2020 A Lyga

The 2020 A Lyga was the 31st season of the A Lyga, the top-tier football league of Lithuania. The season began on 6 March and was planned to end on 7 November 2020. On 12 March all sports events were postponed for two weeks in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

A Lyga
Season2020
Dates6 March – 7 November 2020
ChampionsŽalgiris
Champions LeagueŽalgiris
Europa Conference LeagueSūduva
Kauno Žalgiris
Panevėžys
Matches played60
Goals scored153 (2.55 per match)
Top goalscorerHugo Vidémont
(9 goals)
Biggest home winŽalgiris 4–0 Panevėžys
(6 March 2020)
Biggest away winRiteriai 0–3 Kauno Žalgiris
(8 March 2020)
Highest scoringŽalgiris 4–0 Panevėžys
(6 March 2020)
Longest winning run3 matches
Sūduva
Longest unbeaten run3 matches
Sūduva
Longest winless run4 matches
Panevėžys
Longest losing run4 matches
Panevėžys
← 2019
2021 →
All statistics correct as of 13 June 2020.

Teams

FK Sūduva Marijampolė begin the season as defending champions having won their third consecutive league title last year.

Three clubs dropped out of A Lyga last season - Stumbras folded in the summer, while Atlantas and Palanga were disqualified after the end of the season after investigation revealed numerous match-fixing incidents.

Licensing process

The top 5 previous season's teams - FK Sūduva Marijampolė, FK Žalgiris, FK Riteriai, FK Kauno Žalgiris and FK Panevėžys met licensing criteria and received a straight pass to their licenses. Disqualified FK Palanga and FK Atlantas appealed the disqualification decision and expressed interest in playing in A Lyga. Their appeals were rejected.

Five of the I Lyga teams applied for A Lyga licenses - FK Banga Gargždai, FC Džiugas, Vilniaus Vytis, DFK Dainava and FC Hegelmann Litauen. The previous year's I Lyga winners FC Džiugas failed to meet A Lyga licensing criteria, and their application was rejected. FC Džiugas will continue playing in I Lyga this season. FK Banga Gargždai won the play-off match against FK Palanga and earned the right to play in A Lyga. Their A Lyga license was granted upon appeal. Vilniaus Vytis and DFK Dainava did not earn promotion to A Lyga, however they were hoping for exceptions which are common in Lithuanian football. In this instance their applications were rejected on the grounds of failing to meet several critical criteria. FC Hegelmann Litauen withdrew their application prior to the licensing committee's meeting. This meant that only six teams will play in the 2020 A Lyga championship. The LFF announced that four I Lyga teams will qualify for promotion to A Lyga next season.[2]

Home towns of the 2020 A Lyga teams
2020 A Lyga competitors
Club Location Stadium Surface Capacity Seasons
in A Lyga		 2019 position
Banga Gargždai Gargždai Stadium Artificial 2,323 7 2nd in LFF I lyga
— — —
Kauno Žalgiris Kaunas SM Tauras Stadium Natural 500 6 4th
NFA Stadium Artificial 500
Panevėžys Panevėžys Aukštaitija Stadium Natural 6,600 2 5th
Žemyna Progymnasium Stadium Artificial 500
Riteriai Vilnius LFF Stadium Artificial 5,067 7 3rd
Sportima Arena Artificial 3,157
Sūduva Marijampolė Sūduva Stadium
(Hikvision Arena)		 Natural 6,250 18 1st
Marijampolė Football Indoor Arena
(Hikvision FIA)		 Artificial 2,660
Žalgiris Vilnius LFF Stadium Artificial 5,067 19 2nd
Sportima Arena Artificial 3,157

Personnel and kits
Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Banga Tomas Tamošauskas [3] Deividas Padaigis Nike -
Kauno Žalgiris Rokas Garastas Linas Pilibaitis Hummel BC Žalgiris
Panevėžys João Luís Martins Paulius Janušauskas Hummel[4] Kalnapilis
Riteriai Tommi Pikkarainen Valdemaras Borovskis Nike Ecoil
Sūduva Saulius Širmelis Algis Jankauskas Joma HIK Vision
Žalgiris Aleksey Baga Saulius Mikoliūnas Nike Top Sport

