- Andrius Velička
Football player infobox
playername = Andrius Velička
fullname = Andrius Velička
height = height|ft=6|in=1
nicknames = The beast from the east
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|4|5
cityofbirth =Kaunas
countryofbirth =Lithuanian SSR ,Soviet Union
currentclub = Rangers
clubnumber = 37
position =Striker
years = 1996-2008 2002 2003 2006-2008 2008
2008-
clubs =FBK Kaunas → Anzhi Makhachkala (loan)
→ Irtysh Pavlodar (loan) → Hearts (loan)Viking FK
Rangers
caps(goals) = 166 0(89) 005 00(1) 012 00(0) 047 0(19) 011 00(3)
002 00(2)
nationalyears = 1998-
nationalteam = Lithuania
nationalcaps(goals) = 015 00(1)
pcupdate = August 31, 2008
ntupdate = July 27, 2008Andrius Velička (pronounced /Veh-litsh-ka/) (born
April 5 1979 , inKaunas ) is aLithuania n professional footballer who currently plays forScottish Premier League team Rangers and theLithuania national football team .Club career
FBK Kaunas
Velička began his career at
FBK Kaunas . He had spells on loan atRussia n side Anzhi Makhachkala andKazakhstan i outfit Irtysh Pavlodar. During his time in Kaunas he played over 150 games and scored over one hundred goals for the club.Hearts
He joined Hearts in the summer of 2006 in a loan deal and made his debut on
9 September 2006 in an SPL against St Mirren during a 1-0 defeat, coming on as a substitute forNeil McCann . [ [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=494914 Hearts 0-1 St Mirren] Soccerbase, 9 September 2006] OnOctober 15 ,2006 Velička scored two goals in theEdinburgh derby against Hibernian, earning 10-man Hearts a draw. [ [http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/6044570.stm Hibernian 2-2 Hearts] BBC Sport website, 15 October 2006]He also scored in the 1-1 draw with Dunfermline Athletic on
October 28 . He netted yet another Hearts goal at Celtic Park, in a 2-1 defeat to the league champions, however Velička became Hearts top goalscorer as a result of his goal. He scored his firsthat-trick for Hearts in a 4-0Scottish Cup third round win against Stranraer on6 January .Initially, his loan deal at Hearts ended without being renewed but he returned for the 2007-08 season days later. In the early part of that season he has been used as an impact substitution to great effect, scoring on numerous occasions after coming off the bench, in particular when scoring both goals in the 2-0 victory away to Celtic in the
Scottish League Cup quarter final on 31 October 2007. He scored the 500th goalHeart of Midlothian have scored in theScottish Premier League againstRangers at Ibrox.Viking FK
Rumours in the press linking him with a move to Norwegian club
Viking FK proved true when it emerged that Hearts had accepted a bid of£ 1 million. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/heart_of_midlothian/7264648.stm Velicka seals Stavanger transfer] BBC Sport website, 26 February 2008] On the26 February 2008 he signed a four year contract with Viking and completed the move.Velicka scored his first goal for Viking in his debut match againstHamarkameratene on6 April 2008 but Viking lost the match 3-2, and Velicka stated that he couldn't be happy about his goal because of the team failing to win the match. He played 18 games and scored 6 goals inNorway .Rangers
On the
14 June 2008 Viking accepted a bid believed to be around £1 million fromGlasgow side Rangers, for Velicka. They received permission to hold signing talks with a view to agreeing personal terms over a move. He signed a three and a half year contract on16 June and became a Rangers player on July 14 on their tour of Holland and Germany a day after he finished the Norwegian season with Viking FK. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/7444234.stm Velicka completes Rangers switch] BBC Sport website, 16 June 2008]Velička made his debut for the club in a
UEFA Champions League qualifier on30 July 2008 against his old teamFBK Kaunas . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7528547.stm Rangers 0-0 FBK Kaunas] BBC Sport website (30 July 2008)] He came on as a subsitute in the second leg, and after missing an easy chance, Kaunas scored to knock Rangers out. Velička had a better time when he played his first league game for the club, scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 win over Falkirk. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/7548329.stm Falkirk 0-1 Rangers] BBC Sport website (9 August 2008)]International career
Velička made his international debut as a 80th minue substitute, replacing Valdas Trakys, during a 1-1 draw against Moldova in
Kaunas on16 August 1998 . [ [http://www2.omnitel.net/almis/ltuteamgam98.html Lithuania 1-1 Moldova] Omnitel.net, 15 June 2008] He had to wait almost four years for his second cap which came in April 2002, against Yugoslavia.His first and only goal to date game against Estonia on
3 July 2003 in Valga, during a 5-1 win. He had been on the pitch five minutes before netting the third in the 72nd minute. [ [http://www2.omnitel.net/almis/ltuteamgam03.html Estonia 1-5 Lithuania] Omnitel.net, 15 June 2008]International goals
"Scores and results list Lithuania's goal tally first. "
References
External links
*
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/php/spieler.php?id=4145 Career appearances] at national-football-teams.com
* [http://www.londonhearts.com/scores/players/velickaandrius.html Appearances] at londonhearts.comPersondata
NAME=Velicka, Andrius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Lithuanian footballer
DATE OF BIRTH=April 5 ,1979
PLACE OF BIRTH=Kaunas ,Lithuania
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
