Marked for Lukas Cernych
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Trakai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bendrix Parra 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Linas Dapkus 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom16 Nov 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Linas Dapkus has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Trakai
Bendrix Parra 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Trakai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ricardo Quiñónez 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
Steady
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Paulius Valskis has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Market19 Oct 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Paulius Valskis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Trakai the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Trakai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ricardo Quiñónez 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
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market31 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Trakai, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Bendrix Parra 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Rokas Girdvainis and Trakai agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Lukas Cernych has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Trakai 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Trakai would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Aug 2026
Trakai bow out of the cup
Suduva go through and Trakai go home, 0‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Market24 Aug 2026
“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.
Market24 Aug 2026
Trakai say no — this time
The offer from Atlantas for Donatas Paulauskas was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Trakai
Vykintas Dapkus 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 Aug 2026
Words at Trakai training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bendrix Parra 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Donatas Klimavicius again, and this time the name on the line is Utenis. Trakai are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lukas Cernych, and the manager let it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Justas Cernych pulls a muscle — 17 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 17 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Market24 Aug 2026
Alvis Ikaunieks is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Trakai has been clear about where Alvis Ikaunieks stands, which is more than many ever get.