Darius Simkus

Goalkeeper - Trakai
20 Sep 2026
Sunday
Process

Marked for Darius Simkus

7 Edition

The Trakai Courier

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Nikša Vujčić 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.

Transfer targets

Kauno Zalgiris tell Trakai: Rokas Lekiatas is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

A falling-out at Trakai

Modestas Valskis and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

In brief

Back issues
5 Edition

The Trakai Courier

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Darius Simkus hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Trakai can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Eyes on Lukas Cernych again

The phone has started ringing about Lukas Cernych again, and this time the name on the line is Suduva. Trakai are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Tempers go at Trakai

Modestas Valskis 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Trakai

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikša Vujčić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Yusuf Demir

Trakai asked and Rapid Wien said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Transfer targets

Trakai ask about Razvan Marin

A loan enquiry to Pandurii: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

In brief

3 Edition

The Trakai Courier

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Trakai out of the cup

Siauliai ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Market

Zalgiris come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Trakai did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Darius Simkus

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Saulius Vaitkunas in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Trakai this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Trakai

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikša Vujčić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Trakai rebuffed over Alexis Kalogeropoulos

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olympiacos have kept their man, and Trakai go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The dugout

No hiding place for Nikša Vujčić

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikša Vujčić, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Fiodor Lasickas faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Fiodor Lasickas after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

Squad

Aidas Mikoliunas stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Aidas Mikoliunas and Trakai agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

2 Edition

The Trakai Courier

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Tadas Paulauskas asks to leave Trakai

“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.

Transfer targets

Sabur Ali turns down Trakai

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Rudar Velenje keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Squad

Saulius Vaitkunas signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Saulius Vaitkunas and Trakai agree another 3 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Trakai

Saulius Vaitkunas 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.

Squad

Words at Trakai training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikša Vujčić 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.

Transfer targets

Trakai rebuffed over Nikola Iliev

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Botev Plovdiv have kept their man, and Trakai go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The dugout

No hiding place for Darius Simkus

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Darius Simkus, and the manager let it.

Transfer targets

Trakai try to borrow Linas Megelaitis

Perugia 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.

Transfer targets

Trakai try to borrow Zsombor Gruber

Ferencvaros 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.

In brief