FK Ekranas

Summary

Panevėžio Ekranas was a Lithuanian defunct football club, from the city of Panevėžys. It won 7 top-tier champion and 5 national cup titles throughout its existence.[1]

Panevėžio Ekranas
FK Ekranas's logo
Full nameFootball Club Ekranas
Nickname(s)Mėlynai Raudoni (The Blue-Reds)
Founded1964; 60 years ago (1964)
Dissolved2015; 9 years ago (2015)
GroundŽemynos stadionas
ChairmanTomas Malinauskas
ManagerDarius Maciulevičius

The club was founded in 1964 and for 44 years competed in the top tier of Lithuanian football. However, at the end of 2014 season the club ran into financial difficulties, failed to meet admission criteria to A Lyga for the 2015 season and was subsequently declared bankrupt. A new club FK Panevėžys was formed to represent the city of Panevėžys, which managed to pass licensing criteria for the 2015 I Lyga season. FK Ekranas was declared bankrupt in 2016.[2] In 2020 FK Ekranas was restored. It plays in the 2nd tier of Lithuania.

FK Ekranas won Lithuanian championships in 1985 (Soviet Lithuania), 1993, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, the Lithuanian Cup in 1985 (Soviet Lithuania), 1998, 2000, 2010 and 2011 and the Lithuanian Super Cup in 1998, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

On 5 November 2004, before the A Lyga champion-deciding match against FBK Kaunas, the club was controversially expelled from the top division by the National Football Club Association (NFKA) for alleged match fixing, but reinstated a day later.

In August 2006 FK Ekranas won the first Baltic Champion's Cup tournament in Liepāja after beating Estonian champions TVMK Tallinn 6–4 and drawing with the home side Liepājas Metalurgs 1–1.

In 2015, the club filed for bankruptcy and was dissolved following the unsuccessful attempts to save the team.[3]

Honours edit

 
Ekranas fans. Pirmoji Armada

Participation in Lithuanian Championships edit

Year Division Position Year Division Position Year Division Position
1991 A Lyga 4th 2000 A Lyga 4th 2010 A Lyga 1st
1991–92 A Lyga 5th 2001 A Lyga 4th 2011 A Lyga 1st
1992–93 A Lyga 1st 2002 A Lyga 3rd 2012 A Lyga 1st
1993–94 A Lyga 3rd 2003 A Lyga 2nd 2013 A Lyga 3rd
1994–95 A Lyga 8th 2004 A Lyga 2nd 2014 A Lyga 6th
1995–96 A Lyga 7th 2005 A Lyga 1st
1996–97 A Lyga 5th 2006 A Lyga 2nd
1997–98 A Lyga 3rd 2007 A Lyga 3rd
1998–99 A Lyga 4th 2008 A Lyga 1st
1999 A Lyga 5th 2009 A Lyga 1st

UEFA club competition results edit

Updated 23 July 2013
Competition P W D L GF GA
Champions League 20 5 3 12 19 40
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 18 7 2 9 17 36
Cup Winners Cup 2 0 1 1 4 5
Intertoto Cup 8 2 1 5 7 12
Total 48 14 7 27 47 93
Season Cup Rnd Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1993–94 Champions League 1Q   Floriana 0–1 0–1 0–2  
1998–99 Cup Winners Cup 1Q   Apollon Limassol 1–2 3–3 4–5  
1999 Intertoto Cup 1R   Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț 0–1 0–1 0–2  
2000–01 UEFA Cup Q   Lierse S.K. 0–3 0–4 0–7  
2001 Intertoto Cup 1R   FC Artmedia Bratislava 1–1 1–1 2–2*  
2003–04 UEFA Cup Q   Debreceni VSC 1–1 1–2 2–3  
2004–05 UEFA Cup 1Q   F91 Dudelange 1–0 2–1 3–1  
2Q   Odd Grenland 2–1 1–3 3–4  
2005–06 UEFA Cup 1Q   Cork City 0–2 1–0 1–2  
2006–07 Champions League 1Q   Elbasani 3–0 0–1 3–1  
2Q   Dinamo Zagreb 1–4 2–5 3–9  
2007–08 UEFA Cup 1Q   B36 Tórshavn 3–2 3–1 6–3  
2Q   Vålerenga 1–1 0–6 1–7  
2008 Intertoto Cup 1R   Narva Trans 1–0 3–0 4–0  
2R   Rosenborg 1–3 0–4 1–7  
2009–10 Champions League 2Q   Baku 2–2 2–4 4–6  
2010–11 Champions League 2Q   HJK Helsinki 1–0 0–2 1–2  
2011–12 Champions League 2Q   Valletta 1–0 3–2 4–2  
3Q   BATE Borisov 0–0 1–3 1–3  
2011–12 Europa League Play-Off   Hapoel Tel Aviv 1–0 0–4 1–4  
2012–13 Champions League 2Q   Shamrock Rovers 2–1 0–0 2–1  
3Q   Anderlecht 0–6 0–5 0–11  
2012–13 Europa League Play-Off   Steaua București 0–2 0–3 0–5  
2013–14 Champions League 2Q   Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar 0–1 1–2 1–3  
2014–15 Europa League 1Q   Crusaders 1–2 1–3 2–5  

*FC Artmedia Bratislava victory after the penalty shootout.

1Q – 1st Qualifying Round; 2Q – 2nd Qualifying Round; 1R – 1st Round; 2R – 2nd Round

Players edit

Famous players edit

FK Ekranas players famous internationally and legends from the club or Lithuania. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Ekranas.

Notable players edit

Managerial history edit

From–to Names
1964–76   Algimantas Balilionis
1972–75   Fulgentas Bižys
1980–89   Mindaugas Kaušpėdas
1989–07   Virginijus Liubšys
2007   Saulius Širmelis
2007–08   Darius Butkus
20 July 2008 – 30 June 2009   Saulius Širmelis
2 June 2009 – 25 April 2013   Valdas Urbonas
May 2013 – November 2014   Valdas Dambrauskas

References edit

  1. ^ "FK "Ekranas" istorija". FkEkranas.lt (in Lithuanian). Archived from the original on 9 August 2011.
  2. ^ JP (26 August 2015). "FK "Ekranas" iškelta bankroto byla". jp.lt. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  3. ^ "FK "Ekranas" iškelta bankroto byla". JP.lt (in Lithuanian). 26 August 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2023.