FK Panevezys lifted the first trophy of their short history this weekend by winning the Lithuanian Cup, and a Portuguese coach was behind the triumph.
João Luís, who was born in Funchal and spent his career with local sides Marítimo and Machico, led Panevezys to a penalty shootout win over champions Suduva after a 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon, claiming the club’s first-ever piece of silverware.
“It was an exceptional journey by a team that, above all, deserved to win this cup,” said the Madeiran, 53, who had compatriot Rafael Floro in his line-up.
“I knew we were going to play against a much stronger group of players, a team that has been champion in recent years, but my team works hard and believes in the tactics we prepared. We went for quick transitions and we were very focused on the task. Unity was one of the team’s weapons, they are together at all times, from training to games and today that was evident.”
Full name João Luís Gouveia Martins, the former defender has been in coaching for most of the last twenty years. Luís spent three seasons at the helm of Marítimo B, after which he held roles in Angola, Qatar and Saudi Arabia before landing in Lithuania. His previous role saw him briefly the interim manager of Zalgiris, one of the league’s most successful clubs.
The cup win means Panevezys – formed in 2015 – now qualify for next season’s Europa League, representing a fine achievement for the Portuguese coach, who arrived at the club just three months ago, having worked at other clubs in the country since 2016. "When I arrived at the club, they talked about that dream and I tried to make them see that this dream was possible,” he said.
“But after this it’s not guaranteed that success will be repeated soon because the club is very young and has not created foundations. I proposed a different path which could create a base and structure so that one day when we reached Europe it could be repeated season after season.
“The truth is that this European qualification arrived even before this growth, this base that we are gradually building, but we will make the best of it.”
By Sean Gillen
