Leaders of Vilnius "Žalgiris" – on the role of D. Šemberas and D. Česnauskis and the fate of V.Urbonas | Sport

The former president of League A, the reformed club of Vilnius, will be V.Venslovaitienė and the director of sports operations. D.Cesnauskis, athletic director, finished the career last season.

With them 15 minutes Sports journalist Marius Bagdonas spoke of the second year in a row at the A League, changes in the team, in the face of new challenges and the fate of coach Valdas Urbonas.

D.Semberas has confidently announced that the coach would work at the club next season.

– What specific characteristics will each new manager receive?

V.Venslovaitienė: In fact, it's an important day for Zalgiris. It is a great honor for me to introduce these young and promising members who will help the club reach a new level. Mindaugas Nikolitos left the club because he had received an interesting offer after eight years of work.

First, we thought we would invite the best coaches to Žalgiris, who will perform many functions. We realized after this season that it did not happen. I worked alone without a sports director because Sergey Slyva was technical director. After this season, it was easy to make those decisions. For several years, we have a relationship with David Sember and I am happy to receive his message that he is ready. Before this message, we started a conversation with David Česnauskis. In our opinion, the club is ready for a qualitative leap, as its structure has developed and is the largest in Lithuania.

David Schember will be my badistant and head of sports opearatsii. And David Cesnausk will be a sports director responsible for buying players with a focus on the youth structure. We will all go through all levels. The biggest wallet is a relative thing, because in Vilnius, everything is the most expensive. With these men, we have beautiful goals.

– Have you considered more candidates for these positions or do you just want to invite legendary footballers to the club?

V.Venslovaitienė: After leaving Mindaugas, there were a lot of candidates, but we thought it should be in Lithuanian and related to the club or the relationship with me. I appreciate a person as a person. My point is that people can learn everything.

– Will there be more changes in the administration and in the structure of "Grunwald"?

V.Venslovaitienė: The structure is expanding because the holding is big. We can not stop because we will stop coming back. We have to get out of the routine, because in the season, there is not enough time to develop strategies. Now, it's time to develop strategies and play.

– When you finished your career, you said that you were hoping to keep up with the pace of football, but did you expect this offer to reach you as quickly?

D.Cesnauskis: Yes, the offer was unexpected for me. I thought what I would do next. The decision was unequivocal. I knew that I wanted to take up this challenge.

– You were not afraid of not yet having the experience of a sports director?

I know that there will be many new challenges. But I have teachers who will lead me along the way.

– You finished your career in Trakai. Is not it clear that this offer does not come from this team, but from the nearest competitor?

– It's part of the sport. I am very grateful to the Trakai Club for these five years. I do not see any conflicts here. That's my new start.

– You were just a little different from the other side of the barricade and you headed the entire A league. You spoke more than once because it was not easy to reconcile the interests of large and small clubs. Would not it be that he will now sit with the same heads of other clubs and pull that blanket for you?

D.Semberas: I have my own attitude towards the current structure of the A league, but now I am focusing more on the club in which I grew up and I have had the same attitude. opportunity to return to work. I know the values ​​and goals of this club, I know the guides. I know what the requirements are for them. I am happy to join. We know exactly three and even ten years to come. Already before everything was arranged. We know your direction.

In my opinion, the current system of the League does not work.

– Have you tried to withdraw from the presidential post of League A?

– I think that the experience of the administrative management of sport is necessary to occupy important positions. I think everyone has to do the basics.

– The club has not worked yet. Are these responsibilities related to your science of UEFA?

– Science is always good, it brings knowledge and confidence. I think I will adapt it to my work and bring it to the club.

– Last season, Sergey Slyva, who worked as a sports director, did not finish at the club until the end of the season. Do you have expectations? Did you feel a lot when, at the end of the season, "Žalgiris" was found without this person's post?

