Legendary commentator Nerijus Kesminas and former footballer, now following Nerijus in commentary, Ervinas Kvitkauskas will look at football news.
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The duo paid a lot of attention to Lithuanian football, as there were certainly plenty of reasons to celebrate this time. Valdas Dambrauskas became the first Lithuanian coach to reach the UEFA Champions League. He did this with Baku’s “Sabah”.
Meanwhile, Kaunas “Žalgiris” advanced to the UEFA Conference League and became the second team to reach the main stage of a European tournament. Until now, only Vilnius “Žalgiris” had done so in 2022.
Lithuanian football joys in Europe
When asked which event he considers bigger – Dambrauskas’s entry into the Champions League or Kaunas’s journey to the Conference League – Kesminas slightly favored the achievement of the best Lithuanian coach.
“Maybe because of personal sympathies for Dambrauskas,” said Kesminas. “I really want to wish this man success because of his dedication and sacrifice to work. He proved that he is not an eternal unemployed person who just wastes everything (laughs). He is a talented, gifted, young coach.
Of course, it’s also great for “Žalgiris”. We don’t get into the Conference League every year; this is only the second time in Lithuanian football history. Of course, it’s very pleasing for them.”
Nerijus is happy not only about Dambrauskas’s dream coming true but also looks to the future hoping this could be a leap in his career.
“I believe he can still achieve a lot with “Sabah”. Of course, when you are a coach in the Champions League, the question is whether you will stay long at “Sabah”. Play one or two good matches in the main stage, get some unexpected points, and eyes might turn to you. This could be a springboard to much bigger leagues,” Kesminas pondered.
Meanwhile, Kvitkauskas drew attention to the environment Dambrauskas has at his current club.
“As far as I have talked, Valdas said that “Sabah” is the second club in his career where he has completely free hands, where he feels complete trust, and everyone inside works for the club,” Kvitkauskas said.
After the draw, it turned out that Dambrauskas’s team, according to many, got almost the toughest group of opponents: Manchester United (away), Prague Slavia (home), Dortmund Borussia (home), Stavanger Viking (away), Barcelona (home), Villarreal (away), Napoli (home), and London Arsenal (away).
“I think realistically they could aim for 5-6 points,” Kesminas assessed Dambrauskas’s team’s chances. “There is Slavia, there is Viking… Of course, it could be 2-3 points, who knows. I don’t think it will be zero. But first, they need to catch Slavia and Viking. Everywhere else will be very difficult. I don’t see Sabah in the knockout stages.”
Kaunas “Žalgiris”, which advanced to the Conference League, also brought no less positivity to Lithuanian football. The Lithuanian team met Istanbul “Beşiktaş” in the last UEFA Europa League qualifying round and managed to beat the Turkish giant 1:0 at home.
Although the Turks triumphed in the series due to the first match result in Istanbul, the fact of the home victory, according to Kvitkauskas, is significant for the Lithuanian club.
“The fact is that the first match result had a big impact. For any person who didn’t watch the matches, not necessarily Lithuanian, but for example a Greek who knows Beşiktaş – they look at the result and think: ‘Oh, interesting, who is this Žalgiris? Who are those players?’ It’s still a very positive thing that doesn’t happen often in our football,” Kvitkauskas said.
In total, three more clubs represented Lithuania’s honor in European tournament qualifiers this summer: Kaunas district “Hegelmann” was eliminated in the first round by Estonian “Paide”. “Panevėžys”, starting from the second round, challenged Kazakhstan’s “Tobol” but lost in penalty shootouts.
Vilnius “Žalgiris” went the furthest – after defeating Montenegro’s “Petrovac” and creating a miracle against Tbilisi “Dinamo” (Georgia), they hit the barrier of Croatian vice-champion Split “Hajduk” in the third round.
“I generally had no disappointments. Well, maybe Hegelmann,” said Kesminas. “But we are talking about the eighth Lithuanian team at the moment. All other teams – Panevėžys played very honorably. Vilnius Žalgiris’s season is ambiguous, but the 7:2 victory against Tbilisi Dinamo makes up for everything.”
Vilnius “Žalgiris”‘s impressive victory over the Tbilisi club seems to Kvitkauskas like one of those evenings that football fans remember for decades. After losing 0:3 away, the capital club managed to recover at home and triumphed 7:2 to advance to the next stage.
“That will forever remain in people’s minds. Those who were at the stadium will remember it even after 20 years. The Liepkalnis miracle, it’s great that it was gifted,” Kvitkauskas rejoiced.
Meanwhile, Kaunas “Žalgiris”, continuing the European season in the Conference League, will face several notable names. The Kaunas team will play against Brighton (away), Brann (home), Lugano (away), Riga (home), Egnatia (away), and Freiburg (home).
Kvitkauskas singled out the English and German clubs.
“Fun opponents, there are big names to test against. Brighton, Amex Stadium, a beautiful place – southern England, by the sea,” Ervinas said. “Freiburg is not perhaps the most famous name that an ordinary person can say and be very interested in. But it is definitely a well-coordinated German team; such teams don’t come to Lithuania often.”
Still, there will be opponents against whom, in his opinion, the Kaunas team can seriously think about points or even a victory.
“The team with the most chances to fight for a win is Riga,” the former footballer was sure. “Although their budget is uncontrolled, they can spend as much as needed. We know that the money comes not from the countries we would like to talk about. But they are not a terrible opponent, especially knowing that Kaunas will play at home; it is definitely possible to fight for a win.
