Sat, Oct 11, 2008 page18

• Ex-soccer coach braces for political challenge

  • AFP
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  After two stints at the helm of the Lithuanian national soccer team, Algimantas Liubinskas aims to jump from the dugout to the benches of the Baltic state’s parliament.

  “In life, you should never fear a challenge,” the 56-year-old said during a break from campaigning for tomorrow’s general election.

  “Football, and sport in general, has always been the thing closest to my heart, so I never want to put it aside completely. This is just another way of doing it,” he said.

  

  Former Lithuanian national soccer team coach Algimantas Liubinskas gestures during an interview in Vilnius on Sunday. Liubinskas aims to jump from the dugout to the benches of the Baltic state’s parliament.

  PHOTO: AFP

  Liubinskas — who says his management models are Alex Ferguson, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Marcello Lippi — resigned as Lithuania coach in August after his second spell of five years in charge.

  He quit under pressure from the national federation to choose between sport and politics, a tough decision which he says he regrets having had to make.

  His campaign material plays heavily on his soccer image, showing him on the touchline in his manager’s kit.

  “In politics, just like in sport, you have to be a team player,” he said. “When I was manager, I made the decisions, but we discussed everything. I think you can apply that in politics. You listen to what people want, discuss things, then make the decisions.”

  Liubinskas is standing for the populist opposition Order and Justice Party, run by former president, Rolandas Paksas.

  In 2004, Paksas suffered the ignominy of becoming the first ever European head of state to lose office through impeachment, after he was embroiled in a corruption scandal. He has always denied any wrongdoing, and now looks set for a comeback.

  Liubinskas was tapped up by Order and Justice earlier this year.

  “I liked a lot of what I saw in their manifesto, things such as the direct election of mayors, jury trials, and referendums,” he said.

  Liubinskas began his career in the 1970s as a player with Vilnius side Zalgiris and in the 1980s managed the club in what was then the Soviet league. He got the Lithuania job in 1991, as the country regained independence after Soviet rule.

  In 1995 he went back to club soccer following a spat with the national soccer federation, coaching sides at home and in Poland before returning to the national fold in 2002 as Olympic team manager.

  He got the senior job back in 2003, and his squads notched up some qualifying upsets including holding Germany 1-1 ahead of Euro 2004, drawing 1-1 with Italy before the 2006 World Cup, and defeating Ukraine 2-0 before Euro 2008.

  Valentinas Mazuronis, an Order and Justice kingpin who is tipped as a future prime minister, said it was an honor to have Liubinskas on board.

  “Liubinskas has plenty of contacts, the human touch, and can be part of a winning team,” Mazuronis said.
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