# 2016 FK Žalgiris season

The 2016 season is FK Žalgiris 7th consecutive season in the top flight of Lithuanian football and 3rd consecutive as A Lyga title defenders. They also participated in the Lithuanian Cup, the SuperCup and entered the UEFA Champions League at the second qualifying round stage.
After winning the 2015–16 Lithuanian Football Cup, the club has achieved the longest active consecutive domestic cup run in Europe with five victories in a row. After another consecutive win in the 2016 LFF Cup, they extended the record to six victories, while also setting a new Lithuanian record – winning two domestic cups in a single calendar year.
Žalgiris were crowned champions for the fourth year in a row on 30 October after a 2–0 win against Atlantas.
After the season, club leaders received multiple personal awards. Long time club servant Mantas Kuklys was included among the final seven candidates to win Lithuanian footballer of the year award and remained fourth overall. Furthermore, he was elected as the best player in Lithuania, managing to beat teammates Andrija Kaluđerović and Vytautas Lukša, who respectively remained in second and fourth places. Despite joining only in the summer, Kaluđerović was also declared Fans Player of the Year – traditional award given by club supporters group Pietų IV. According to the fans, club defender Mamadou Mbodj remained in 2nd and 3rd place was taken by Kuklys. Justas Lasickas and Daniel Romanovskij remained respectively 3rd and 5th in the most promising player of the season elections; midfielder Matija Ljujić received the prize for the best goal of the season; and head coach Valdas Dambrauskas also received the coach of the year award.
The 2016 season concluded with a special event where the film "„Žalgiris-2016“. The year of triumph", about a historical season highlighted with the victory of four domestic titles was premiered.

## Players

| Squad No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of Birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Armantas Vitkauskas | GK | (1989-03-23) 23 March 1989 (age 35) | FK Sūduva | 2012 |
| 12 | Karolis Čirba | GK | (1997-03-31) 31 March 1997 (age 27) | Academy | 2016 |
| 55 | Saulius Klevinskas | GK | (1984-04-02) 2 April 1984 (age 40) | Torpedo Moscow | 2015 |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Linas Klimavičius | CB | (1989-04-10) 10 April 1989 (age 35) | FK Trakai | 2016 |
| 5 | Donovan Slijngard | LB | (1987-08-28) 28 August 1987 (age 37) | SC Cambuur | 2015 |
| 6 | Mamadou Mbodj | CB | (1993-03-12) 12 March 1993 (age 31) | Red Star Belgrade | 2016 |
| 8 | Egidijus Vaitkūnas | RB | (1988-08-08) 8 August 1988 (age 36) | FK Tauras | 2010 |
| 18 | Aldas Korsakas | RB | (1996-05-21) 21 May 1996 (age 28) | Academy | 2014 |
| 20 | Dominykas Barauskas | DF | (1997-04-18) 18 April 1997 (age 27) | Academy | 2015 |
| 26 | Marius Žaliūkas | CB | (1983-11-10) 10 November 1983 (age 40) | Rangers F.C. | 2016 |
| 71 | Jonas Skinderis | DF | (1997-04-04) 4 April 1997 (age 27) | FK Panevėžys | 2016 |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 4 | Marin Matoš | CM | (1989-01-26) 26 January 1989 (age 35) | NK Istra 1961 | 2016 |
| 7 | Slavko Blagojević | DM / CM | (1987-03-21) 21 March 1987 (age 37) | RNK Split | 2016 |
| 9 | Jorge Chula | RW / LW | (1990-02-13) 13 February 1990 (age 34) | C.D. Aves | 2015 |
| 21 | Vytautas Lukša | RW / LW | (1984-08-14) 14 August 1984 (age 40) | FK Trakai | 2015 |
| 22 | Justas Lasickas | LW | (1997-10-06) 6 October 1997 (age 27) | Academy | 2014 |
| 23 | Saulius Mikoliūnas | RB / RW / LW | (1984-05-02) 2 May 1984 (age 40) | FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 2016 |
| 27 | Matija Ljujić | CM / AM | (1993-10-28) 28 October 1993 (age 30) | FK Rad | 2016 |
| 75 | Ernestas Stočkūnas | MF | (1998-04-26) 26 April 1998 (age 26) | Academy | 2015 |
| 77 | Linas Pilibaitis | CM / AM / CF | (1985-04-05) 5 April 1985 (age 39) | Győri ETO FC | 2014 |
| 88 | Mantas Kuklys | CM / AM | (1987-06-10) 10 June 1987 (age 37) | KFC Turnhout | 2012 |
| Forwards |||||||
| 19 | Edvinas Baniulis | CF | (1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 27) | Academy | 2013 |
| 28 | Julius Momkus | ST | (1998-02-28) 28 February 1998 (age 26) | Academy | 2016 |
| 33 | Bahrudin Atajić | AM / LW / RW / CF / SS | (1993-11-16) 16 November 1993 (age 30) | SJK Seinäjoki | 2016 |
| 80 | Elivelto | CM / AM / LW / RW / SS | (1992-01-02) 2 January 1992 (age 32) | FK Ekranas | 2015 |
| 99 | Andrija Kaluđerović | CF | (1987-07-05) 5 July 1987 (age 37) | FK Rad | 2016 |