V.Venslovaitienė: The reason for the release was his intention. We had an agreement before the first day of September to try, but it was such a decision. In each system, the adaptation does not last three months. Only a year later, my people understand where it comes from. Sergei came to a new area, but the person just had other goals. He chose his place in life and went out. I can not appreciate it, it was short time. He was focused on working with the youth academy. He apparently did not like anything, apparently.

– League title for the second year in a row. What are the main results? Have you tried answering your question, why not succeed again?

V.Venslovaitienė: Everything is clear for everyone. By changing coach, we started from minus 11, we immediately started the European fight and we were under pressure. If we awarded the championship last year, we fought this year honorably for him. It can be said that losing points against Atlanta is incomprehensible.

– Aurelius Skarbalius was released too late? Why did not he like the team?

– I do not want to write down. The decision was made because nine years have not been.

– Does the loss of a league title mean that it will be more difficult to negotiate support with municipal leaders? Linas Kvedaravičius has publicly stated before last season that he did not want to hear any excuses for the defeat of the league title.

V.Venslovaitienė: Several board members said it was one of the best investment programs in Vilnius. The community has grown. People do not have enough bread, they also need games. Ok, there are several clubs. The brightest teams are two. I know I want a trophy. The start of the season was optimistic because we called the best coaches and they chose what they wanted. We had hoped to not only win League A, but also to go far in Europe. I believe that people sitting here want to make a new set of victories. Although we have not won the title, we have already achieved the goal of the decade. We will be at 152 instead for clubs. Progress is visible.

– During the last semester, you could perfectly see the differences between the Sūduvos and the Žalgiris of the country. Who is currently the most distinguished of the "Žalgiris" of "Sūduvos"?

D.Cesnauskis: The house was bad for the club itself, but it was difficult to recover those points, but Urbona was a bit short. What was missing Needed to see where the mistakes were made.

D.Semberas: There were very few missing. Objectively, "Zalgiris" did not miss the "Sūduva". This has also been seen in mutual games. I would say that even Žalgiris had an advantage. But in the match against Atlanta, we lost the title of champion. When they were not under pressure from their rivals, they were relaxed and we were only increasing the stress. Maybe the coach thought that this match would be easier. He might have concluded. Next year, we do not doubt that we will make these places.

– Will the budget for this year be lower?

V.Venslovaitienė: The goal is to save what was. It is too early to talk about bad. We all know that City Council postponed the hearing in December. But the goal is to cross the fourth stage of Europe. The goal is to start with a lower start, while keeping the same. Even a pessimistic script.

– You have already said goodbye to five footballers: Diego Oyarzunu, Marquinhosu, Tomasz Malecz and Louise Ogana and Dominique Codz. Will there be more divorces? How many players currently have a contract?

V.Venslovaitienė: These decisions were made by my coach and Mr. Nicolitch. Looking at a smaller budget, my plan is to have a clear plan. I was at a year and a half from the team, I was coming back from April and badyzing what was coming and going to philosophy. Aurelius was allowed to do everything. We saw that it did not work. Everything had returned. With the pbading team, the connection is unique, which has not yet been the case.

– Why was it decided not to let L.Ogana play in the team during the second half of the season? Why did you sing with Mamadou Mbodjiu?

V.Venslovaitienė: Mamadou gave this club three years. Last year, he was chosen as the player of the year. Ten years ago, I would not have thought of it. But he is young, he needs to earn money. It is difficult to compete with the European market. That's why it was. He had the chance to go in the summer. But he left to finish the season. Sometimes players can not be stopped. They must earn money. We tell young players that they are working to buy a ticket for the future.

Ogana is also a young player. We have our own academy to use. To stay, he has to beat every game.

– When can we hear the first news about newcomers?

D.Cesnauskis: The work is just beginning. The house is We are looking at a lot of players. I would like to complete the team as quickly as possible, but that does not happen.

– With regard to the Grunwald pyramid, why can not we train it properly every year? Lasickas, Romanovsky, Codz ..

V.Venslovaitienė: The cod was traumatized. At first, he played at the club. He took advantage of the right to terminate the contract. He needed a club, but his decision was there. I want to have players and employees who want to be here.

