Marked for Dariuš Stankevičius
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zalgiris is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Zalgiris
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Zalgiris
Kajus Bička and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Marko Capan has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Zalgiris will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Zalgiris
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Étienne Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Zalgiris asked and Carrarese said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market14 Sep 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Karolis Vaitkunas is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gustas Jarusevičius, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Where he used to play does most of his talking for him at Zalgiris. The room defers to it, the kids study it, and the only thing that can puncture it is a bad month.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes Dušan Puletić a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zalgiris. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Petar Bosančić asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market14 Sep 2026
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Zalgiris could get for him.
Market14 Sep 2026
Zalgiris spent the window trying to move Petar Bosančić on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.