FK Sūduva

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FK Sūduva
FK Suduva logo.svg
Full nameFootball Club Sūduva
Nickname(s)Sūduviečiai (Sudovians)
Founded1968; 54 years ago (1968)
GroundHikvision Arena
Capacity6,250
ChairmanVidmantas Murauskas
ManagerVíctor Basadre
LeagueA Lyga
20212nd
WebsiteClub website
Current season

FK Sūduva or simply Sūduva is a Lithuanian professional football club based in the city of Marijampolė. Founded in 1968, the club competes in the A Lyga, the top flight of Lithuanian football.

The club has been playing in the A Lyga since 2002. In 2006, the club won its first trophy – the Lithuanian Cup, a feat they repeated in 2009.[1] In 2017, Sūduva won the A Lyga for the first time in its history, and repeated the triumph in 2018 and 2019.

The team's colours are white and red. The club plays at Hikvision Arena in Marijampolė (capacity 6,250).

Name history[]

  • 1968 – Sūduva Kapsukas (from Suvalkija, a cultural region of Lithuania, and Kapsukas, former name of the city of Marijampolė)
  • 1993 – Sūduva-Žydrius (after the Žydrius automotive parts company)
  • 1994 – Sūduva Marijampolė

History[]

Soviet times[]

Sūduva is one of the oldest and still functioning clubs in Lithuania. It is not so easy to trace its history, as in Soviet times it often changed names with every new owner that supported it. It is more or less agreed that officially this club has existed under the name of Sūduva since 1968. This date (1968) known, because officially was founded Sūduva as football club.

During Soviet times it drifted between different local leagues, producing few footballers for the above-mentioned Žalgiris and slowly building a local football community. Football was also actively played in a few smaller towns around Marijampolė, thus making the community of football lovers even stronger. Actually, it was stronger than the club itself, and those who follow the team today are adding to the old tradition.

The biggest achievement of the club during Soviet times came in 1975 when Sūduva reached 3rd place at the local top division. The next year it played and lost the National Cup Final.

1990–2001[]

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union Sūduva got few chances to go up. It played the only Baltic championship in 1990 with teams from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Next year it tried the Lithuanian top division. Both efforts were terrible – Sūduva finished both championships as the last team collecting 7 points at the Baltic championship and only 2 at the Lithuanian league.

Later the team navigated between the 2nd and the 3rd divisions for some 10 years without decent funds or a truly professional attitude. The worst was the season of 1998 / 1999. The team started well at the 2nd division but left it after half a season because it had no funds. It was not the end. The football traditions were too strong.

The team recovered next season at the 3rd division, won it the following year, went up and won again. This rise continues up to this day.

2002–present[]

The season of 2002 shaped the future. The team reached the top division. It also reached the finals of the National Cup and gained the chance to take part in the UEFA Cup. But the most important thing was that it also got new owners who were determined to create a normally functioning and financially predictable club. The European campaign of that year added some good emotions to the general hype.

The semi-professional team vanquished Brann from Norway during its first European match (3–2 both away and at home) and went to Glasgow to meet Celtic. This match was not so successful (actually, the result is still featured in the statistics of Celtic as one of the biggest victories in Europe).

Three more seasons at the middle of the table and the team reached 3rd place – 30 years after the achievement of the same caliber. Repeating that history, the club reached the finals of the National Cup the following year. Only this time the Cup went to Marijampolė.

Since that year Sūduva have been one of the most stable clubs of the country – both financially and on the league table. It reached 2nd position twice (2007 and 2010), 3rd position – three times (2009, 2011 and 2012) and won the National Cup one more time (2008). It went to play European cups every year receiving teams like Rapid, Red Bull and Club Brugge.

The year 2013 saw a new concept of the team. The budget was still stable but it went down. So the team expressed the wish to put more stress on integration of young local boys into the main team. Some important players of the earlier seasons left; a few foreign players came to stand along those who left and the new blood.