The Albanian club also looks like a name that can be beaten. Well, Brann and Lugano are strong mid-table teams that can be challenged, but they are not elite teams.”
“Sūduva” – favorite to become Lithuanian champion
The conversation turned to the Lithuanian league, where Marijampolė’s “Sūduva” unexpectedly leads. They currently have 45 points from 24 matches, while second-placed Kaunas “Žalgiris” has 39 points from 23 games.
“They are the most stable Lithuanian team, playing really without dips,” Kesminas said about “Sūduva”. “Now, I think only Kaunas “Žalgiris” can catch them, no one else. If someone had said before the season that “Sūduva” would be champions, I would have said: ‘Go check yourself.’ If someone says now that “Sūduva” will become champions, I would say: ‘Okay.’ 50-60 percent, no less.”
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Moreover, Nerijus has already made a fairly concrete final table prediction.
“I now boldly guess that “Sūduva” will become champions. Second will be Kaunas, and third – Vilnius “Žalgiris”, despite their difficulties,” Kesminas predicted.
Champions League intrigues
The topic shifted from Lithuanian football to the Champions League. Although 18 matches will take place next week, the show hosts selected five of the most intriguing clashes and gave their predictions.
“United” – “Sabah”
First – Valdas Dambrauskas and “Sabah”‘s visit to the legendary “Old Trafford” stadium, where the Azerbaijani club will meet Manchester United.
“Of course, our eyes will be very much on this. Old Trafford stadium… Impressive. Let’s not elaborate and just guess,” Kvitkauskas said.
Predictions:
Nerijus Kesminas: Manchester United 2:0 Sabah
Ervinas Kvitkauskas: Manchester United 1:1 Sabah
“Real” – “Inter”
Another notable first-round match is the clash between Madrid’s Real and Milan’s Inter in the Spanish capital.
“It won’t be easy for Real because Inter has enough quality to defend,” Kesminas said. “In Madrid, they definitely won’t play as the first number. The start is important; everyone wants to open with a win. I guess Real is not very happy to face Inter players in the first match. But, well, I still think they will manage.”
Predictions:
Nerijus Kesminas: Real 2-0 Inter
Ervinas Kvitkauskas: Real 3-1 Inter
“Napoli” – “Arsenal”
In another intriguing duel, Napoli will host London Arsenal. Looking at the match, Kesminas first recalled last season’s stability of the London team in the Champions League.
“Remember that Arsenal last season was the only team to win all matches in the league stage. Mikel Arteta doesn’t rotate much and doesn’t play those games,” the commentator said.
Predictions:
Nerijus Kesminas: Napoli 0:1 Arsenal
Ervinas Kvitkauskas: Napoli 0:2 Arsenal
“Liverpool” – “Atletico”
Moving on to the Madrid Atletico and Liverpool clash, the show hosts highlighted the latter’s difficult season start.
“Liverpool team so far is not convincing at all. It even looks worse than last season. Of course, it’s just the start of the season, but…” Kesminas said.
Predictions:
Nerijus Kesminas: Liverpool 0:1 Atletico
Ervinas Kvitkauskas: Liverpool 2:2 Atletico
“Porto” – “Manchester City”
Although the Manchester club started the season in England with two wins, Kesminas still looked anxiously at the radical team changes during the offseason.
“City’s changes in the squad are worrying, having released Rodri, three other main squad players, and of course Pep’s departure,” Nerijus said. “Yes, their season start is not bad, but Portugal is always tough, so I predict an upset.”
Predictions:
Nerijus Kesminas: Porto 1:0 Manchester City
Ervinas Kvitkauskas: Porto 1:2 Manchester City
Premier League
After the Champions League intrigues, attention turned to national championships. In England’s Premier League, one of the most notable weekend matches was the Chelsea and Brighton clash in London, which the hosts won 4:3.
“The hottest, highest-scoring, and most emotional match,” Kvitkauskas previewed the match. “It seemed Chelsea would completely crush the visitors when they scored three goals in half an hour, but the guests recovered.
I quite like what Xabi Alonso is doing with Chelsea; I believe in this coach. Of course, it didn’t work out in Madrid, but there were nuances. I think Chelsea can make noise.”
Meanwhile, discussing the Tottenham and Newcastle match, which the latter won 2:0, the focus was on unrealistic expectations for the London club. Roberto De Zerbi’s team started the season with two painful losses.
“Did we expect a team that finished 17th two seasons in a row to suddenly sign a few players and return to the top six? I think that transition is much more difficult, especially in England,” Kvitkauskas said.
La Liga
Finally, the focus shifted to Spain. During the show’s filming, Madrid’s Real was still the only team to win all first three La Liga matches. Kvitkauskas highlighted not only Jude Bellingham’s excellent form but also the changed team attitude since Jose Mourinho took charge.
“Jude Bellingham brought very good form from the World Cup. But what I would highlight most is what I haven’t seen in Madrid in recent years – the willingness to pass the ball to a teammate,” Ervinas said. “Previously, it seemed everyone wanted to pull the blanket over themselves.”
“I think this season in Spain will be a two-horse race,” Kesminas added. “Unless Atletico sorts out the Julian Alvarez situation and can try to compete.
Real and one season without a title is a lot, and now Barca has won the league two years in a row. And I believe the Mourinho factor can play here. Usually, if we remember his biography, he comes, sees, and wins, and problems arise later.”
