The Europa League draw is upon us once more and
tomorrow afternoon (June 23rd) we will find out what club we will be adding to
the list of teams who have knocked us out in recent years - Vllaznia Shkoder,
Vorskla Poltava, Spartak Trnava and FK Molde...or maybe, just maybe this will
be the year to get through a round? Sligo Rovers are seeded for the draw and
therefore that will help improve our chances as we get to avoid tougher
opponents such as Aberdeen (Hi Sheerin!), Rosenborg and our old friends Spartak
Trnava. The first round draw is also regionalised which means our opposition is
most likely to come from the northern Europe region - including teams from
Iceland, Faroe Islands, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Wales and possibly one or
two others. It's likely to be a tough task for the new duo of Coleman and Bell
whatever the outcome of tomorrow's draw. Here's a very brief look at one
potential opponent...
FK
Atlantas
Fulbolo Klubas Atlantas (Lithuanian for Atlantic) are
based in the Lithuanian city of Klaipėda. They were founded in 1966 and
qualified for the 14/15 Europa League by finishing runners up to Zalgiris
Vilnius in the 2013 A Lyga, finishing just two points behind the champions.
Similarly to the League of Ireland, the Lithuanians play a summer season and
Atlantas are currently in the mid-table position of fifth out of ten teams, 12
points off first place after 19 games.
They play their home games at Žalgiris Stadium [pictured right] in Klaipėda which has a capacity of just under 5,000. Atlantas have won
their national league four times, the last time coming in 1984 when Lithuania
was part of the old Soviet Union and the club was known as its original name
Granitas Klaipėda.
Their most recent success was winning the national cup in 2003, a cup they have
won six times.
Euro
Record
Atlantas have never played in the revamped Europa
League but they do have some history in European competitions having played in
the Uefa Cup four times and the Intertoto Cup once but they have never managed
to get past any of the opposition they faced with heavy aggregate defeats
coming against Rapid Bucharest, Litex Lovech and Dyskobolia Grodzisk. Their
most impressive European performance was in the 2004 Intertoto Cup where they
lost 2-0 away to Spartak Moscow but defeated them 1-0 at home, going out 2-1 on
aggregate. Their most recent European appearance was in the 05/06 Uefa Cup
where they went out on the away goal rule to Welsh side Rhyl. They have never
faced Irish opponents. Lithuanians aren't strangers to Ireland however with
both Ekranas and Zalgiris Vilnius successfully defeating both Shamrock Rovers
and St. Patrick's Athletic respectively in recent years. Sligo Rovers have also
visited Lithuania once before, losing 1-0 to FBK Kaunas in the 1996 Intertoto
Cup.
Squad
and Management
The Atlantas squad is mostly made up of Lithuanians
with just two players from outside the country - former Russian U21 midfielder
Yuri Kirillov and 18 year old forward Maksim Maksimov, also from Russia. Their danger
man up front and top scorer last season is Evaldas
Razulis, he has 6 goals from 12 appearances so far this season. Razulis also
has three international caps for Lithuania, scoring one goal in a friendly
against Albania last year. Their most experienced internationals are Marius
Papšys and Andrius Jokšas with 15 and 17 international caps respectively. Atlantas
are managed by 46 year old Russian Konstantin Sarsania [pictured].
The
City
Klaipeda is Lithuania's third largest city and is
located in the north west of the country alongside the Baltic Sea. The city was
Adolf Hitler's last acquisition before the beginning of World War II. It is an
important port city for Lithuania and is also a popular stop for many cruise
ships with a growing tourist trade. Klaipeda is the gateway to the Curonian
Spit [pictured left], which is a stretch of sand dunes (98 kilometres in length) that is a
UNESCO World heritage site which runs down to the Russian exclave of
Kaliningrad.
The city is known for its old sailing ship 'Meridianas' [pictured right]
and also its half timbered architecture in the old town. It is also known for
its many sculptures which are located throughout the old town. The city has a few
museums including a sea museum and a clock museum. There are also a few popular
beaches including Smiltyne, Giruliai, Melnrage and Palanga. The city is home to
one of the biggest shopping centres in the Baltics - Akropolis, which also has
an ice skating rink. Klaipeda has many bars (usually open until anything from
12.30am-2am) and nightclubs (usually open until 5/6am), most clubs are closed
Mon-Thurs however. Švyturys is the local brewery and they
produce many different Švyturys beers which are found in all the pubs, for
snacks Klaipeda is famous for its cheese fingers which you can get in the
Senamiestis bar. For the less adventurous Klaipeda has one McDonald's
next to the Akropolis mall.
Local
Cost
Klaipeda is a very cheap city when compared to Irish
standards. A main course meal ranges from €4 to €20 depending on the type of
restaurant. The average price of a pint of beer in the city centre is likely to
be between €2 to €3. For the more sophisticated, a cappuccino is about €1.20 and
for Donal a 1.5 litre bottle of water will cost about 60 cent, the same price
as a one way trip on the town bus.
Phrases
Hello - Sveiki (Svay-KEE)
Thanks - Dėkui (DEHH-kooy)
Yes - Taip (Tuyp)
No - Ne (Na)
Do you have wi-fi? - Ar turite wi-fi?
What part of the town are you from? - Kokia dalis
miesto tu?
Do
you know Westlife? That's his brother - Ar žinote Westlife? Tai jo brolis
Are
you on Tinder? - Ar jums Pintis?
Egg...EGG...EGG
- Kiaušiniai...KIAUSINIAI...KIAUSINIAI
(kyow-SHIh-nay)