So that was the year of experiments. The team was much younger, less experienced and clearly weaker. It was many seasons before Sūduva was a clear member of 2–4 teams that were clear leaders of the championship. The question was only about what kind of medals each team would get. That year the situation was much tougher for Sūduva. It was clear that the team would need a lot of effort and luck if it wanted to get its traditional silver or bronze.

In the 2015 season, Sūduva started with a new head coach – Aleksandr Veselinovič. The new coach totally changed the team style from defending to attacking. In the last season game against Atlantas Sūduva needed at least a draw. Sūduva conceded a goal in the 86th minute and lost 3rd place to Atlantas.

Starting line-up for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round home match against APOEL FC won by FK Suduva 3–1.[2]

At the beginning of the 2016 season, Sūduva recalled former team players Marius Činikas and Martynas Matuzas. Multiple A Lyga champions Algis Jankauskas, Andro Švrljuga and Paulius Janušauskas were signed as well. Also signed were Croatian goalkeeper Ivan Kardum, Serbian forward Admir Kecap, Bosnian-Herzegovinian defensive midfielder Nermin Jamak and Serbian midfielder Predrag Pavlović. Sūduva finished season 3rd, also played in the Cup final the same year. [3]

In 2017, FK Sūduva became the first Lithuanian football club after Žalgiris Vilnius and FK Ekranas to pass three qualifying rounds in European competition in the 2017–18 Europa League. FK Sūduva eliminated Shakhtyor Soligorsk , FK Liepāja and FC Sion.

In the same season, for the first time, FK Sūduva won the A Lyga.

In 2018, FK Sūduva played in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League. In the first round, Sūduva advanced over APOEL FC by scoring 3 consecutive goals in the first 18 minutes of play. In the second qualification round they lost to Red Star Belgrade. After that, they had a chance to play in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. They won against FK Spartaks Jūrmala in 3Q, but lost to Celtic Glasgow in the play-off stage. In the same season, Sūduva won the A Lyga the second time in a row.

In the 2019 season, the club won the A Lyga, LFF Cup and the Supercup. Despite the success, the club's main sponsors, ARVI Group announced on 11 December 2019 that it will no longer sponsor the Sūduva club. The ARVI Arena, the main football ground named after the sponsor, had the sponsor signboards removed and the stadium was renamed to Marijampolė Football Arena (at least temporarily until another sponsor appears).[4] At the end of the season, Kazakh head coach Vladimir Cheburin announced his intentions to return to Kazakhstan, and did not renew his contract. Cheburin was attributed to a lot of club's success over the past 3 seasons.

In January 2020, Heimo Pfeifenberger became the new head coach,[5] however amidst COVID-19 pandemic, Heimo's and the club's views on player salaries and remote training have become different, and on 14 April the club terminated the contract.[6][7][8]

Supporters[]

FK Sūduva supporters are called "Sūduvos Sakalai" (eng. Falcons of Sūduva).

Kit[]

Traditional home kit are white colour with red signs.

Away kits are usually red. Shirts, shorts and socks. With white signs.

Goalkeepers kit was yellow colour with black signs and details (in 2018). In the 2019 season kits is light green (or black in alternative).

Joma is a kit sponsor since the 2014 season.

Home kit
Away kit
Alternative kit
2018 (GK kit)
2019 (GK kit)

Stadium[]

Main article: Sūduva Stadium

In 2008, Sūduva moved to a new stadium in Marijampolė, the Marijampolės futbolo arena with a capacity of approximately 6,250 spectators. The stadium was built using funds from the European Union and opened on 6 July 2008. Beginning from the 2011 season, the stadium was named ARVI Football Arena after the sponsoring rights were bought by ARVI Enterprises Group. Near the arena you can find the roof-covered football field Marijampolė Football Indoor Arena, containing 2500 seats. There football can be played all year. There are two outdoor football fields near the arena as well.

