FK Ekranas

Panevėžio Ekranas
FK Ekranas's logo
Full nameFootball Club Ekranas
Nickname(s)Mėlynai Raudoni (The Blue-Reds)
Founded1964; 60 years ago (1964)
2020; 4 years ago (2020)
Dissolved2015; 9 years ago (2015)
GroundŽemynos stadionas
ChairmanTomas Malinauskas
ManagerDarius Maciulevičius

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

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 Malta Floriana 0–1 0–1 0–2
1998–99 Cup Winners Cup 1Q Cyprus Apollon Limassol 1–2 3–3 4–5
1999 Intertoto Cup 1R Romania Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț 0–1 0–1 0–2
2000–01 UEFA Cup Q Belgium Lierse S.K. 0–3 0–4 0–7
2001 Intertoto Cup 1R Slovakia FC Artmedia Bratislava 1–1 1–1 2–2*
2003–04 UEFA Cup Q Hungary Debreceni VSC 1–1 1–2 2–3
2004–05 UEFA Cup 1Q Luxembourg F91 Dudelange 1–0 2–1 3–1
2Q Norway Odd Grenland 2–1 1–3 3–4
2005–06 UEFA Cup 1Q Republic of Ireland Cork City 0–2 1–0 1–2
2006–07 Champions League 1Q Albania Elbasani 3–0 0–1 3–1
2Q Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 1–4 2–5 3–9
2007–08 UEFA Cup 1Q Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn 3–2 3–1 6–3
2Q Norway Vålerenga 1–1 0–6 1–7
2008 Intertoto Cup 1R Estonia Narva Trans 1–0 3–0 4–0
2R Norway Rosenborg 1–3 0–4 1–7
2009–10 Champions League 2Q Azerbaijan Baku 2–2 2–4 4–6
2010–11 Champions League 2Q Finland HJK Helsinki 1–0 0–2 1–2
2011–12 Champions League 2Q Malta Valletta 1–0 3–2 4–2
3Q Belarus BATE Borisov 0–0 1–3 1–3
2011–12 Europa League Play-Off Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv 1–0 0–4 1–4
2012–13 Champions League 2Q Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 2–1 0–0 2–1
3Q Belgium Anderlecht 0–6 0–5 0–11
2012–13 Europa League Play-Off Romania Steaua București 0–2 0–3 0–5
2013–14 Champions League 2Q Iceland Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar 0–1 1–2 1–3
2014–15 Europa League 1Q Northern Ireland 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 Lithuania Algimantas Balilionis
1972–75 Lithuania Fulgentas Bižys
1980–89 Lithuania Mindaugas Kaušpėdas
1989–07 Lithuania Virginijus Liubšys
2007 Lithuania Saulius Širmelis
2007–08 Lithuania Darius Butkus
20 July 2008 – 30 June 2009 Lithuania Saulius Širmelis
2 June 2009 – 25 April 2013 Lithuania Valdas Urbonas
May 2013 – November 2014 Lithuania 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.