FK Kauno Žalgiris
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Futbolo klubas Kauno Žalgiris (''Football club Kauno Žalgiris'') is a professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club based in
Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
, Lithuania, that competes in the
A lyga The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) (). History The first football league was established in Lithuania in 1924, and in various forms existed until 1939. ...
, the top tier of Lithuania. The club was founded as FM Spyris Kaunas in 2004, became the football section of basketball club Žalgiris Kaunas and moved to their current stadium, the
Darius and Girėnas Stadium Darius and Girėnas stadium () is a multi-use stadium in Kaunas, Lithuania. With a seating capacity of 15,026, it is the largest stadium in Lithuania and the Baltic states. Located in the Ąžuolynas park in Žaliakalnis district, it serves as a ...
, in 2015. After their debut season in the A Lyga, the club adopted the name FK Kauno Žalgiris in 2016.


History


2005–2014: Early years

The idea of professional club was raised by the Kaunas football school "Tauras" in 2004, when coaches of the school decided to give an opportunity for school graduates to continue their football careers professionally, this became a reality in 2005 when FM Spyris was formed. The club initially played in the LFF II league's southern division, wearing yellow and blue. On 1 May 2005, FM Spyris played their first official match, defeated 2–1 by FK Sveikata Kybartai. For a single season in 2010, FM Spyris was renamed to FM Aisčiai Kaunas, the team finished as runners-up. Despite struggling to get back on top of the league, by 2013, the club had moved up to the LFF I league and enjoyed a couple of competitive seasons and were competitive in the LFF Cup.


2015–present: Kauno Žalgiris

After their recent success, the club made it official that they would like to join the premier Lithuanian football league for the 2015 season, Spyris was accepted on the first check up. Before the season started it was announced that 6 new players will join the club Dzmitry Rekish, Giuseppe Palma (on loan from
S.S.C. Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli (), commonly known as SSC Napoli or simply Napoli, is an Italian professional football club based in Naples, Campania that currently competes in the Serie A, the highest league of Italian football. Napoli are am ...
),
Andrius Velička Andrius Velička (born 5 April 1979) is a Lithuanian retired professional association footballer who played as a striker for clubs in Russia, Kazakhstan, Scotland, England, Norway and Azerbaijan in addition to his homeland. He also played for t ...
, Paulius Daukša, Klimas Gusočenko and Jevgenij Maroz. Prior to the start of the season, the club announced their cooperation with
BC Žalgiris Basketball Club Žalgiris () commonly known as BC Žalgiris, is a professional basketball club based in Kaunas, Lithuania. They compete domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (''Lietuvos krepšinio lyga'') and ...
and plans of adapting the name Žalgiris. The name change would spark a controversy due to the fact another Lithuanian club
FK Žalgiris Vilnius FK or fk may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block * Funky Kong, a video game character Place * F ...
would also be competing in the league. The club from Vilnius would file a complaint under the basis of LFF regulations not allowing two teams being under the same name. On 1 March 2015, the club debuted in the A Lyga by defeating
FK Klaipėdos Granitas FK Klaipėdos Granitas was a Lithuanian football club based in Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Balti ...
2–1 in Kaunas as FK Spyris Kaunas. The club's green and white kits would sport the name Žalgiris and the basketball club's logo, alongside the logo they used as FK Spyris. Spyris finished fifth in the league, also reached the
Lithuanian Football Cup The Lithuanian Football Federation Cup (), also known as Hegelmann LFF Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a Lithuanian football cup competition contested in a knockout tournament format. The winner of the cup gains entitlement to participate in th ...
semi-final, but was defeated by Žalgiris Vilnius. Before the start of the 2016 season, the club changed its name to FK Kauno Žalgiris, adapting the name of the namesake basketball club. Although the newly developing fan base were happy about it, the name change was shadowed by more legal issues with
FK Žalgiris Vilnius FK or fk may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block * Funky Kong, a video game character Place * F ...
, so the future of club's name was uncertain. The club started its preseason by signing a former Kaunas football school Tauras graduate
Mantas Fridrikas Mantas Fridrikas (born 13 September 1988) is a retired Lithuanian footballer who played as a centre back. Career Fridrikas made eight appearances and scored one goal for FBK Kaunas during the 2007 season. Fridrikas was hoping to move to Scottis ...
. Later the club announced the oldest player on the team
Audrius Kšanavičius Audrius Kšanavičius (born 28 January 1977) is a footballer who plays for FBK Kaunas as a midfielder. Career A left winger, Kšanavičius began his career with FBK Kaunas in 1994, making over 150 appearances before moving to Latvian champions S ...
was retiring, winger Jevgenij Moroz and one of the best 2015
A lyga The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) (). History The first football league was established in Lithuania in 1924, and in various forms existed until 1939. ...
players, Dzmitry Rekish, were leaving the club. After a brief spell of silence, the club announced the signings of three new players just before the beginning of the season who were former
FK Šiauliai FK or fk may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block * Funky Kong is a series of video games pub ...
right back Ernestas Pilypas, Russian winger Leonid Mushnikov, who also was part of Šiauliai team from 2011 to 2013 and 2013
Lithuanian Footballer of the Year Lithuanian Footballer of the Year is a football award. Winners * 1965: Petras Glodenis ( Žalgiris Vilnius) * 1966: Gintautas Kalėdinskas ( Žalgiris Vilnius) * 1967: Stanislovas Ramelis ( Žalgiris Vilnius) * 1968: Stanislovas Ramelis ( Žalg ...
Mindaugas Kalonas whose career at that time was on a downfall. The club signed a contract with 2016 Best
I Lyga The LFF Pirma Lyga, TOPsport Pirma Lyga, or Pirma Lyga, is the second tier of professional Lithuanian football championship. Format Organized by the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF), I Lyga is contested by 16 teams, with the top team gain ...
manager
Vitalijus Stankevičius Vitalijus is a Lithuanian language, Lithuanian masculine given name.Behind the Name
''Vitalijus''. Retrieved 1 March 20 ...
. In 2020 season team won third place in
A lyga The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) (). History The first football league was established in Lithuania in 1924, and in various forms existed until 1939. ...
. In 2021 season again won third place.


