A. Tapinas: "A brutally interesting summer and the second half of the season awaits"

2026-06-19 10:23 © E. Žaldario

The president of the Vilnius "Žalgiris" team, Andrius Tapinas, described the recent events in the world of football on social media.

"Returning from Switzerland, where I participated in the European Cup draw, I had a chance to think about what kind of carousel I got myself into with Lithuanian football and Vilnius 'Žalgiris,' as it seems we haven't had such an interesting Top League season in a long time. And I remembered how, on Easter evening, we were sitting after losing to 'Kauno Žalgiris' and watching their memes on social media and the jubilant Kaunas fans in our stadium's locker room shouting 'Double bonus! Double bonus!'.

I thought whether it was too early to be celebrating, but what could you say when all football podcasts were saying it wasn't worth wasting time - handing them gold medals and everyone else playing for second place. Then that evening, I recorded a video where, encouraging myself and others, I said that nothing is lost, and if the second round goes well, that gap from 'Kauno Žalgiris' could be reduced to six points. Where to go from there.

On May 24, after losing to 'Hegelman,' we were sitting with all the coaches, heads down, realizing that with such a mood going to Kaunas, they would crush us there, and it would be a 13-point gap. But already then, I had somehow made the decision - after a loss, to stress for exactly 5 minutes, and then immediately start thinking about what else can be done. And then we decided - either we mourn and go to Kaunas already defeated inside, or we do something unusual. We reward the team with a camp in Druskininkai.

No brain work, just quality time together, bonding, a poker tournament, watching the Champions League final. Less than four weeks have passed. And it seems I greatly miscalculated regarding that 6-point difference. 'Kauno Žalgiris' - 24 points after 16 games, Vilnius 'Žalgiris' - 24 points after 16 games. And everything starts all over again. Only we, after three consecutive victories, with three well-debuted newcomers, hope for two more, planning another mini-camp in the resort for the newcomers to better adapt, European draws are definitely favorable. And Kristupas Krivickas along with the Mayor of Kazlų Rūda, Varaška, have completely cooled off, and they’re not talking about football anymore. A very interesting summer and the second half of the season are ahead. After all, the table leaders are 'Džiugas' and 'Transinvest,' while 'Sūduva' and 'BangA' are breathing down their necks.

These six clubs will fight until the end. Soon, ticket sales for the European match with 'Petrovac' will begin; season ticket holders will be the first to buy them at a discount, and then we’ll see how many will remain for public sale (if any). But for the next two home matches: July 13 with 'Sūduva' and July 16 with 'Petrovac,' my goal is very simple: two sold-out games. Two sellouts and five thousand green and white in the stadium. And no one will dare to say that it's impossible.

Very interesting things are also waiting for tomorrow - during the press conference, we will review the European draws, the club's summer transfer window, announce good news regarding 'Žalgiris’ European match TV broadcasts, and provide a detailed presentation of the club's activity audit results for 2021-2025. Double bonus, double bonus! But really, it's all just so we have a good second season of the documentary series,” wrote A. Tapinas.