Kaunas not resting on their laurels

FBK Kaunas became the most successful club in Lithuanian history in 2007, but club president Gintaras Ugianskis still feels the season "wasn't that good".

Huge margin
Having won their eighth title in nine years – since claiming their first as FK Zalgiris Kaunas back in 1999 – the club have now won more titles than any other local club, surpassing the total of FK Inkaras Kaunas, who also won titles before the second world war and during the days of the Soviet Union. However, even though they finished 15 points ahead of second-placed FK Sūduva, Ugianskis was far from overwhelmed by their achievements.

European challenges
"I think this season wasn't that good," he said. "We only won the national league. We wanted to make it through to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League but lost in the first qualifying round. In Baltic League we were beaten in semi-finals by FK Ventspils. The more we play against foreign teams, the bigger our progress will be. Next year we have to make a name for ourselves in the Champions League."

Local talent
Ugianskis agreed Brazilian midfielder Rafael Rodrigues Ledesma had been the club's best player of the season, a view he shared with coach Algimantas Liubinskas, who is generally sceptical about the standard of foreign players in the A Lyga. However, he was keen to praise the performances of some of his side's local players, saying: "Striker Mindaugas Grigalevičius, who finished as our best striker with 18 goals, might be called the revelation of the season. Our captain Nerijus Radžius and Mindaugas Bagužis were solid in defence. In some matches Marius Činikas was just great, while youngster Mantas Fridrikas made some progress as well."

Big plans
However, he warned that major changes were due before the start of the 2008 campaign, saying: "Some players didn't justify our faith and we'll part company with them. Changes are needed. Very soon we'll start to build our training ground; we've waited almost two years for this project to be confirmed. The training ground is vital for Kaunas." Kaunas will also build a 3,000-capacity stadium for league matches along with two training pitches and new offices.