Lithuanian A Lyga club FA Šiauliai has announced a change in leadership, as Latvian coach Jurģis Pučinsks, 52, takes over the head coach position from fellow Latvian Dainis Kazakevičs. Pučinskis, who spent the past season as Kazakevičs’ assistant, will now lead the team that finished fifth in the A Lyga.
Kazakevičs, who guided the team throughout the 2025 season, has now taken on a new role as the Technical Director of the Kyrgyz Football Federation.
For Pučinsks, this marks a significant return to club management – his first head coaching job since 2015, when he led FK Ventspils for three seasons, capturing two Latvian Virslīga titles. In recent years, he has built a coaching résumé as a long-time manager of the Latvian U17 national team and as assistant coach to Dainis Kazakevičs with the Latvian national team (2020–2024) before following him to Lithuania for the 2025 campaign.
“First of all, I want to sincerely thank the club’s management for their trust and for giving me the opportunity to lead the city’s main team,” Pučinsks said in his first statement as FA Šiauliai’s new head coach.
“I understand the scale of this responsibility, and I feel a great inner motivation. I can’t wait to get started – step by step, we will aim for ambitious goals.”
Having spent a year in Šiauliai, Pučinsks says he feels very comfortable in the city:
“Šiauliai is a beautiful place that feels close to me – it reminds me of my hometown Daugavpils. The club has highly motivated players, a professional coaching and medical staff, and strong support from management and administration. We’ve maintained a positive atmosphere and discipline both in the locker room and on the pitch. The players are engaged and eager to achieve our common goals. This club has a solid foundation, and my aim is to continue the growth process, not start everything from scratch. We must stay focused and determined as we build something great for the future.”
As a player, Jurģis Pučinskis represented several Latvian clubs, including Dinaburg, Skonto Rīga, and Liepājas Metalurgs, and was part of the Latvian national team squad at EURO 2004.
