Valdas Ivanauskas
Encyclopedia
Valdas Ivanauskas is a football coach and a former football striker
from Lithuania
.
He is best known in Europe for his time at Hamburger SV
as a player in 1993–97 and coaching at Hearts
football club in 2005–07.
In November 1990 he moved abroad to play for Austria Vienna, where he was hugely successful with 52 goals in 122 games during which he was twice the leading scorer in the League. As a result, Valdas helped Austria to win three successive Championships and in June 1992, the Lithuanian striker scored the only goal of the Cup Final against Admira Wacker.
In July 1993 he moved to Germany and became the first Lithuanian to play in the German Bundesliga, playing 100 matches for Hamburger SV
between 1993 and 1997 and scoring 17 goals. He was also a hero in his homeland and was voted Lithuanian Footballer of the year in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994.
In the summer of 1997 he moved back to Austria, and signed for SV Salzburg, where he spent two seasons including a spell at St. Pölten before ending his career at a German Regional League side SV Wilhelmshaven
in July 1999. Two years later the 35-year old striker had a season with BV Cloppenburg
where he retired for good in June 2002.
, and also played 5 matches for the Soviet Union
between 1988 and 1990.
Since retiring he has acquired a UEFA Professional Coaching Licence in Germany and in 2003 started his manager career when he became assistant manager of the Lithuanian national team
. The same year Ivanauskas also took caretaker position in FK Vėtra
, and was later appointed on a permanent basis. In 2004 season Ivanauskas led FK Vėtra
to its first ever Intertoto Cup third-round appearance, eliminating Tony Mowbray's revitalised Hibernian side, but resigned in August citing personal problems and that he was too occupied with his job in the national team. However in just a couple of weeks time he took over at FBK Kaunas
and led the club to Lithuanian championship
title and Lithuanian Cup victory.
In summer 2005 after a run of poor results he resigned from FBK Kaunas
. It was rumoured that he might take over Scottish team Heart of Midlothian
, a club with a Lithuanian-based owner and several Lithuanian players. Although these rumors persisted even after the sacking of managers John Robertson and George Burley
, the club subsequently appointed Graham Rix
as head coach. However, when in March 2006 Rix was also sacked, Ivanauskas was promoted to the position of interim head first team coach until the end of the season.
After finishing second in the SPL and guiding to club to a Scottish Cup triumph, it was announced on 30 June 2006 that Ivanauskas had been appointed as Hearts' head coach on a permanent basis. In doing so he became the club's first foreign manager.
On 23 October 2006, Valdas Ivanauskas was given two weeks leave by majority shareholder, Vladimir Romanov
, citing health reasons – believed to be stress. He was replaced by Eduard Malofeev
and returned as head coach on 27 November. On 20 March 2007, Ivanauskas left his position of head coach by mutual consent. He was replaced by Anatoly Korobochka
and Stephen Frail
who had served as Sporting Director and Reserve Coach respectfully, during Ivanauskas' reign.
In September 2007, Ivanauskas became manager of FC Carl Zeiss Jena
of Germany's 2.Bundesliga
. His stay at FC Carl Zeiss Jena was cut short when he was fired on 3 January 2008 due to lack of results.
On July 2008 Ivanauskas made a return to football and agreed to coach FK Banga Gargždai
in the Lithuanian second division and led the team to its first bronze medal finish in 14 years. The team also earned promotion to the A Lyga
, Lithuanian top football division for the 2009 season, after three other clubs withdrew before the start of the season.
On November 2008, Ivanauskas also became the interim coach of Lithuania's under-18 football team, and after leading the team to a surprise draw in a friendly against Germany, on February 2009 was subsequently appointed as head coach of Under-21 national football team and on 16 July 2009 signed an contract with Standard Sumgayit. On July 22 he was replaced with Vitalijus Stankevičius, as the U-21 headcoach, because LFF decided that he can't effectively complete his tasks. On October 23 he was fired from Standart Sumgayit.
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
.
He is best known in Europe for his time at Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
as a player in 1993–97 and coaching at 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...
football club in 2005–07.
Career
Ivanauskas started his playing career and soon became a regular with FK Žalgiris, a club that was a respected member of the old Soviet Premier Division. Ivanauskas spent the 1985 season in the Second Division with CSKA Moscow, but then he returned to Žalgiris. However, in season 1990, he played in the Second Division for Lokomotiv Moscow after Žalgiris decided to transfer to the new Lithuanian League.In November 1990 he moved abroad to play for Austria Vienna, where he was hugely successful with 52 goals in 122 games during which he was twice the leading scorer in the League. As a result, Valdas helped Austria to win three successive Championships and in June 1992, the Lithuanian striker scored the only goal of the Cup Final against Admira Wacker.
In July 1993 he moved to Germany and became the first Lithuanian to play in the German Bundesliga, playing 100 matches for Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
between 1993 and 1997 and scoring 17 goals. He was also a hero in his homeland and was voted Lithuanian Footballer of the year in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994.
In the summer of 1997 he moved back to Austria, and signed for SV Salzburg, where he spent two seasons including a spell at St. Pölten before ending his career at a German Regional League side SV Wilhelmshaven
SV Wilhelmshaven
SV Wilhelmshaven is a German association football club from Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony.-History:Predecessor side SpVgg Wilhelmshaven was formed as FC Comet in 1905 and was quickly re-named FC Deutschland Wilhelmshaven...
in July 1999. Two years later the 35-year old striker had a season with BV Cloppenburg
BV Cloppenburg
BV Cloppenburg is a German association football club located in Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony. The club was founded after World War I in 1919 as the successor to SV Cloppenburg 1911...
where he retired for good in June 2002.
