Loan moves from Lithuanian football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 club FBK Kaunas

FBK Kaunas

Kauno futbolo beisbolo klubas is a Lithuanian football club from the city of Kaunas, that currently plays in the A Lyga, the top level of Lithuanian football.- History :...

 to Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 club Hearts

Heart of Midlothian F.C.

Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...

have proved controversial in Scottish football. Both clubs are controlled by businessman Vladimir Romanov

Vladimir Romanov

Vladimir Nikolayevich Romanov ; born 1947 in Tver Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR) is an ethnic Russian businessman who also holds Lithuanian citizenship following that country's independence from the Soviet Union. He is chairman of UBIG Investments which is the majority shareholder in Scottish Premier...

 and the comparatively large number of such loans is seen by some as a bending of the loan transfer rules. Loan transfers from clubs outside Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 are automatically exempt from the limitation on signing players on loan.

Type 1 Loans

These loans take two forms. In the first, players are signed by Kaunas, but have been immediately transferred to Hearts on loan, without playing for Kaunas at all. There have been seven such loans:

• Deividas Česnauskis

Česnauskis

Deividas Cesnauskis

Deividas Česnauskis is a Lithuanian footballer, who plays as a winger and currently plays for FK Baku. He most recently played for Greek Super League club Aris...

 was the first player signed by Kaunas with the express intention of playing for Hearts. He moved from Lokomotiv Moscow in February 2005. In May 2009 he was sent back to Kaunus.

• Roman Bednář

Czech striker Roman Bednář

Roman Bednár

Roman Bednář is a Czech footballer who plays for West Bromwich Albion as a striker. He has courted controversy in his career off the pitch.-Czech Republic:...

 was transferred to Kaunas in July 2005 from FK Mladá Boleslav

FK Mladá Boleslav

FK Mladá Boleslav is a Czech football club from Mladá Boleslav.- Recent times :The team was promoted to Gambrinus liga for the first time in its history in 2004 and in their first top-flight season fought against relegation, eventually finishing in 14th place...

 and was immediately loaned to Hearts. He signed a four-year deal with Hearts in August 2006. To date, he is the only player signed on loan from Kaunas to have gone on to sign a full permanent contract with Hearts. For the 2007–08 season, Bednar was loaned to English Championship team West Bromwich Albion. In May 2008, at the end of his loan spell West Bromwich Albion exercised an option to purchase him, converting his loan into a permanent deal, with Albion paying Hearts £2.3 million for the player, in addition to the £200,000 loan fee they had paid previously.

• Edgaras Jankauskas

Lithuanian striker Jankauskas

Edgaras Jankauskas

Edgaras Jankauskas is a retired Lithuanian footballer who works as a coach-interpreter for FC Lokomotiv Moscow.A tall, powerful striker who plays to the physical side of the game, he is also known for skill. Other than in his own, he played professionally in nine different countries, and...

 left F.C. Porto for Kaunas in the summer of 2005 and was immediately loaned to Hearts. His loan contract was ended prior to the 2007–08 season and he moved to Kaunas.

• Nerijus Barasa

Right-back Barasa

Nerijus Barasa

Nerijus Barasa is a former Lithuanian professional footballer. He played as a right-back or defensive midfielder.Barasa started his career with FBK Kaunas in 1994 before joining Atlantas Klaipėda the following season...

 barely featured for Hearts in the immediate aftermath of his January 2006 loan move due to injury, making only one start against Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 in the final match of the 2005–06 season. He featured more prominently during the 2006–07 season, although he was again hampered by injury. Although Barasa had played for Kaunas in the past, his loan move to Hearts came after five seasons playing in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and was, in effect, a paper-only transfer. He returned to Kaunas for a second time when his loan contract was terminated prior to the 2007–08 season.

• Bruno Aguiar

Portuguese midfielder Aguiar

Bruno Aguiar

Bruno João Morais Aguiar is a Portuguese footballer who plays for AC Omonia in Cyprus, as a central midfielder.After an unsuccessful spell with Benfica, although he contributed to the team's first Primeira Liga title in over one decade, he left the club in 2005, going on to play professionally in...

 was transferred to Kaunas in January 2006 from Portuguese high-flyers Benfica, before he became one of 11 players to join Hearts during the January 2006 transfer window

Transfer window

The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA...

.

• José Gonçalves

Former FC Thun

FC Thun

FC Thun 1898 is a Swiss football team from the Bernese Oberland town of Thun. The club currently plays in the Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2009/10 season. The club plays at the Arena Thun which accommodates a total of 10,300 supporters, both seated and standing...

 defender Gonçalves

José Gonçalves

José Gonçalves is a Portuguese footballer of Cape Verdean descent currently playing for FC Sion in the Swiss Super League. He is Portuguese by birth but has Swiss citizenship, having lived there since he was two years old...

 moved on loan to Hearts in January 2006, after joining the Lithuanian champions for £633,000 in a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Type 2 Loans

The second type of loan involves players who have played regularly for Kaunas before being transferred on loan to Hearts. The players who have been loaned in this manner are:

• Saulius Mikoliūnas

Young Lithuanian international winger Mikoliūnas

Saulius Mikoliunas

Saulius Mikoliūnas is a Lithuanian professional footballer playing for FC Arsenal Kyiv. He is a Lithuanian international and has played for Scottish Premier League club Hearts and FBK Kaunas...

 was one of the first players loaned from Kaunas to Hearts, moving to Edinburgh in January 2005.

• Marius Kizys

Kizys

Marius Kižys

Marius Kižys is a professional Lithuanian footballer. He is currently playing for FC Nizhny Novgorod. Previously he has played for FBK Kaunas, FK Šilutė and Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian and ŁKS Łódź.-External links:...

 moved to Tynecastle at the same time as Mikoliūnas but after making only 8 first-team appearances (6 of which were as a substitute) his loan was not renewed in the summer of 2005.

