Futbolo klubas Panevėžys, commonly known as Panevėžys is a Lithuanian professional football club from the city of Panevėžys. The team currently plays in A Lyga, the top tier of Lithuanian football.

FK Panevėžys
Full nameFutbolo Klubas Panevėžys
Founded2015; 9 years ago (2015)
GroundAukštaitija Stadium
Capacity6,600
ChairmanBronius Vaitiekūnas
ManagerGino Lettieri
LeagueA Lyga
2023A Lyga, 1st of 10 (champions)
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History edit

 
Aukštaitija Stadium, home ground of FK Panevėžys

The city of Panevėžys has a long history of football in Lithuania. Until 2014, the city was represented by 7-time title winners FK Ekranas. However, FK Ekranas was unable to meet financial criteria to participate in 2015 season and lost eligibility to participate in the A Lyga. The club was declared bankrupt. To fill the void, FK Panevėžys was established at the beginning of 2015, right before the new season start.[1] The club made its debut in the I Lyga (second tier), finishing its first season in the eighth place.[2] In 2016, the club improved its performance and finished in the fifth position.[3]

In 2017, Panevėžys aimed to win the I Lyga and return a club from the city of Panevėžys to the A Lyga. However, the start of season was disastrous, which resulted in the resignation of the head coach Virginijus Liubšys. Eventually, the club finished 10th in the league table. In the 2018 season under new coach Alexandru Curteian, FK Panevėžys achieved their goal of winning the I Lyga and achieved promotion to the A Lyga for the first time in history. They finished their first season in the top flight (2019 A Lyga) in 5th position.[4]

Panevėžys reached the final of the 2020 Lithuanian Football Cup and on 24 October 2020 beat FK Sūduva on penalties to secure the trophy.[5] In the 2021 Lithuanian Football Cup, the club reached the final again, but could not defend the title, as they lost 1-5 against FK Žalgiris.

Former Lithuania national team coach Valdas Urbonas took over the club for the 2022 season.[6] After a successful start to the season, Panevėžys was in first place in the table after 14 matches played. After a series of weak performances, the club dropped to third place, leading to the dismissal of Urbonas in September 2022.[7] Urbonas was replaced by Italian national Gino Lettieri. At the end of the 2023 season, Panevėžys secured the first place in the league, 12 points ahead of second place team FK Žalgiris, becoming Lithuanian champion for the first time in history.[8]

Kit manufacturers edit

Kit provider Period
  Adidas 2015–2018
  Hummel 2019–present

The team kit is produced by Danish company Hummel. It is all-red with white details to reflect the colours of the FK Panevėžys.

Honours edit

Participation in Lithuanian championships edit

Season League Pos P W D L F A Pts Cup
2015 I Lyga 8th 34 18 7 9 79 48 55 Round of 32
2016 5th 30 17 8 5 68 35 59 Round of 16
2017 10th 28 10 7 11 45 44 37 Quarterfinalist
2018 1st 26 18 4 4 77 26 58 Round of 16
2019 A Lyga 5th 30 10 7 16 49 63 37 Quarterfinalist
2020 5th 20 2 6 12 19 38 12 Winner
2021 4th 36 16 12 8 55 40 60 Finalist
2022 3rd 36 18 8 10 50 31 62 Semifinalist
2023 1st 36 26 9 1 64 14 87 Round of 32

European campaigns edit

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Agg.
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 2QR   Vojvodina 0–1 0–1 0−2
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 1QR   Milsami Orhei 0–0 0–2 0–2
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League 1QR   Milsami Orhei 2–2 1–0 3–2
2QR   Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1–1 0–1 1–2
2024–25 UEFA Champions League 1QR
Notes
  • QR: Qualifying round

Panevėžys B edit

The Panevėžys 'B' team is currently playing in the I Lyga (second tier).

Current squad edit

As of 23 April, 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   LTU Vytautas Černiauskas
2 DF   LTU Linas Klimavičius
4 DF   LVA Kaspars Dubra
5 MF   ARG Nicolás Gorobsov
6 DF   ITA Edoardo Pompilio
7 MF   LTU Ernestas Veliulis
9 FW   GEO Nika Kacharava
10 MF   BRA Lucas de Vega
11 FW   NCA Ariagner Smith
15 DF   GER Malcolm Cacutalua
17 MF   LTU Nojus Lukšys
19 MF   LTU Aironas Trakselis
20 MF   MNE Jovan Čađenović
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF   LTU Matijus Remeikis (on loan from Botev Plovdiv)
23 MF   NED Jeffrey Sarpong
25 MF   LTU Domantas Vaičekauskas
27 MF   GHA Kwadwo Asamoah
28 FW   NOR Sivert Gussiås
29 DF   LTU Markas Beneta
31 MF   GER Federico Palacios
36 FW   ENG Noel Mbo
55 GK   LTU Tomas Švedkauskas
72 DF   SVK Róbert Mazáň
77 FW   LTU Ignas Venckus
88 MF   SRB Nemanja Bosančić
97 DF   UKR Andriy Karvatskyi

Staff edit

Position Name
Chairman   Bronius Vaitiekūnas
Head coach   Gino Lettieri
Coach  
Coach   Dainius Gleveckas
Club doctor   Jonas Vinogradovas
Head physio   Dainius Mikšys
Media   Gintaras Brazdžionis

Coaches edit

Name Nat From To

Virginijus Liubšys

  2015 2017
Albertas Klimavičius (caretaker)   2017 2017
Alexandru Curteian   2018 2020
João Luís Martins   2020 2021[9]

Valdas Urbonas

  2021 2022[10]
Gino Lettieri   2022 present

References edit

  1. ^ "Apie klubą – FK Panevėžys". fk-panevezys.lt. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Lithuanian 2015 LFF 1 Lyga". almis.sritis.lt. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  3. ^ "Lithuanian 2016 LFF 1 Lyga". almis.sritis.lt. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  4. ^ "Lithuanian 2019 A Lyga". rsssf.org. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  5. ^ "Nepakartojama drama Hegelmann LFF taurės finale ir istorinis "Panevėžio" triumfas". 2020-10-24. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  6. ^ "V. Urbonas perėmė "Panevėžio" vairą" (in Lithuanian). alyga.lt. 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  7. ^ ""Panevėžys" atsisveikino su vyriausiuoju treneriu" (in Lithuanian). delfi.lt. 2022-09-11. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  8. ^ "FK "Panevėžys" užsitikrino A lygos čempionų titulą" (in Lithuanian). delfi.lt. 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  9. ^ "J. Martinsas atsisveikino su "Panevėžiu" | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga".
  10. ^ "Išsiskyrė klubo ir V. Urbono keliai - FK Panevėžys". 11 September 2022.

External links edit