by Mantas Aliukonis
Football in Lithuania feels like a genre of its own, especially in recent winters, when snow-covered stadiums fall into stillness and the passions within them subside until the start of spring. A wolf is fed by its legs and I am fed by imagination and the invention of topics. When there are no pressing issues, one has to make do as best as possible. This time, I decided to assess the most distinctive players of the 2024 A Lyga season.
Why that particular year? Because last season, in my personal view, most A Lyga players were grey and uninteresting. The off-field achievements of several players in this ranking clearly outweigh what they showed on the pitch a year ago. I have no intention of criticising or judging, because life in smaller Lithuanian cities – especially for foreigners – is a separate topic of discussion and a genre of its own. This situation exists in many leagues. It applies to many areas of life, not just sport.
The league’s most extravagant players have probably never been selected before, but it is better to create a new topic oneself than to wait for drip-fed information from inside clubs or to wait a second year for calls from Mindaugas Čepas, Edgaras Česnauskis, or Deividas Šemberas. We present to our regular readers our Top 5 ranking of the most extravagant players.
The meaning of the word extravagant (French extravagant – strange < Latin extra vagans – wandering off the path): characterised by extravagance; strange, unusual, striking, elaborate. What follows is my personal, independent opinion. Sources include interlocutors who, for various reasons, chose not to reveal their identities, as well as club employees and players from different teams.
5. Joaquim Domingos
Former club: Džiugas Telšiai
Current club: Chinese League One side Yanbian Longding
The 25-year-old versatile holding midfielder failed to stand out in Samogitia and, after a statistically empty season, moved to China. There, this season, he has been one of the team’s best midfielders, oriented more toward attacking play than defence, recording four goals and seven assists in 27 matches. In the past, there have been many cases in Lithuania where a player left as surplus to requirements only to flourish elsewhere. One only needs to recall the FC Vilnius era and the Paulinho case. Or is this simply smoke and mirrors and a reflection of the low level of the Chinese second tier? Who actually watches the Chinese League One? No one. Therefore, further theorising is unnecessary.
“He was one of the most difficult characters I’ve ever encountered on the pitch. A very unpleasant player, talked a lot, often provoked. In one match he even clashed with the opposition head coach,” said one long-time A Lyga player.
Another source had a different view of Domingos. “You could mainly include him because of the cards, but most of them came from duels. I’ve played with and against bigger lunatics than him,” a club-connected source said in defence of the Portuguese midfielder.
4. Matas Vareika
Former club: Hegelmann
Current club: Pyunik Yerevan, Armenia
“He is young, direct, and has his own opinion – sometimes arrogant. There aren’t many like that in Lithuania, which is why he stands out and gets noticed.”
After moving to Hegelmann last spring, he scored against his former club and celebrated by mocking his old “family”, dedicating the goal to Vilma Venslovaitienė in an attempt to ridicule her.
When Vilnius Žalgiris decided not to extend contracts with Vareika and Gustas Jarusevičius, both players were, with half a year remaining, effectively sent to the B team and sidelined. They were made to sit on the bench, train separately, and, in effect, serve a punishment.
If the player manages to avoid foolish cards, conflicts with referees, and gains control over his emotions, he should become an important player for both Pyunik Yerevan and the national team.
3. Christian Bella
Former club: Džiugas Telšiai
Last club: Israeli second-tier side Kiryat Yam (on loan from top-flight Kiryat Shmona)
Since the summer, he has played 12 matches and scored three goals in the second division.
Like his former Portuguese teammate mentioned earlier, the Cameroonian also stood out for his off-field activities.
He was known for various hairstyles and popularity among local girls, of whom there were many. Although many African players are Muslim and rarely consume alcohol, this rule did not apply here. Whether he smoked marijuana or drank heavily in his free time is hard to say, but there were moments on the pitch when, unmarked, he would miss an open goal. An adventure seeker, he would also start moving around Vilnius and Kaunas before the season had even ended.
“At the end-of-season party, he was the first to disappear off the radar, and the next day he was sitting somewhere with two or three girls,” said a person close to the club.
2. Robertas Vėževičius
Former club: Banga Gargždai
Status: retired
Current role: sporting director of the “orange” club
During his playing career, he was outspoken on refereeing issues, which led to a fine from the Lithuanian Football Federation in the summer of 2022. This remains the first and only case in which a league player was fined €150 by the LFF Disciplinary Committee for public criticism of referees after a match between Banga and Panevėžys.
At his peak with Sūduva, he won the A Lyga three times in a row and performed successfully in European qualifiers, reaching the decisive qualifying round of the Europa League for three consecutive years (2017–2019). At the height of his career, he hosted a popular YouTube show titled Vežas pataria, sharing life experience across various situations. He was one of the first A Lyga players to have his own video blog and one of the few who openly said what he thought, was unafraid to laugh at himself, while others remained reserved and avoided public communication.
He ended his career last autumn by winning a domestic cup. Vežas, as he is known to many friends, celebrates his 40th birthday today, on January 5th – a date that coincides with the start of pre-season preparations for many Lithuanian clubs.
1. Henrique Devens
Former club: TransINVEST
Current club: Tobol, Kazakhstan
The 28-year-old striker moved abroad after establishing himself in the A Lyga with the “yellow” side. In Vilnius, the Brazilian lived freely and cheerfully – when you are young and have some money, that is often enough.
“A narcissist, a player who loves himself both on and off the pitch, but at the same time a true professional because he invests a lot in himself—from diet to extra training. That’s his character. He focuses more on personal statistics than team ones,” said a specialist who worked with him, pointing out one of his drawbacks.
“Life revolves around him. He has that narcissism: wins a penalty and wants to take it himself. Sometimes coaches allow it, sometimes they don’t. When they don’t, he gets angry“.
In one season he competed closely with Liviu Antal. He would often say: ‘Take away his six converted penalties and I’ll be the best.’
“Devens talks a lot with referees and provokes a lot. There was a situation against Sūduva after a match when he wanted to fight that big African guy from Marijampolė. With the Vilnius district team, Devens scored many goals and was among the top scorers in the A Lyga. Why did referees often show him yellow or red cards? Because they were predisposed against him. He reacted to every whistle, acted theatrically, and complained – that annoyed them. It annoyed opponents too, but as long as he scored goals, everyone turned a blind eye. Sometimes he was a real pain in the ass, even for his own team,” one of his former coaches in Lithuania said bluntly.
“He liked women and changed them often. Women liked him because he took care of himself, was good-looking, and earned decent money – so they gravitated toward him,” the source added.
“He didn’t drink alcohol, didn’t eat meat, and was a vegetarian. When we travelled somewhere, he needed a separate menu. He had fixed times when he ate. He’s simply a professional who thinks very highly of himself,” the source summarised.
Asked whether Devens could move to a higher level, the source had no doubts. “With the statistics he had in Lithuania, he received offers from Iran and Kazakhstan, but at the time he didn’t want to go because he holds dual Luxembourg-Brazilian citizenship and can move freely within Europe. At a higher level it would be difficult for him, because he would need to defend and have much stronger physical preparation. He is not an explosive sprinter with outstanding feints and ball control, but he meets the standards of lower leagues, finds his chances in the penalty area, and takes them. For example, Lettieri did not take him to Panevėžys because he does not work without the ball,” the source explained when outlining the striker’s career prospects.
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