The son of Lithuanian emigrants himself scored one goal and made an assist.
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The debut of his son was sensitively appreciated by former Lithuanian Olympian Mindaugas Pukštas.
The former long-distance runner ran the marathon at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
After his career, the athlete stayed in Oklahoma, where he and his wife Živilė had a son Rokas and a daughter Gabija.
R. Pukštas does not lose hope of debuting in the US national football team, while the leaders of the Lithuanian Football Federation nurture the hope of seeing him one day wearing our country’s national team jersey.
We present a sensitive post by R. Pukštas’s father on Facebook.
For a child who loves sports and grew up in Lithuania, the 80s were golden years. The Kaunas “Žalgiris” basketball team with Arvydas Sabonis won three consecutive USSR championships. Jovaiša’s three-pointer in the 1985 final, after which the score became 77:75 and the Moscow CSKA team was defeated, is one of the brightest moments of my life. I was at the Kaunas Sports Arena, where “Granitas” with Valuckis defeated Madrid’s “Atletico” and won the European handball cup. And then there was Vilnius “Žalgiris”. In 1987, my uncle took me to a game for the first time. “Žalgiris” crushed Moscow “Dinamo” 4:0. Not the result itself, but the whole atmosphere, the fans, the stadium changed my life. That evening football conquered me. Dad had to sign me up for football training – there was no other way. Life was arranged in four-year cycles – from one World Cup to another.
That season “Žalgiris” qualified for the European cups for the first time. They beat “Austria Vienna” 2:0, and the first goal was scored by Fridrikas. From that moment, European matches became special. Soon Lithuania regained independence – trips to the old Vilnius stadium to watch national team matches became mandatory. Those were the days! The first encounter with the police..
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So, when Rokas was born, the guy had no choice. He just had to play football. Today he visited Vilnius, played against “Žalgiris” – the team for which I fell in love with this sport.
My family was there, he scored a goal – his first goal in Europe. It was a special evening. It’s a pity my dad wasn’t there to see it.
P.S. Many thanks to the “Žalgiris” organization and Andrius Tapinas, thanks to whom Rokas’s relatives could watch this game live, even though he played on the opposing team. “Žalgiris” is in good hands, patience is needed, and it will return to glory. I think there were more than one or two kids in the stadium who fell in love with football, just like I once did. They or their children will grow up to be football stars.
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. They are wrong, I assure you it is much more important than that.
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