Stadium

The club plays its home matches at the
Darius and Girėnas Stadium Darius and Girėnas stadium () is a multi-use stadium in Kaunas, Lithuania. With a seating capacity of 15,026, it is the largest stadium in Lithuania and the Baltic states. Located in the Ąžuolynas park in Žaliakalnis district, it serves as a ...
. The stadium is a multi-use facility in Ąžuolynas park in the Žaliakalnis district of Kaunas, Lithuania. The all-seater stadium holds 15,026 spectators and is the largest in Lithuania and the Baltic States. In 1998 it was renovated according to UEFA regulations, and in 2005 it was modernized with an installation of the biggest digital scoreboard in the Baltic states. The latest renovation started in 2018 and ended in 2022. In 2022, the club enhanced their training capabilities with a 115x74x20 mete
air dome


Kit

* When the club was called FK Spyris, they wore yellow/blue (Yellow kits, blue shorts and blue socks). * Since 2015, FK Žalgiris Kaunas's colours have been green and white. The kit is a green and white jersey, and the shorts and socks is a variation of green and white. * The Goalkeeper's kits were brown with black shorts and socks in the 2018 season. Currently, in the 2020 season, the goalkeeper's jersey is in blue.


Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors


Crest

FK Kauno Žalgiris is using the same logo as
BC Žalgiris Basketball Club Žalgiris () commonly known as BC Žalgiris, is a professional basketball club based in Kaunas, Lithuania. They compete domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, Lithuanian Basketball League (''Lietuvos krepšinio lyga'') and ...
. The logo design is a green and white shield with the sign "BC Žalgiris", a basketball, and the letter "Ž". The club's name commemorates the victorious ''Battle of Žalgiris'' (
Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...
) (The meanings of ''Žalgiris'' and ''Grunwald'' are both "green grove").


Honours

*Lithuanian Championship/
A Lyga The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) (). History The first football league was established in Lithuania in 1924, and in various forms existed until 1939. ...
**Runners-up (1):
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
**Third place (2):
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
,
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
*
Lithuanian Supercup The Lithuanian Supercup () or LFF Supercup is an annual football match contested between the champions of the previous A Lyga season and the holders of the Lithuanian Football Cup. It is organised by and named after Lithuanian Football Federation a ...
**Runners-up (1): 2023


Rankings in Domestic competitions


European Competitions record

;Notes * QR: Qualifying round


Current squad


Out on loan


Technical staff


References


External links

*
Facebook Kauno Žalgiris official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kauno Zalgiris Football clubs in Lithuania Football clubs in Kaunas BC Žalgiris 2004 establishments in Lithuania Association football clubs established in 2004