A panorama of ARVI Football Arena.

Honours[]

Lithuanian Championship:

Soviet Championship:

  • Lithuanian SSR Championship

Continental[]

Current squad[]

As of 17 January 2022[10]

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 Greece GRE Makis Giannikoglou
3 MF Japan JPN Keisuke Honda
4 MF Belgium BEL Olivier Rommens
6 MF Lithuania LTU Povilas Leimonas
9 FW Greece GRE Alexandros Gargalatzidis (on loan from OFI Crete)
11 MF Spain ESP Xabi Auzmendi
13 FW Togo TOG Serge Nyuiadzi
15 DF Serbia SRB Aleksandar Živanović
17 MF Lithuania LTU Giedrius Matulevičius
19 DF Lithuania LTU Vaidas Slavickas
21 MF Lithuania LTU Matas Miškinis
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 DF Lithuania LTU Modestas Vainikaitis
28 MF Lithuania LTU Ernestas Burdziliauskas
29 DF Lithuania LTU Markas Beneta
32 MF Lithuania LTU Augustas Dubickas
80 DF Ukraine UKR Yevhen Yefremov
94 DF France FRA Nicolas Taravel
99 GK Lithuania LTU Vilius Stebrys
— FW Georgia (country) GEO Levan Macharashvili
— FW Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Kule Mbombo
— GK Lithuania LTU Tomas Švedkauskas
— DF Lithuania LTU Justinas Januševskij
— MF Ukraine UKR Yevhen Protasov

Out on loan[]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player

International players[]

Notable players[]

Players who have either appeared for their respective national team at any time or received an individual award while at the club. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for FK Sūduva.

Sūduva B[]

Sūduva B team play in Second league (Southern Zone) since 2016. In 2019 season was in 13th position from 13 teams.[13]

Technical staff[]

Position Name
Head coach Spain Victor Basadre
Goalkeeping coach Lithuania Audrius Ramonas
Head physio Lithuania Nerijus Stepanauskas
Physio Lithuania Rimantas Česnulis
Assistant Coach Lithuania Eivinas Černiauskas
2nd Assistant Coach/Video Analyst Austria Philipp Pürzl

Seasons[]

