Saulius Mikoliūnas

Saulius Mikoliūnas (born 2 May 1984) is a Lithuanian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Žalgiris Vilnius and the Lithuania national team. He has previously played for Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian and FBK Kaunas. Mikoliūnas also represented Lithuania at under-21 level.

Not to be confused with Saulius Mikalajūnas.

Saulius Mikoliūnas
Mikoliūnas in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1984-05-02) 2 May 1984
Place of birth Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Right winger
Club information
Current team
 Žalgiris Vilnius
Number 13
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Šviesa Vilnius 13 (1)
2003 Ekranas 16 (0)
2004–2009 FBK Kaunas 23 (0)
2005–2009 → Heart of Midlothian (loan) 102 (11)
2009–2012 Arsenal Kyiv 78 (6)
2013–2014 Sevastopol 16 (0)
2014–2015 Shakhtyor Soligorsk 32 (4)
2016– Žalgiris Vilnius 139 (11)
National team‡
2004– Lithuania 97 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 April 2022
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2022

Club career
Mikoliūnas playing for Hearts in 2009

Mikoliūnas was a regular in the first team for Heart of Midlothian, however inconsistency always dogged his Hearts career. He silenced many critics with the winner at Tynecastle versus city rivals Hibernian on 26 December 2006. Mikoliūnas announced on 2 December 2008 that he wanted to leave the Edinburgh club after the 2008–09 season, to take up a new football challenge after spending four years at the club. On 27 April 2009, it was confirmed with immediate effect that the midfielder and his Lithuanian colleague Deividas Česnauskis had left Hearts.[1]

The following month, Mikoliūnas states he was to sign for Swansea City on a free transfer during the summer transfer window, but the move broke down after Swansea manager Roberto Martínez moved to Wigan Athletic.[2]

Eventually, Mikoliūnas signed a three-year contract with Ukrainian side Arsenal Kyiv.[3]

On 9 May 2019, Mikoliūnas received a UEFA B coaching license.[4]

International career

Mikoliūnas made his debut for the Lithuania national team in 2004, he scored his first international goal in 2007 against Georgia. He followed that up a year later with a second goal, against Romania. On 11 October 2013, in 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification he scored his most recent goal, against Latvia in a 2–0 home victory. After appearing in a Nations League match against Kazakhstan on 4 September 2020, Mikoliūnas attained his 85th cap for his country and become the most capped player for Lithuania, surpassing previous record holder Andrius Skerla.[5]

Position

Mikoliūnas is a right-sided winger who sometimes plays in the right-back position.

Career statistics
Scores and results list Lithuania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mikoliūnas goal.
List of international goals scored by Saulius Mikoliūnas
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
12 June 2007S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania Georgia1–01–0UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
26 September 2008Gruia Stadium, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Romania2–03–0FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
325 March 2011S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania Poland1–02–0Friendly
411 October 2013LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania Latvia2–02–0FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying
59 October 2014LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania Estonia1–01–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Honours

FBK Kaunas

Hearts FC

FK Žalgiris

References
  1. "Hearts players become free agents". BBC Sport. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  2. "Mikoliūnas doubtful about signing for Swansea". Futbolas.lt. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  3. "Naujasis S.Mikoliūno klubas – Kijevo "Arsenal"". Futbolas.lt. 12 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  4. ""Skrieja kamuolys" specialus epizodas: S.Mikoliūnas apie linksmas istorijas su V.Romanovu" (in Lithuanian). FK Žalgiris. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  5. "Tautų lygos starte nusileista Kazachstano rinktinei" [At the start of the League of Nations, Kazakhstan lost] (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian Football Federation. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
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