S. Jakirovičius’s achievement at 49 is considered a true feat. Modest “Hull City” was seen as one of the “Championship” outsiders this season, but managed to defy all initial predictions.
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“I was given only one task – to keep “Hull City” in the second league. I’m sorry, I messed up, because we’re going up!” – S. Jakirovičius ironically triumphed after “Hull City”‘s victory in the qualification final.
The team nicknamed “Tigers” finished sixth in the “Championship” league (this is the lowest position allowing them to compete in the playoffs), but defeated “Millwall” 2:0 in the semi-finals, and broke “Middlesbrough” 1:0 in the final.
Even more impressively, “Hull City” achieved this despite having a transfer ban for new players during the transfer window (it was applied to the “Tigers” due to a delayed payment to Birmingham’s “Aston Villa” team).
“Our target was (Arbëris) Hoxha from Zagreb’s “Dinamo”, but due to the ban, we couldn’t invite him. We also targeted Rokas Pukštas from Split’s “Hajduk” and Toni Fruk from “Rijeka”, but for the same reason, they didn’t come,” – said S. Jakirovičius, speaking to “Sportske Novosti”.
He soon added that the mentioned players could become “Hull City” newcomers in the “Premier” league: “I believe in them, they are excellent footballers. I know A. Hoxha from the time I coached “Dinamo” myself.”
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R. Pukštas has fantastic potential, and T. Fruk is wonderful at the spearhead of attacks. They will all definitely be on our lists and in discussions, but for now, it’s still a bit too early to draw conclusions. We need to see how much money we will have and who we will be able to invite.”
Valued at 6 million euros, R. Pukštas became the Croatian vice-champion with the “Hajduk” club this year. The 21-year-old footballer played 31 matches in the Croatian league, scored 9 goals, and provided 4 assists.
His contract with the Split team is valid until the summer of 2027.
At a glance
- 15min reminds that both of Rokas’s parents are Lithuanians, well-known national athletes who emigrated to the USA. His father Mindaugas, a former marathon runner, represented Lithuania at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (finishing 74th), and his mother Živilė is a multiple Lithuanian triple jump champion.
- R. Pukštas holds both Lithuanian and US passports. However, he currently chooses to represent the USA. It is noteworthy that the footballer has only played for US youth national teams so far (and was their captain), so in men’s football, theoretically, he could change his choice and represent Lithuania.
R. Pukštas hoped to be included in the US men’s national team squad for the upcoming World Cup, but did not attract the attention of coach Mauricio Pochettino.
However, he will represent the US youth (U21) national team, which will play two friendly matches against their peers from Ukraine (June 5) and Uzbekistan (June 8).
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