Lithuania's mystery managers

The coaches' names on the teamsheet may not tell the whole story for three of Lithuania's European contenders this season as a result of licensing issues.

European contenders
Champions FBK Kaunas kick off their UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie against FK Zeta in Montenegro on Tuesday, FK Ekranas visit the Faroe Islands to take on B36 Tórshavn in the UEFA Cup two days later, while FK Vėtra kick off their UEFA Intertoto Cup third-round tie at home against Blackburn Rovers FC a week on Saturday. All three sides currently have coaches who are ultimately responsible in all but name, with other club staff in official charge of first-team affairs.

Maiden success
At league leaders Kaunas, Bulgarian Angel Cervenkov replaced Belarussian coach Vladimir Kurnev early in the season, leading them to a maiden victory in the Lithuanian Cup final on 27 April, as they beat FK Sūduva 1-0. That success prompted owner Vladimir Romanov to ship Cervenkov off to another of his clubs, Scotland's Heart of Midlothian FC.

Warm welcome
His anointed replacement, Andrei Zygmantovitch, was brought in from another corner of the Romanov empire - Belarussian side FC MTZ-RIPO Minsk - where former coach Yuri Puntus was preparing to resume control. "Zygmantovitch will move to Lithuania soon - he has been offered the job at FBK Kaunas," explained Puntus. "They really want him there."

Proxy manager
However, when it was discovered that Zygmantovitch did not have the necessary documentation to act as a coach in the A Lyga, Kaunas were forced to appoint goalkeeping coach Arturas Ramoška as their nominal manager with Zygmantovitch leading the team in all but name. The situation has been much the same at both Ekranas and Vėtra with uncredited coaches taking charge.

Liubšys returns
Last season's A Lyga runners-up, Ekranas decided to terminate coach Saulius Širmelis' contract at the end of June after an underwhelming start to his first campaign in charge. Virginijus Liubšys was invited back to take control of first-team affairs, but he preferred to keep his existing job title as the club's sporting director, leaving reserve team boss Darius Butkus to become 'coach'.

Greenhorn boss
At Vėtra, the dismissal of Russian Aleksandr Tarkhanov in June prompted the appointment of 33-year-old former Lithuanian international midfielder Donatas Vencevicius to lead first-team matters. However, given that he only retired last season and is yet to qualify for a licence, he has been named as the club's sporting director with his assistant Vaitautas Jančauskas taking the formal role as coach.