## Competitions
### Lithuanian Supercup
### A Lyga
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Competitive matches

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H |
| Result | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | D | L |
| Position | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
* ↑ Match was postponed and played after 23rd tour

#### Regular season
##### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Žalgiris Vilnius | 28 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 62 | 22 | +40 | 66 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 2 | Trakai | 28 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 47 | 22 | +25 | 58 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 3 | Sūduva Marijampolė | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 51 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 4 | Atlantas | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 51 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 5 | Lietava Jonava | 28 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 44 | −16 | 29 | Qualification to Championship round |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Sūduva–Atlantas 1–0, Atlantas–Sūduva 1–2, Sūduva–Atlantas 3–3, Atlantas–Sūduva 2–1.

##### Matches
#### Championship round
##### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Žalgiris Vilnius (C) | 33 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 74 | 29 | +45 | 76 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Trakai | 33 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 55 | 26 | +29 | 67 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sūduva Marijampolė | 33 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 55 | 41 | +14 | 58 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Atlantas | 33 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 56 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Stumbras Kaunas | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 43 | 63 | −20 | 33 | |
| 6 | Lietava Jonava | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 35 | 58 | −23 | 32 | |
* ↑ Žalgiris Vilnius qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2016 Lithuanian Football Cup. However, since they qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed down the league.

##### Matches
### LFF Taurė
#### 2015–16 LFF Taurė

All previous rounds were played during the 2015 FK Žalgiris season.