Results of league and cup competitions by season
Season League Domestic Cup Europe Other League top goalscorer
Div T Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos Competition Result Competition Result Competition Result Name(s) Goals
1990 Baltic League I 32 1 5 26 13 69 7 17th R32 — — — — — —
1991 LFF Lyga I 14 0 2 12 5 44 2 15th ↓ QF — — — — — —
1991–92 I Lyga II 28 7 6 15 24 45 20 11th R32 — — — — — —
1992–93 I Lyga II 24 1 1 24 13 82 3 14th ↓ R32 — — — — — —
1993–94 III 44 23 26 3rd — — — — — — — —
1994–95 III 22 11 6 5 31 24 28 2nd ↑ — — — — — — — —
1995–96 II 24 9 4 11 35 37 31 8th R64 — — — — — —
1996–97 II 30 17 4 9 48 32 55 4th — — — — — — — —
1997–98 II 26 9 3 14 31 49 30 10th R16 — — — — — —
1998–99 II 14 7 1 6 23 17 22 11th[14] R32 — — — — — —
1999 III 10 8 1 1 39 9 25 2nd — — — — — — — —
2000 III 16+1[15] 14+1 1 1 48+3 8+2 43 1st ↑ — — — — — —
— —
2001 I Lyga II 30 22 1 7 93 42 67 2nd ↑ — — — — Tomas Radzinevičius 29
F
2002 A Lyga I 32 11 8 13 44 50 41 6th UEFA Cup 1R — — Tomas Radzinevičius 14
R16
2003 A Lyga I 28 8 8 12 39 45 32 6th — — — — Tomas Radzinevičius 11
SF
2004 A Lyga I 28 5 7 16 31 55 22 7th QF — — — — Tomas Radzinevičius 8
2005 A Lyga I 36 16 11 9 67 43 59 3rd QF — — — — Tomas Radzinevičius 25
2006 A Lyga I 36 15 8 13 48 44 53 5th W UEFA Cup 2Q — — Darius Maciulevičius 10
2007 A Lyga I 36 20 8 8 66 34 68 2nd QF UEFA Cup 2Q F Jose Negreiros 13
2008 A Lyga I 28 11 6 8 35 25 48 4th UEFA Cup 2Q Baltic League QF Povilas Lukšys 11
LFF Cup W
2009 A Lyga I 28 14 11 3 55 22 53 3rd UEFA Europa League 2Q W Ričardas Beniušis 11
LFF Cup SF Baltic League F
2010 A Lyga I 27 16 8 3 56 16 56 2nd UEFA Europa League 2Q Povilas Luk��ys 16
LFF Cup QF Baltic League R16
2011 A Lyga I 33 19 8 6 70 19 65 3rd UEFA Europa League 2Q — — 13
LFF Cup SF
2012 A Lyga I 36 21 7 8 77 37 70 3rd UEFA Europa League 2Q — — Rafael Ledesma 21
LFF Cup R16
2013 A Lyga I 32 18 8 6 73 33 62 4th UEFA Europa League 1Q — — Nerijus Valskis 27
LFF Cup R16
2014 A Lyga I 36 17 11 8 70 38 62 5th — — — — Tomas Radzinevičius 13
LFF Cup QF
2015 A Lyga I 36 21 4 11 76 34 67 4th — — — — Tomas Radzinevičius 28
LFF Cup SF
2016 A Lyga I 33 17 7 9 55 41 58 3rd UEFA Europa League 1Q — — Tomas Radzinevičius 14
LFF Cup F
2017 A Lyga I 33 21 8 4 73 31 71 1st LFF Cup SF UEFA Europa League PO — — Karolis Laukžemis 14
2018 A Lyga I 33 24 5 4 72 20 77 1st LFF Cup QF UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League		 2Q
PO 		LFF Supercup W Gerson Acevedo 10
2019 A Lyga I 33 29 0 4 95 24 87 1st LFF Cup W UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League		 1Q
PO 		LFF Supercup W Mihret Topčagić 20
2020 A Lyga I 20 13 4 3 32 18 43 2nd LFF Cup F UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League		 2Q
3Q 		LFF Supercup F Josip Tadić 11

Participation in Europe cups[]

Accurate as of August 26, 2020
Competition Played Won Drew Lost GF GA GD Win%
UEFA Champions League 8 1 2 5 5 13 −8 012.50
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 46 15 12 19 59 70 −11 032.61
Total 54 16 14 24 64 83 −19 029.63

Source: UEFA.com
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal Difference. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.

