The match between Žalgiris and Hajduk will take place on August 6th at 8 PM Lithuanian time.
Read more Warning about turbulent weather: heavy rain, thunderstorm, hail, and possible squall approaching
The Adriatic Sea coastal port city is home to one of the country’s biggest clubs. It can proudly share this name with the capital Zagreb’s Dinamo.
Although the fan base and the atmosphere being created echo throughout Croatia, Hajduk has not tasted the trophy champagne since the 2004–2005 season. Every season hoping to regain greatness, they keep hitting the wall of reality.
The Split club has not tasted European football for 15 years, and this year again dictates familiar trends. Although the first round of the Europa League was handled quite confidently against Žilina, the second leg was very unsuccessful.
At their home stadium, the Dalmatian region’s pride defeated Pafos 2:0, but in Cyprus they received not just a pinprick but a real ambush blow. 0:4, relegation to the Conference League. The mood is gloomy, the local championship also started with a defeat, and now the miracle workers from Liepkalnis await.
After losing 0:3 in Tbilisi against the local Dinamo, Žalgiris struck such a blow at home that knocked the Georgians off their feet – 7:2.
“Žalgiris has great players, they are a very aggressive team. We will need to tame that,” said Hajduk coach Gonzalo Garcia before the match.
– Unlike Žalgiris, you come on a “bad wave”. Two consecutive losses. What are the main tasks to get back on the winning path?
– Right now we are thinking too much about the final result, but we need to fix this mindset. We need to change things and the players are motivated to do so.
Read more 6 early signs that reveal infidelity: easy to overlook
We haven’t qualified for European competitions for a few years now. We are currently aiming to change that. We have to set the tone from the very start of the match because we are playing away.
– In Vilnius, you will have to play on artificial turf. How might this affect your team?
– Everything that is different can be bad if you think about it too much. When I was a player, I liked playing on artificial turf. If you are a player who likes to play offensively, run fast counterattacks, it’s better for you because the ball moves faster. Of course, many things are different.
If you are weak psychologically, that can be an excuse for a poor performance, but that cannot be. In my opinion, such a surface has good and bad sides. It will be to our advantage because the players like to run fast, like to attack.
– In the last Conference League match, Žalgiris showed a miracle by defeating Tbilisi Dinamo. What did you learn from these matches?
– It was amazing, the fans were great. I can say they really did not expect it, that is true. How long they were behind, but they showed a real miracle, demonstrating perfect energy. Sometimes players don’t show that kind of energy and everything goes to hell.
We need to go into the match with a completely different mindset and be ourselves. We have to do that. When you come here and are afraid, don’t attack the goal, don’t press the opponents, you will lose. Dinamo’s defense couldn’t handle it when Žalgiris showed a significantly more physical game. We have to be ourselves and show our good side.
– Zagreb Dinamo defeated Kauno Žalgiris 5:0 yesterday. Did you watch the match?
– We saw that Dinamo dominated the match. I only saw the first half because we had training later, I saw the first two goals. When they score two quick goals, it becomes very hard to stop them.
Read more Famous family differs – Member of Parliament Linas Jonauskas and his wife Evita have gone to court