##### Final
#### 2016 LFF Taurė
### UEFA Champions League
#### Second qualifying round
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | A Lyga | A Lyga | Supercup | Supercup | LFF Taurė | LFF Taurė | Champions League | Champions League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | LTU | Armantas Vitkauskas | 26 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | LTU | Karolis Čirba | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | GK | LTU | Saulius Klevinskas | 18 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | LTU | Linas Klimavičius | 38 | 3 | 26+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | NED | Donovan Slijngard | 39 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | SEN | Mamadou Mbodj | 42 | 6 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | LTU | Egidijus Vaitkūnas | 37 | 2 | 27+1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | LTU | Aldas Korsakas | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | LTU | Dominykas Barauskas | 6 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | LTU | Marius Žaliūkas | 18 | 1 | 7+4 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 71 | DF | LTU | Jonas Skinderis | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | CRO | Marin Matoš | 28 | 4 | 12+10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | CRO | Slavko Blagojević | 18 | 0 | 12+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | POR | Jorge Chula | 11 | 1 | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | LTU | Vytautas Lukša | 41 | 9 | 28+3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5+2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | LTU | Justas Lasickas | 22 | 1 | 6+10 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | LTU | Saulius Mikoliūnas | 37 | 5 | 19+8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | SRB | Matija Ljujić | 22 | 5 | 11+4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3+2 | 2 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 75 | DF | LTU | Ernestas Stočkūnas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | MF | LTU | Linas Pilibaitis | 38 | 14 | 20+10 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 4+2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 88 | MF | LTU | Mantas Kuklys | 40 | 7 | 29+2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 19 | FW | LTU | Edvinas Baniulis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | LTU | Julius Momkus | 3 | 2 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | BIH | Bahrudin Atajić | 32 | 8 | 16+8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 80 | FW | BRA | Elivelto | 31 | 8 | 15+9 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+1 | 4 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 99 | FW | SRB | Andrija Kaluđerović | 24 | 23 | 18+1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | BRA | Elton | 11 | 1 | 6+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | BRA | Lucas Gaúcho | 4 | 1 | 0+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | LTU | Simonas Stankevičius | 12 | 1 | 5+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | LTU | Daniel Romanovskij | 6 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | LTU | Tautvydas Eliošius | 9 | 1 | 3+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Competitions

### Goalscorers

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | A Lyga | Supercup | LFF Taurė | UEFA CL | Total |
| 1 | 99 | FW | | Andrija Kaluđerović | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| 2 | 77 | MF | | Linas Pilibaitis | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | 21 | MF | | Vytautas Lukša | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | 33 | FW | | Bahrudin Atajić | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | 80 | FW | | Elivelto | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| 6 | 88 | MF | | Mantas Kuklys | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 7 | 6 | DF | | Mamadou Mbodj | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 8 | 23 | MF | | Saulius Mikoliūnas | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | 27 | MF | | Matija Ljujić | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 | 4 | MF | | Marin Matoš | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | 2 | DF | | Linas Klimavičius | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | 8 | DF | | Egidijus Vaitkūnas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | 28 | FW | | Julius Momkus | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | 7 | MF | | Elton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | 9 | MF | | Jorge Chula | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | 10 | FW | | Lucas Gaúcho | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | 11 | FW | | Simonas Stankevičius | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | 17 | MF | | Tautvydas Eliošius | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | 22 | MF | | Justas Lasickas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | 26 | DF | | Marius Žaliūkas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goal | Own goal | Own goal | Own goal | Own goal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 74 | 4 | 25 | 1 | 104 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | A Lyga | Supercup | LFF Taurė | UEFA CL | Total |
| 1 | 1 | GK | | Armantas Vitkauskas | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | 55 | GK | | Saulius Klevinskas | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | 12 | GK | | Karolis Čirba | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 13 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 21 |

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | A Lyga | A Lyga | A Lyga | Supercup | Supercup | Supercup | LFF Taurė | LFF Taurė | LFF Taurė | UEFA CL | UEFA CL | UEFA CL | Total | Total | Total |
| 2 | DF | | Linas Klimavičius | 3 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | | Marin Matoš | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Donovan Slijngard | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | | Mamadou Mbodj | 3 | | | 1 | | | 2 | | | | | | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | Elton | 1 | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | Slavko Blagojević | 4 | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | | Egidijus Vaitkūnas | 4 | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | | Jorge Chula | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Tautvydas Eliošius | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | | Vytautas Lukša | 3 | | | 1 | | | 1 | | | 1 | | | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | | Justas Lasickas | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | | Saulius Mikoliūnas | 7 | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | | Matija Ljujić | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | | Bahrudin Atajić | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | GK | | Saulius Klevinskas | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | MF | | Linas Pilibaitis | 3 | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | FW | | Elivelto | 3 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 88 | MF | | Mantas Kuklys | 4 | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | FW | | Andrija Kaluđerović | 1 | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 52 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 2 | 1 |