• Marius Žaliūkas

Defender Žaliūkas

Marius Žaliukas

Marius Žaliūkas is a Lithuanian footballer who is the captain of Scottish Premier League club Hearts. He plays as either a centre back or a defensive midfielder.-Club career:...

 moved to Hearts on loan from Kaunas in August 2006. Initially deployed as a defensive midfielder, he became a more regular starter when moved to centre-back.

• Andrius Velička

Striker Velička

Andrius Velicka

Andrius Velička is a Lithuanian professional association footballer who plays for FK Ekranas. He also plays for the Lithuania national team.-FBK Kaunas:...

 also joined Hearts on loan from Kaunas in August 2006. He was the Edinburgh side's top scorer during the 2006–07 season. Initially, his loan deal at Hearts ended without being renewed. However, he has since returned for 2007–08. In 2008, Andrius signed for fellow SPL side Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

.

• Kęstutis Ivaškevičius

Young attacking midfielder Ivaškevičius

Kestutis Ivaškevicius

Kęstutis Ivaškevičius is a Lithuanian footballer who plays for Bnei Yehuda in the Israeli Premier League.Ivaškevičius is as an attacking midfielder, capable of playing wide right or centrally....

 moved on loan at the same time as Velička and Žaliūkas and made his debut against Alloa Athletic

Alloa Athletic F.C.

Alloa Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Alloa, Clackmannanshire. They are members of the Scottish Football League and currently play in the Third Division....

 in the League Cup

Scottish League Cup

The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...

. In August 2008 he returned to Kaunas.

• Arkadiusz Klimek

In January 2007, striker Klimek

Arkadiusz Klimek

Arkadiusz Klimek is a Polish professional footballer currently playing for Latvian side FK Liepājas Metalurgs.-Career:...

 became the first non-Lithuanian player to be loaned to Hearts after playing for Kaunas. The Pole

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 spent one season with Kaunas having previously played in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 and his homeland. He played only a handful of games for Hearts before returning to Kaunas in May 2007.

• Eduardas Kurskis

6 times capped goalkeeper Kurskis

Eduardas Kurskis

Eduardas Kurskis is a Lithuanian professional footballer currently playing for FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk as a goalkeeper. He started his career with Kaunas before leaving for first-team action at hometown Kareda Šiauliai...

 joined the club on loan from Kaunas in the January 2007 transfer window. In March 2008, he returned to Kaunas.

• Tomas Kančelskis

Former Kaunas captain Kančelskis

Tomas Kancelskis

Tomas Kančelskis is a Lithuanian professional footballer currently playing KFK Šiauliai.A central defender, Kančelskis started his career with Romar Mažeikiai, where he tasted success before his twentieth birthday, as Romar won the 1993-94 A Lyga title...

 also joined on loan in January 2007. He had previously played as a trialist for Hearts in a friendly against Atlético Osasuna

CA Osasuna

Club Atlético Osasuna, known as Osasuna, is a Spanish football team based in Iruñea-Pamplona, in the autonomous community of Navarre.Founded in 1920, it currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at the 19,553-capacity Estadio Reyno de Navarra...

 in July 2006. He played several times for the first team, both at centre-back and right-back, during the 2006–07 season. In March 2008, he returned to Kaunas.

• Linas Pilibaitis

Attacking midfielder Pilibaitis

Linas Pilibaitis

Linas Pilibaitis is a Lithuanian professional footballer playing for Győri ETO FC.- Career :Pilibaitis joined Kaunas aged 17 in 2002, gradually working his way into the first team as he developed in the following years. This process was aided by a loan spell at Klaipėda side FK Atlantas in 2004,...

 was the third Lithuanian to move on loan to Hearts in January 2007. He returned to Kaunas in August 2007.

• Ričardas Beniušis

Striker Beniušis

Ricardas Beniušis

Ricardas Beniušis is a Lithuanian footballer.Beniušis started his career with Inkaras Kaunas in his homeland, returning there after short spells with Russian clubs Baltika Kaliningrad and Krylya Sovetov Samara...

 played for Hearts as trialist in their pre-season friendly against FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

 in July 2007. He moved to Edinburgh on a 6 month loan deal the following week. He returned to Kaunas in March 2008.

• Audrius Ksanavičius

Ksanavičius

Audrius Kšanavicius

Audrius Kšanavičius is a footballer who plays for FBK Kaunas as a midfielder.-Career:A left winger, Kšanavičius began his career with FBK Kaunas in 1994, making over 150 appearances before moving to Latvian champions Skonto Riga in 2001. After three seasons with Skonto he returned to FBK Kaunas....

 also played in the friendly match against Barcelona before signing on loan. The attacking midfielder had previously played outside of his homeland with Skonto Riga. He returned to Kaunas in January 2009.

• Adrian Mrowiec

Mrowiec

Adrian Mrowiec

Adrian Mrowiec is a Polish footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Scottish Premier League club Hearts.-Hearts:...

 helped Kaunas defeat Rangers before signing on loan. His debut was against Falkirk at the Falkirk Stadium and was quickly nicknamed by Hearts fans as "Mr O'Weic".

• Marian Kello

Kello

Marián Kello

Marián Kello is a professional football goalkeeper who is currently playing for Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premier League.-Club career:...

also helped Kaunas defeat Rangers before signing on loan. His debut was against St. Mirren at Tynecastle Stadium.

Fan reaction

Reaction to the influx of Lithuanian players amongst Hearts supporters has been mixed, with several being booed for perceived poor performance and the perception that they receive preferential treatment. In contrast, others such as Velička (Hearts top scorer in 2006-07) and Žaliūkas became established important first team players.