Season Cup Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2002–03 UEFA Cup QR Norway Brann 3–2 3–2 6–4 Symbol keep vote.svg
1R Scotland Celtic 0–2 1–8 1–10 Symbol delete vote.svg
2006–07 UEFA Cup 1Q Wales Rhyl 2–1 0–0 2–1 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Belgium Club Brugge 0–2 2–5 2–7 Symbol delete vote.svg
2007–08 UEFA Cup 1Q Northern Ireland Dungannon Swifts 4–0 0–1 4–1 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Norway Brann 3–4 1–2 4–6 Symbol delete vote.svg
2008–09 UEFA Cup 1Q Wales TNS 1–0 1–0 2–0 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Austria Red Bull Salzburg 1–4 1–0 2–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
2009–10 UEFA Europa League 2Q Denmark Randers 0–1 1–1 1–2 Symbol delete vote.svg
2010–11 UEFA Europa League 2Q Austria Rapid Wien 0–2 2–4 2–6 Symbol delete vote.svg
2011–12 UEFA Europa League 2Q Sweden Elfsborg 1–1 0–3 1–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
2012–13 UEFA Europa League 1Q Latvia Daugava 0–1 3–2 3–3 (a) Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Serbia Vojvodina 0–4 1–1 1–5 Symbol delete vote.svg
2013–14 UEFA Europa League 1Q North Macedonia Horizont Turnovo 2–2 2–2 (a.e.t.) 4–4 (4–5 p) Symbol delete vote.svg
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 1Q Denmark Midtjylland 0–1 0–1 0–2 Symbol delete vote.svg
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk 2–1 0–0 2–1 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Latvia Liepāja 0–1 2–0 2–1 Symbol keep vote.svg
3Q Switzerland Sion 3–0 1–1 4–1 Symbol keep vote.svg
PO Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 0–0 0–2 0–2 Symbol delete vote.svg
2018–19 UEFA Champions League 1Q Cyprus APOEL 3–1 0–1 3–2 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Serbia Red Star Belgrade 0–2 0–3 0–5 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 3Q Latvia FK Spartaks Jūrmala 0–0 1–0 1–0 Symbol keep vote.svg
PO Scotland Celtic 1–1 0–3 1–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
2019–20 UEFA Champions League 1Q Serbia Red Star Belgrade 0–0 1–2 1–2 Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 2Q San Marino Tre Penne 5–0 5–0 10–0 Symbol keep vote.svg
3Q Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–1 2–1 4–2 Symbol keep vote.svg
PO Hungary Ferencváros 0–0 2–4 2–4 Symbol delete vote.svg
2020–21 UEFA Champions League 1Q Estonia Flora N/A 1–1 (4–2 p) N/A Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–3 N/A N/A Symbol delete vote.svg
UEFA Europa League 3Q Finland KuPS N/A 0–2 N/A Symbol delete vote.svg
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q Latvia Valmiera 2–1 0–0 2–1 Symbol keep vote.svg
2Q Poland Raków Częstochowa 0–0 0–0 (a.e.t.) 0–0 (3–4 p) Symbol delete vote.svg
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q

Individual awards[]

Domestic[]

Managers[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Sūduva celebrate Lithuanian Cup spoils". UEFA. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  2. ^ "Sūduva-APOEL 2019 History | Line-ups | UEFA Champions League". Archived from the original on 3 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Marijampolės "Sūduva" | SMScredit.lt A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga". 5 October 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Atnaujinama "Sūduvos" namų tvirtovė liko be pavadinimo: atsitraukė rėmėjas". 15min.lt/sportas.
  5. ^ a b ""Sūduvą" treniruos austras H. Pfeifenbergeris – FK Sūduva".
  6. ^ "V.Murauskas apie H.Pfeifenbergerio atleidimą: "Sutartis nutraukta dėl neįgyvendintų sutarties sąlygų"".
  7. ^ "H.Pfeifenbergerio atleidimo priežastis – žaidėjų užstojimas dėl mažinamų algų?".
  8. ^ ""Sūduva" atleido H. Pfeifenbergerį".
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Komanda" (in Lithuanian). FK Sūduva. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  11. ^ "K. Honda atvyko į "Sūduvą" | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga".
  12. ^ "Kosminis "Sūduvos" ėjimas – prie ekipos prisijungė K.Honda".
  13. ^ "FK Sūduva B - Lietuvos Futbolas". lietuvosfutbolas.lt.
  14. ^ Club decided to withdraw from the competitions after half of the season, but they results were left
  15. ^ Additional game was played to determine winner of the competition, as Sūduva and Sveikata finished with identical number of victories, draws and defeats. Sūduva won it 3–2.
  16. ^ "Lithuania - M. Kuklys - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  17. ^ ""Sūduvos" pergalių architektas nepratęsė sutarties | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga". alyga.lt.
  18. ^ ""Sūduvą" treniruos S. Širmelis". LFF.lt.

External links[]

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