Stankevičius named Lithuania's finest

UC Sampdoria defender Marius Stankevičius retained the title of Lithuanian Player of the Year and subsequently admitted that he had made an "important step forward in my career".

Runaway winner
Stankevičius, in his second campaign with Sampdoria, topped a poll of football specialists with a total of 1,140 points compared to second-placed Deividas Šemberas of PFC CSKA Moskva, who tallied 478 points. AS Livorno Calcio striker Tomas Danilevičius (293) finished in third position, but it was the 49-cap Stankevičius who took the plaudits. "It was a controversial year for me," said the 28-year-old. "I had disappointing moments as well. At the same time I made an important step forward in my career, though I did not expect to win by such a huge margin."

Prolific Trakys
Valdas Trakys added the title of A Lyga Player of the Year to that of the Lithuanian top-flight's leading scorer, having struck 20 times to fire FK Ekranas to their second successive championship. Virginijus Liubšys was awarded the Coach of the Year accolade after defying the odds to steer FK Vėtra to a second-placed finish, while Ekranas goalkeeper Vytautas Černiauskas was named as Young Player of the Year.