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Klevinskas clean sheets lift Sūduva

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Unbeaten in 540 minutes of football this season, 25-year-old goalkeeper Saulius Klevinskas is hoping that such flawless form can help FK Sūduva lift the Lithuanian Cup and also dominate the 2009 A Lyga campaign.

Sūduva goalkeeper Saulius Klevinskas
Sūduva goalkeeper Saulius Klevinskas ©Piko Valanda

Unbeaten in 540 minutes of football this season, goalkeeper Saulius Klevinskas hopes such flawless form can help FK Sūduva win the Lithuanian Cup and dominate the A Lyga.

Team effort
It has not only been an eye-catching start to the league season for Sūduva – they share top spot with champions FK Ekranas, boasting 13 points from five matches – but also for their still-to-concede goalkeeper, Klevinskas. Even better, victory over second-division FK Šilute, secured by another clean sheet, earned the Marijampole side a place in the domestic cup final. Klevinskas is quick to share the credit. "The whole team have worked hard to achieve this," the 25-year-old told uefa.com.

Hard road
Klevinskas may now be Sūduva's No1 as well as a one-cap Lithuanian international but he served time in the reserves before finally succeeding the experienced Gitis Padimanskas three years ago. "I never considered quitting, because becoming a goalkeeper was my dream," said Klevinskas, whose hero is Chelsea FC's Petr Čech. Former Sūduva coach Algimantas Gabris added: "His persistence made the difference, he always kept working."

Leading role
That attitude has earned him the club captaincy, though he insists his elevation has not caused any problems among his team-mates. "We have healthy competition, particularly among the keepers, but there is a great spirit here too. It is also important that we have Audrius Ramonas as our goalkeeping coach – he is working with the Lithuanian national team."

International debut
Capped in a 2006 friendly against Kuwait, Klevinskas would love to play more international football. "I really want to get back into the national side, but that is not my only aim," he said. "I also want to get back into European competition." Sūduva played in the UEFA Cup last summer, beating Wales's The New Saints FC in the first qualifying round before losing to FC Salzburg of Austria.

'The next game'
After finishing the 2008 league campaign in fourth position, Sūduva must win the cup final to return to Europe next season and are determined to qualify for continental competition in 2010/11 with a good league finish this time around. However, Klevinskas stresses that they are not getting ahead of themselves. "We do not discuss gold medals in this team," he said. "We have only one ambition – to win the next game."