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of appointment
Riteriai Albert Rybak end of caretaker spell 3 January 2020 Mindaugas Čepas 7 January 2020
Sūduva Vladimir Cheburin contract expiry at the end of the 2019 season Heimo Pfeifenberger 8 January 2020
Žalgiris João Luís Martins end of caretaker spell 27 November 2019 Aleksey Baga 19 January 2020
Kauno Žalgiris Mindaugas Čepas contract expiry [5] 2 December 2019 Rokas Garastas 3 December 2019
Sūduva Heimo Pfeifenberger contract termination[6] 14 April 2020 Saulius Širmelis 23 May 2020
Panevėžys Alexandru Curteian contract termination[7] 15 June 2020 João Luís Martins 4 July 2020
Riteriai Mindaugas Čepas resigned[8] 28 June 2020 Vaidas Sabaliauskas (caretaker) 28 June 2020
Riteriai Vaidas Sabaliauskas end of caretaker spell[9] 26 July 2020 Janusz Niedźwiedź 26 July 2020
Riteriai Janusz Niedźwiedź contract termination[10] 1 August 2020 Vaidas Sabaliauskas (caretaker) 1 August 2020
Riteriai Vaidas Sabaliauskas end of caretaker spell[11] 11 August 2020 Tommi Pikkarainen 11 August 2020

Regular season

On 12 March all sports events were postponed for two weeks in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.[12]

League Table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Žalgiris (C) 20 14 3 3 42 14 +28 45 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Sūduva 20 13 4 3 32 18 +14 43 Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round
3 Kauno Žalgiris 20 12 2 6 30 18 +12 38
4 Banga 20 3 7 10 16 30 −14 16
5 Panevėžys 20 2 6 12 19 38 −19 12 Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
6 Riteriai 20 2 6 12 17 38 −21 12
Source: A Lyga (in Lithuanian), UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head matches won; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Matches won.[13]
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. Panevėžys qualified for the Europa Conference League as the 2020 Lithuanian Football Cup winners.

Fixtures and results

Season statistics

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Hugo Vidémont Žalgiris 9
2 Linas Pilibaitis Kauno Žalgiris 7
3 Josip Tadić Sūduva 6
4 Mihret Topčagić Sūduva 5
5 Liviu Antal Žalgiris 4
Richie Ennin Žalgiris
Emmanuel David Kauno Žalgiris
Semir Kerla Sūduva
Jorge Elias Panevėžys

Updated to match(es) played on 1 September 2020.
Source: soccerway.com[14]

See also

References
  1. "Svarbi informacija dėl LFF vykdomų varžybų ir renginių sustabdymo". LFF (in Lithuanian). 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  2. "Vykdomojo komiteto posėdžio metu patvirtintas I ir A lygų komandų skaičius". LFF. 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  3. http://www.fkbanga.lt/personalas
  4. Brazdžionis, Gintaras (5 August 2018). ""Hummel" prizas žiūrovams" (in Lithuanian). FK Panevėžys. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  5. https://www.ve.lt/naujienos/sportas/kauno-zalgirio-komandoje---treneriu-kaita-1754670/
  6. http://fksuduva.lt/nutraukta-sutartis-su-h-pfeifenbergeriu/
  7. https://www.sportas.lt/naujiena/415494/panevezys-atleido-a-kurtijana
  8. https://lff.lt/news/10986/mindaugas-cepas-traukiasi-is-riteriu/
  9. https://lff.lt/news/11121/riteriams-vadovaus-strategas-is-lenkijos//
  10. https://lff.lt/news/11146/issiskyre-riteriu-keliai-su-j-niedzviedzu/
  11. https://fkriteriai.lt/2020/08/riterius-treniruos-specialistas-is-suomijos/
  12. "Svarbi informacija dėl LFF vykdomų varžybų ir renginių sustabdymo". LFF (in Lithuanian). 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  13. "A Lyga 2019 - Season rules" (DOCX) (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian Football Federation. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  14. "Top Scorers".
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