FK Žalgiris

Foundation and Soviet period

The first incarnation of the club played in 1946 as a national team of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic when it competed in USSR Group III Zone 4 championship and it was one of the clubs which represented one of the Soviet republics. The club consisted of Spartakas Kaunas and Dinamo Kaunas players. Their first match was against Stroitel Moscow which ended 1–1 and they were managed by French coach Emil Pastor. That year they finished in fourth place in RSFSR Western Zone championship.

The club is thought to have been founded in 1947 when it was moved from Kaunas to Vilnius and its name was changed to Dinamo Vilnius. The next year club changed its name to Spartakas Vilnius and used this name until the end of 1961 season. In 1962 they changed their name to Žalgiris.

Žalgiris competed in Soviet Union football league system from 1947 to 1989. The club's most successful season was in 1987 when they finished the season in third place in Soviet Top League and qualified for 1988–89 UEFA Cup where they played against FK Austria Wien. The club represented the Soviet Union at 1987 Summer Universiade which they won by defeating the South Korean team. In the following season they finished fifth and again qualified for UEFA Cup where they faced IFK Göteborg in the first round and Red Star Belgrade in the second. In 1989 the club finished in fourth place and for third year in a row qualified for UEFA Cup. They managed to play one game in 1990 at the start of the season before withdrawing due to re-establishment of Lithuania's independence and joined the Baltic League which consisted of clubs from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Therefore, they lost their place in UEFA Cup, which was taken by Chornomorets Odesa.

1990–2007

After restoring Lithuania's independence, the club started competing in the newly founded A Lyga. During this period the club saw further success by winning the Lithuanian championship three times (1991, 1991–92, 1998–99) along with various second and third-place finishes.

2008–present

The club ceased its operations after the 2008 season due to financial problems. Team players, coaches and fans of the club (Pietų IV) who were seeking to save the name of Žalgiris detached from FK Žalgiris and on February 23, 2009, established VMFD Žalgiris The new side was allowed in to the Lithuanian I Lyga (second-tier league), and then returned to the top division next season.

For the 2011 season Žalgiris had new head coach Vitalijus Stankevičius. Žalgiris kept the core of the team and signed contracts with 10 newcomers. The team theoretically had the ability to compete with FK Ekranas to win the Lithuanian champion title with 3 tours left until the end of the season but lost key match to FK Sūduva and finished in the second place.

The 2012 season was started by signing Croatian Damir Petravič as the new team manager. The most successful player from the last season Deivydas Matulevičius was loaned to Cracovia Kraków. 10 new players joined Žalgiris including former Heart of Midlothian forward Calum Elliot and all-time most capped Lithuanian national team player Andrius Skerla, who returned to the club after fifteen years break. In May D. Matulevičius returned to Vilnius due to Cracovia being relegated from Polish Ekstraklasa and losing the right to sign contract with 23-year-old forward. After 9 trophyless years Žalgiris managed to beat Ekranas in a 3–1 penalty shootout and win the Lithuanian Cup. In the summer tansfer window Matulevičius was bought by a Romanian club and replaced by a Polish striker Kamil Bilinski. Club enjoyed a mixed success in their return to European football, managing a draw in the first leg against Admira Wacker, but losing 5–1 in Austria. Soon after the defeat Petravič decided to resign and was replaced by a Polish specialist Marek Zub. Žalgiris finished second in the A Lyga for the second year in a row.

The 2013 season began with Žalgiris winning Lithuanian Supercup after beating last year A Lyga champion Ekranas. Club undergone quiet transfer window signing 6 players, including Polish international Jakub Wilk and young Lithuanian midfielder Artūras Žulpa, while Elliot left the team. Žalgiris defended LFF Cup title on May 19. Highly intensive match once again lasted until penalties, with a result 2:2 on scoreboard after 90 minutes and 3:3 after the extra time. Finally Žalgiris managed to prove their advantage over Šiauliai winning the shootout 8–7. In the summer club enjoyed one of the most successful campaigns in their European football yet. They eliminated St Patrick's Athletic from Ireland, Pyunik from Armenia and Lech Poznań from Poland. Žalgiris were defeated by Red Bull Salzburg in the play-off round. Despite this the team had a chance to qualify for the group stage due to Austrian team qualifying directly, because of the ban for Fenerbahçe, but UEFA decided to change the practise and award the free place by a random draw, which was won by APOEL. The ending of the season was really dramatic for the team, as faith of A Lyga was decided in the last round. Žalgiris had a chance to secure champions title, but lost 1–3 to Sūduva. Now team had to wait news from Klaipėda, where Atlantas were leading by a one goal margin in a match against Banga, but on 83rd minute former Atlantas striker Aurelijus Staponka scored an equalizer for Gargždai team. After 14 years break Žalgiris once again became Lithuanian champion, overtaking Atlantas by 2 points margin. At the end of the season club captain Andrius Skerla declared about the end of his playing carrer.

Stadium

For the majority of the time Žalgiris played in Žalgiris Stadium. This stadium is the biggest in Lithuania and has a capacity of 15,029.

Since 2011 Žalgiris plays in LFF Stadium (Lithuanian Football Federation stadium). This arena, formerly known as Vėtra Stadium, was built in 2004 and holds up 5,500 people.

After the bankruptcy of FK Vėtra football club, LFF took control of the stadium.

Currently it is under construction to meet level 3 UEFA stadium status. The capacity will be extended to 8,000.

It is situated 400 metres up the Aušros vartų and Liepkalnio streets from the Gate of Dawn (Lithuanian: Aušros vartai)

Kit

From the establishment of the club, Žalgiris colours are green and white, therefore the kit is green and white striped jersey and green/white variation of shorts and socks. In the past there have also been checkered green-white jersey designs. Away kits are usually plain white or green.

Supporters

The official club of Žalgiris' fans is named Pietų IV. The members of Pietų IV support the team during every game in Lithuania and in Europe and never leave the team alone. This community is united by their love and loyalty to Žalgiris. Pietų IV is the leader of organised supporting in Baltic states.

The establishment date of Pietų IV is considered October, 1985. Since that time fans have been supporting the team while singing, waving flags and creating impressive choreography. Fans helped Žalgiris to survive the financial crisis. During hard periods they organized various events and collected enough money to remain. Pietų IV and the managers of the club together are the founders of Žalgiris Vilnius.

Achievements

UEFA coefficient

Correct as of 12 December 2016. The table shows the position of FK Žalgiris (highlighted), based on their UEFA coefficient club ranking, and four clubs, which are closest to Žalgiris position (the two clubs with the higher coefficient and the two with the lower coefficient).

Staff

As of January 5, 2016.

Current squad

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

Out on loan

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

Žalgiris B

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

Player of the Year

Lists of the winners of Žalgiris Vilnius. Player of the Year Award instituted from 2004 as voted by the official members of Žalgiris' supporters club - Pietų IV: