0, 1–2	3–2
		3R		Egaleo	3–1, 2–3	5–4
		1/2		CFR Ecomax	1–2, 1–5	2–7
2012–13	Europa League	2Q		Admira Wacker Mödling	1–1, 1–5	2–6
2013–14	Europa League	1Q		St Patrick's Athletic	2–2, 2–1	4–3
		2Q		Pyunik	2–0, 1–1	3–1
		3Q		Lech Poznań	1–0, 1–2	2–2 (a)
		PO		Red Bull Salzburg	0–5, 0–2	0–7
2014–15	Champions League	2Q		Dinamo Zagreb	0–2, 0–2	0-4
2015–16	Champions League	2Q		Malmö FF	0–0, 0–1	0–1
2016–17	Champions League	2Q		Astana	0–0, 1–2	1–2
2017–18	Champions League	2Q		Ludogorets	2–1, 1–4	3–5

Participation in Lithuanian championships

Staff

As of January 5, 2016.^[36]

Position	Name
Chairman	Vilma Venslovaitienė
Director of sport	Mindaugas Nikoličius
Commercial-technical director	Andriejus Ovčinikovas
Head coach	Valdas Dambrauskas
Assistant coach	Rolandas Džiaukštas
Assistant coach	Andrius Skerla
Club doctor	Tomas Jonaitis

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Armantas Vitkauskas 2 DF Linas Klimavičius 4 DF Diego Oyarzún 5 DF Donovan Slijngard (4th captain) 6 DF Mamadou Mbodj 7 MF Slavko Blagojević 8 DF Egidijus Vaitkūnas (captain) 9 FW Bahrudin Atajić 10 FW Darvydas Šernas (3rd captain) 13 MF Saulius Mikoliūnas 14 MF Karolis Uzėla 16 MF Mahamane Traoré 17 MF Liviu Antal 19 MF Daniel Romanovskij

No. Position Player 21 MF Vytautas Lukša 22 MF Justas Lasickas 23 DF Rolandas Baravykas 27 MF Matija Ljujić 28 FW Julius Momkus 29 GK Džiugas Bartkus 30 GK Airidas Mickevičius 35 GK Pijus Petkevičius 44 FW Serge Nyuiadzi 71 DF Jonas Skinderis 75 MF Ernestas Stočkūnas 80 FW Elivelto 88 MF Mantas Kuklys (vice-captain)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player DF Dominykas Barauskas (at Stumbras until 31 December 2017)

Youth squad

Žalgiris B

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 12 GK Karolis Čirba 35 GK Pijus Petkevičius 59 GK Airidas Mickevičius 18 DF Aldas Korsakas 20 DF Dominykas Barauskas 30 DF Oskaras Lukošiūnas 37 DF Artūras Lukša 45 DF Gleb Khrushchev 50 DF Arminas Čivilis 98 DF Arnas Valvonis 14 MF Karolis Uzėla 22 MF Justas Lasickas 32 MF Martin Moroz

No. Position Player 44 MF Lukas Vaičiūnas 71 MF Jonas Skinderis 75 MF Ernestas Stočkūnas 87 MF Donatas Jokubauskas 89 MF Erik Motuz 19 FW Edvinas Baniulis 28 FW Julius Momkus 31 FW Edgar Kudzin 41 FW Osvaldas Čipkus 85 FW Ignas Kružikas 87 FW Artūr Dolžnikov 91 MF Artiom Gončarenko

Player of the Year

Lists of the winners of Žalgiris Player of the Year Award instituted from 2004 as voted by the official members of Žalgiris's supporters club - Pietų IV:

Year Winner 2004 Mindaugas Malinauskas 2005 Virmantas Lemežis 2006 Igoris Morinas 2007 Igoris Morinas 2008 Igoris Morinas 2009 Edgaras Mastianica 2010 Pavel Komolov 2011 Marius Rapalis

Year Winner 2012 Kamil Biliński 2013 Mantas Kuklys 2014 Deividas Šemberas 2015 Andro Švrljuga 2016 Andrija Kaluđerović 2017 2018 2019

Famous players

FK Žalgiris players famous internationally and legends from the club or Lithuania.

Notable players

FK Žalgiris players who have either appeared for their respective national team at any time or received an individual award while at the club.

Coaches

References

External links

• Official website (in Lithuanian) (in English)