Marked for Lukas Klišys
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings5 May 2031
Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad5 May 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Anthony Kalik and Kauno Zalgiris agree another 2 years.
Squad5 May 2031
Vykintas Slivka and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match3 May 2031
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 May 2031
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcin Urynowicz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 May 2031
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Andrius Jankauskas has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
The dugout5 May 2031
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Justas Cernych to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout5 May 2031
Lautaro Toledo has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Kauno 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.
Looking ahead5 May 2031
Suduva next, and one man in the Kauno Zalgiris dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match22 Mar 2031
Beaten 0‑4 by Suduva, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad24 Mar 2031
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad24 Mar 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kauno Zalgiris this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Mar 2031
Words at Kauno Zalgiris training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marcin Urynowicz is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout24 Mar 2031
The manager makes an example of Lukas Klišys
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom24 Mar 2031
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad24 Mar 2031
10 new faces, and Kauno Zalgiris are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout24 Mar 2031
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout24 Mar 2031
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Jan 2031
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kauno Zalgiris will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad27 Jan 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kauno Zalgiris this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom27 Jan 2031
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Squad27 Jan 2031
Words at Kauno Zalgiris training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Karolis Klimavicius is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad27 Jan 2031
A club back home comes in for Lukas Klišys
The enquiry everybody at Kauno Zalgiris was hoping would not arrive has arrived. He has never pretended he did not want to go back, and now there is somewhere to go back to.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
The manager has not finished forgetting Aidas Slavickas's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Market27 Jan 2031
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kauno Zalgiris, another week without a signature from Albert Rusnak.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Jan 2031
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 69 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market20 Jan 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kauno Zalgiris can pretend not to have heard.
Market20 Jan 2031
Trakai come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Kauno Zalgiris did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market20 Jan 2031
Mohamed Thiane has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kauno Zalgiris they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad20 Jan 2031
A season average of 7.20 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Kauno Zalgiris know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
The dugout20 Jan 2031
Edvinas Eliosius: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kauno Zalgiris have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets20 Jan 2031
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Suduva is saying, and nobody at Kauno Zalgiris is enjoying the guessing.
The dugout20 Jan 2031
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad20 Jan 2031
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Marcin Urynowicz commits to Kauno Zalgiris for another 1 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match24 Dec 2029
Kauno Zalgiris refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 29 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Enzo Ibrahim Rivière was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paulius Valskis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
Anthony Kalik gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Anthony Kalik is on it.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
Lukas Klišys gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kauno Zalgiris, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout26 Nov 2029
Vykintas Slivka: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kauno Zalgiris have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match26 Nov 2029
29 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market26 Nov 2029
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Kauno Zalgiris can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
The manager makes an example of Marcis Fertovs
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Paulius Valskis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Nikodem Kołodziej and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Nov 2029
A fracture rules Marcis Fertovs out for 27 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kauno Zalgiris will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad12 Nov 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kauno Zalgiris this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Words at Kauno Zalgiris training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulius Valskis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Nov 2029
A fracture rules Marcis Fertovs out for 34 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kauno Zalgiris will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad5 Nov 2029
A muscle injury sidelines Franco Baldassarra for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Kauno Zalgiris will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Enzo Ibrahim Rivière and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market5 Nov 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout5 Nov 2029
Fabien Ourega gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Fabien Ourega is on it.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Kasper Nieuwenhuis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kauno Zalgiris this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Paulius Valskis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
Marcis Fertovs knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kauno Zalgiris, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad15 Oct 2029
Vykintas Slivka and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marcis Fertovs, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Paulius Valskis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad15 Oct 2029
With 4 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Oct 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Anthony Kalik commits to Kauno Zalgiris for another 3 years.
The dugout8 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Justas Girdvainis, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Lukas Klišys and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout8 Oct 2029
Fabien Ourega gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Fabien Ourega is on it.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Words at Kauno Zalgiris training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ignas Slavickas is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market8 Oct 2029
5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Kauno Zalgiris money.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match1 Oct 2029
29 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Vykintas Slivka was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Words at Kauno Zalgiris training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulius Valskis is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout1 Oct 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Fabien Ourega moves up the pecking order
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Kauno Zalgiris than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
The dugout1 Oct 2029
Lukas Klišys gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market24 Sep 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market24 Sep 2029
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Tomas Švedkauskas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Paulius Valskis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Karolis Klimavicius is on it.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad24 Sep 2029
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
The manager makes Lukas Klišys a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Kauno Zalgiris. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Aug 2029
Tomas Švedkauskas and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vykintas Slivka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zenit have kept their man, and Kauno Zalgiris go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
A loan enquiry to Spartak Moscow: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
Petrolul have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The terraces27 Aug 2029
The Anthony Kalik rumours reach the terraces
What was a back-page link has become a chant, and the chant is not friendly. Kauno Zalgiris would rather it were settled quietly, and it has stopped being quiet.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
Lukas Klišys 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.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Daniel Foks is not doing himself any favours
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.