FK Sūduva

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Sūduva
Full nameFootball Club Sūduva
Nickname(s)Sūduviečiai (Sudovians)
Founded1968; 56 years ago (1968)
GroundMarijampolės Arena
Capacity6,250
ChairmanVidmantas Murauskas
ManagerDovydas Lastauskas
LeagueA Lyga
2023A Lyga, 7th of 10
WebsiteClub website

FK 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 Marijampolė Arena in Marijampolė (capacity 6,250).

Name history[edit]

  • 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[edit]

Soviet times[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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, become chempions of A Lyga, won 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[edit]

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

Kit[edit]

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)

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors[edit]

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Ref
2022 Joma Hikvision [9]
2023 Joma - [9]

Stadium[edit]

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[edit]

Lithuanian Championship:

Soviet Championship:

  • Lithuanian SSR Championship

Continental[edit]

Current squad[edit]

As of 2 March, 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
2 DF Lithuania LTU Tautvydas Burdziliauskas
4 DF Lithuania LTU Simas Venckevicius
5 DF Lithuania LTU Žygimantas Baltrūnas
7 MF Lithuania LTU Justas Česnavičius
8 MF Togo TOG Steve Lawson
10 FW Latvia LVA Aivars Emsis
12 GK Lithuania LTU Giedrius Zenkevičius
13 MF Ukraine UKR Maksym Pyrohov
14 FW Ukraine UKR Artem Fedorov
15 DF Serbia SRB Aleksandar Živanović
17 MF Ukraine UKR Artem Kovbasa
19 MF Lithuania LTU Rokas Filipavičius (on loan from Riteriai)
21 FW Lithuania LTU Linas Zingertas
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 FW Lithuania LTU Motiejus Burba (on loan from Žalgiris)
28 MF Lithuania LTU Ernestas Burdziliauskas
33 DF Ukraine UKR Ihor Honchar
66 GK Lithuania LTU Rokas Pačėsa
88 MF Lithuania LTU Dariušas Stankevičius (on loan from Žalgiris)
92 MF Lithuania LTU Augustas Dubickas
94 FW Nigeria NGA Ugochukwu Oduenyi
96 DF Ukraine UKR Ivan Zotko
97 MF Lithuania LTU Tomas Gumbelevicius
99 GK Lithuania LTU Vilius Stebrys
— DF Latvia LVA Klāvs Kramēns

Out on loan[edit]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player

Notable players[edit]

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[edit]

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

Technical staff[edit]

Position Name
Head coach Lithuania Dovydas Lastauskas
Assistant Coach Lithuania Vaidas Slavickas
Assistant Coach Lithuania Marius Buividavicius
Goalkeeping coach Lithuania
Head physio Lithuania Nerijus Stepanauskas
Physio Lithuania Rimantas Česnulis

Seasons[edit]

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 LFF Cup R32 — — — — — —
1991 LFF Lyga I 14 0 2 12 5 44 2 15th ↓ LFF Cup QF — — — — — —
1991–92 I Lyga II 28 7 6 15 24 45 20 11th LFF Cup R32 — — — — — —
1992–93 I Lyga II 24 1 1 24 13 82 3 14th ↓ LFF Cup R32 — — — — — —
1993–94 II Lyga South Zone III 44 23 26 3rd — — — — — — — —
1994–95 III Lyga III 22 11 6 5 31 24 28 2nd ↑ — — — — — — — —
1995–96 II Lyga II 24 9 4 11 35 37 31 8th LFF Cup R64 — — — — — —
1996–97 II Lyga II 30 17 4 9 48 32 55 4th — — — — — — — —
1997–98 I Lyga II 26 9 3 14 31 49 30 10th LFF Cup R16 — — — — — —
1998–99 II Lyga II 14 7 1 6 23 17 22 11th[14] LFF Cup R32 — — — — — —
1999 II Lyga South Zone III 10 8 1 1 39 9 25 2nd — — — — — — — —
2000 II Lyga South Zone 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
LFF Cup F
2002 A Lyga I 32 11 8 13 44 50 41 6th UEFA Cup 1R — — Tomas Radzinevičius 14
LFF Cup R16
2003 A Lyga I 28 8 8 12 39 45 32 6th — — — — Tomas Radzinevičius 11
LFF Cup SF
2004 A Lyga I 28 5 7 16 31 55 22 7th LFF Cup QF — — — — Tomas Radzinevičius 8
2005 A Lyga I 36 16 11 9 67 43 59 3rd LFF Cup QF — — — — Tomas Radzinevičius 25
2006 A Lyga I 36 15 8 13 48 44 53 5th LFF Cup W UEFA Cup 2Q — — Darius Maciulevičius 10
2007 A Lyga I 36 20 8 8 66 34 68 2nd LFF Cup QF UEFA Cup 2Q LFF Supercup 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 LFF Supercup 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 Lukšys 16
LFF Cup QF Baltic League R16
2011 A Lyga I 33 19 8 6 70 19 65 3rd UEFA Europa League 2Q — — Tadas Eliošius 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[edit]

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

Individual awards[edit]

Domestic[edit]

Managers[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Sūduva celebrate Lithuanian Cup spoils". UEFA. 16 May 2009. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. 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. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b ""Sūduvą" treniruos austras H. Pfeifenbergeris – FK Sūduva". Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  6. ^ "V.Murauskas apie H.Pfeifenbergerio atleidimą: "Sutartis nutraukta dėl neįgyvendintų sutarties sąlygų"". Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  7. ^ "H.Pfeifenbergerio atleidimo priežastis – žaidėjų užstojimas dėl mažinamų algų?". Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  8. ^ ""Sūduva" atleido H. Pfeifenbergerį". Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  9. ^ "FK Sūduva Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Pasiekimai : FK "Sūduva"". Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  11. ^ "K. Honda atvyko į "Sūduvą" | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga". Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Kosminis "Sūduvos" ėjimas – prie ekipos prisijungė K.Honda". Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  13. ^ "FK Sūduva B - Lietuvos Futbolas". lietuvosfutbolas.lt. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  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. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  17. ^ ""Sūduvos" pergalių architektas nepratęsė sutarties | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga". alyga.lt. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  18. ^ ""Sūduvą" treniruos S. Širmelis". LFF.lt. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  19. ^ ""Sūduva" išsiskyrė su vyr. Treneriu V.Basadre". Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  20. ^ ""Sūduva" išsiskyrė su vyr. Treneriu V. Basadre – FK Sūduva". Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  21. ^ "alyga.lt: naujasis Sūduvos strategas". Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  22. ^ "sportas.lt: Sūduvą treniruos Moreira". Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2022.

External links[edit]

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