D.Semberas: There will be no players who will not be motivated. If the player does not see himself in the club, we do not need it.

The Academy must use the latest technologies. We need to install them for the coaches to use. We must supervise and control.

The way forward for a young player is simple: the elite league U19, Team B, then the first team or the leases. It is widely used all over Europe. Artificially to the main team, players can not be drawn.

– I also saw you in the plane where the Lithuanian team took the plane of the League of Nations in Serbia. Maybe this trip was already related to your new responsibilities?

D.Cesnauskis: Yes that's it. It was a meeting with old friends with whom I wanted to resurrect contacts. Look also at our young people. It was fun to see these games.

D.Semberas: I am very interested in Lithuanians who are close to the team. We want to give them a break. But we do not have many choices to be competitive in Lithuania and Europe. Trakai has brought together a potentially strong core of young players. But our goal is the Lithuanians.

– What kind of sports director is closer to you with your heart – German when you are close to the team and you are even sitting on a spare bench during the match, or is it the usual role to shoot everything from the gallery?

D.Cesnauskis: I would like to feel the pulse of the game and be close to the team.

– What is the future of coach Valdo Urbona?

D.Semberas: His future is clear. He stays in the club. He showed more than six months that he could work with players of this caliber. We would like him to work for five years, but we must become champions.

– You will train the team according to the wishes of the coach. Will Club Managers Have More Influence?

D.Semberas: In no organization, a coach is not everything. In Lithuania, examples have already been shown that this did not work. We think that a shared solution is more effective. Of course, we will consider the wishes of the coach. The trainer focuses on the short-term goal and we think more about it. There will be no solution for a coach, Šemberas or Chesnauskis.

– You do not fear that strong changes, like last season, can be very expensive, so that men have time to show a stable match and results?

D.Semberas: It always takes time for a new team, but we will try to make the adaptation as short as possible. Players must quickly understand what we are asking here.

V.Venslovaitienė: Last year, we had the same composition and it bore the title "Sūduvai". That does not mean anything here, there are myths. This is the management. Nicoličius in Croatia had 17 new players.

– When do you plan to start preparing for the new season? Only in Lithuania or abroad?

D.Cesnauskis: The team will meet on January 8th. The camp is still planned. On January 8, we have to work hard.

– Tonight you will also participate in an open conversation about the misfortunes of Lithuanian football. All this makes sense, your ambitions for the club positions "Žalgiris" will not be limited.

D.Semberas: I do not know what will happen after five or ten years. But now, I'm focusing on this club. But in Lithuanian football, we have big problems. Talk about that. Where are the clubs in the ecosystem? Now they are thrown out of the pyramid. It's a big pyramid. We'll talk about it tonight.

– (Question from the reader) I would like to ask what are the long-term objectives of Žalgiris? The impression is often that they are not. The aim of each season is to go through several UEFA selection rounds and raise several hundred thousand euros, but does the team have a plan and a vision of 5 years? The team replaces the legionnaire with a dozen Croats, Serbs, Brazilians and others. Do the current "Žalgiris" have a face, is it just a potion of legionaries that change every season? Do not you think that more local players on the team, continuity of the team would help establish a slightly closer relationship with the community and the fans? It seems to me that the fact that the captain of the team became Simkovič playing just a few months ago is revealing.

V.Venslovaitienė: And why was Mantas Kuklys captain in Kazakhstan? We live in stereotypes in the country. Each organization is a family. When you live in a men's college, there are a lot of emotions. The choice of each team, who is their leader. It was a decision of the coach and he was right. George was the captain, but he had a long injury. The team had to have a captain. Tomosh did it well.

I think the Vilnius club was a pioneer when better legionaries started to go to Lithuania. This shows results. Naturally, we can not invite legionaries to review because we do not have the opportunity to do so. This is an opportunity for error. Missing and big clubs too. Šemberas will bring us a list of Lithuanian players. But David says that they are not in the market. This club was built on Lithuanian. It is to say that we carry third party players here … Not allowed.