Sensitive J. Lasickas' message to E. Jankauskas: 'He gave us hope'

2026-10-06 20:15 © lff.lt

To Edgaras Jankauskas, who left the Lithuanian football team – a heartfelt thank you from team captain Justas Lasickas on social media.

"I debuted in the national team with Edgaras Jankauskas back in 2018. After losing 0:4 to Georgia, the then federation president Tomas Danilevičius organized a meeting with the players, where he clearly stated: "Everyone appreciates the work of the coaching staff, but if there are no results, we will have to dismiss the coach.”

The message was understood, and in the next match, we won against the Armenian team.

Perhaps in another world, our collaboration would have ended here, but fate had prepared a much longer journey. It is hard to believe that the young boy whom Jankauskas "burned” in Montenegro would later become the captain of the national team.

During that time, there was much: memorable matches, fantastic goals, but at the same time, painful losses, red cards, disappointment. Every time we were very close to something memorable, we always lacked that final step. Whether it was the Baltic Cup finals, the Nations League, or the European Championship qualifying matches in Finland and Poland...

Edgaras Jankauskas's legacy will not be reflected solely in results. He gave us hope when we needed it the most. He stopped dividing the press and the team. People returned to the stadiums, and the Vyčio stand became even more crowded.

In this new media age, players can write whatever they want. These are the thoughts and emotions with which I greet my 29th year. I don’t even know if this is a thank you, a goodbye, memories, or an apology. Probably a bit of everything.

And to Edgaras, I just want to say thank you. For the trust, for the lessons, and for that long journey that in 2018 none of us could have predicted,” wrote J. Lasickas.