International
He played 28 international matches and scored 8 goals for the national teamLithuania national football team
The national football team of Lithuania is under the auspices of the Lithuanian Football Federation. It played its first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match as a new nation against Georgia on...
, and also played 5 matches for the Soviet Union
USSR national football team
The Soviet Union National Football Team was the national football team of the Soviet Union. It ceased to exist after the break up of the Union...
between 1988 and 1990.
Coaching career
Lithuania national football team
The national football team of Lithuania is under the auspices of the Lithuanian Football Federation. It played its first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match as a new nation against Georgia on...
. The same year Ivanauskas also took caretaker position in FK Vėtra
FK Vetra
FK Vėtra was a Lithuanian football team from the capital city of Vilnius.- History :The club was founded in 1997 and was initially based in Rūdiškės, a settlement in Vilnius district, and moved in 2003 to Vilnius city with the purchase of its own stadium....
, and was later appointed on a permanent basis. In 2004 season Ivanauskas led FK Vėtra
FK Vetra
FK Vėtra was a Lithuanian football team from the capital city of Vilnius.- History :The club was founded in 1997 and was initially based in Rūdiškės, a settlement in Vilnius district, and moved in 2003 to Vilnius city with the purchase of its own stadium....
to its first ever Intertoto Cup third-round appearance, eliminating Tony Mowbray's revitalised Hibernian side, but resigned in August citing personal problems and that he was too occupied with his job in the national team. However in just a couple of weeks time he took over at 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 :...
and led the club to Lithuanian championship
A Lyga
The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. It is organized by LFF . League size has varied between 8 and 12 teams over the past few years; for its 2011 season, the league features 12 teams...
title and Lithuanian Cup victory.
In summer 2005 after a run of poor results he resigned from 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 :...
. It was rumoured that he might take over Scottish team Heart of Midlothian
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...
, a club with a Lithuanian-based owner and several Lithuanian players. Although these rumors persisted even after the sacking of managers John Robertson and George Burley
George Burley
George Elder Burley is a Scottish football manager and former player and manager, formerly the manager of Crystal Palace Football Club. Burley had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player making 628 appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps...
, the club subsequently appointed Graham Rix
Graham Rix
Graham Cyril Rix is an English former football player and coach. He was fired by Heart of Midlothian in March 2006, which was his most recent role in professional football...
as head coach. However, when in March 2006 Rix was also sacked, Ivanauskas was promoted to the position of interim head first team coach until the end of the season.
After finishing second in the SPL and guiding to club to a Scottish Cup triumph, it was announced on 30 June 2006 that Ivanauskas had been appointed as Hearts' head coach on a permanent basis. In doing so he became the club's first foreign manager.
On 23 October 2006, Valdas Ivanauskas was given two weeks leave by majority shareholder, 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...
, citing health reasons – believed to be stress. He was replaced by Eduard Malofeev
Eduard Malofeev
Eduard Vassilievich Malofeyev is a football coach and former international player who last managed of FC Pskov-747 Pskov.- Life and career :...
and returned as head coach on 27 November. On 20 March 2007, Ivanauskas left his position of head coach by mutual consent. He was replaced by Anatoly Korobochka
Anatoly Korobochka
Anatoliy Vasylyovych Korobochka is a former Midfielder, and was most recently Director of Football at Heart of Midlothian football club in Scotland....
and Stephen Frail
Stephen Frail
Stephen Frail is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently the Celtic under-19s coach.-Playing career:...
who had served as Sporting Director and Reserve Coach respectfully, during Ivanauskas' reign.
In September 2007, Ivanauskas became manager of FC Carl Zeiss Jena
FC Carl Zeiss Jena
FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German association football club based in Jena, Thuringia.-History:The club was founded in May 1903 by workers at the Carl Zeiss AG optics factory as the company-sponsored Fussball-Club der Firma Carl Zeiss. The club underwent name changes in 1911 to Fussball Club Carl Zeiss...
of Germany's 2.Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
. His stay at FC Carl Zeiss Jena was cut short when he was fired on 3 January 2008 due to lack of results.
On July 2008 Ivanauskas made a return to football and agreed to coach FK Banga Gargždai
FK Banga Gargždai
FK Banga Gargždai is a Lithuanian football club from the city of Gargždai. The team earned promotion to the A Lyga, Lithuanias top football division, for the 2009 season after FBK Kaunas and Atlantas Klaipėda voluntarily withdrew their participation...
in the Lithuanian second division and led the team to its first bronze medal finish in 14 years. The team also earned promotion to the A Lyga
A Lyga
The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. It is organized by LFF . League size has varied between 8 and 12 teams over the past few years; for its 2011 season, the league features 12 teams...
, Lithuanian top football division for the 2009 season, after three other clubs withdrew before the start of the season.
On November 2008, Ivanauskas also became the interim coach of Lithuania's under-18 football team, and after leading the team to a surprise draw in a friendly against Germany, on February 2009 was subsequently appointed as head coach of Under-21 national football team and on 16 July 2009 signed an contract with Standard Sumgayit. On July 22 he was replaced with Vitalijus Stankevičius, as the U-21 headcoach, because LFF decided that he can't effectively complete his tasks. On October 23 he was fired from Standart Sumgayit.
Managerial stats
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
| Heart of Midlothian 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... |
 |
22 March 2006 | 23 October 2006 | 28 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 50.00 |
| Heart of Midlothian 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... |
|
27 November 2006 | 20 March 2007 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 47.06 |
| Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German association football club based in Jena, Thuringia.-History:The club was founded in May 1903 by workers at the Carl Zeiss AG optics factory as the company-sponsored Fussball-Club der Firma Carl Zeiss. The club underwent name changes in 1911 to Fussball Club Carl Zeiss... |
 |
21 September 2007 | 3 January 2008 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 25.00 |