Do you know that feeling when all your friends are invited to an awesome college party, and you are the only one left out? And all you can do is open Instagram and watch those stories and photos of everyone having fun while you are eating a cake with your bare hands and drinking vodka from a bottle all alone and miserable. Well, that's how it feels to be a soccer (it feels wrong to call it soccer, but let it be) fan in Lithuania. The only difference is that all the money to buy that cake and vodka is stolen. I wish I could name my article "To Love Soccer in Lithuania is Extremely Painless and Hopeful" but we have to face the reality here:

Img Source (Look at all the fans behind the team)

Lithuanian National Soccer Team

Anyway, after the first shock, I said to myself "we have to believe," and I started believing. Just like all my country does at the beginning of every single qualifier campaign. And to be honest, Lithuania always start pretty decently, winning against teams like Austria or drawing Scotland. That is because the qualifiers start in the summer when Lithuanian soccer season is already underway and our main players are in good shape. Contrary to that, all the best players in the world are still laying by the beach drinking margaritas. The fell in love with soccer in 2002 when I saw Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho battling against Klose, Ballack, and Kahn. To be honest, that was the first and only time I rooted for Germany. It was something about Klose that caught my attention. When I look back to it now, I guess it was his Front Flips after the goals that made me an impression. Yes, I know, kids get impressed by totally random things.

I started dreaming to see Lithuania in the World Cup one day as well. I realized how big of a celebration it would be in the whole country and how crazy it could get after Lithuania wins something. And then I watched the Lithuanian soccer team on the pitch, playing in one of the qualifiers to Euro or World Cup. I believe that my emotion inspired Crowded House to write "Don't Dream It's Over." Yup, my sadness was so strong that it traveled through time to 1986.

Anyway, after the first shock, I said to myself "we have to believe," and I started believing. Just like all my country does at the beginning of every single qualifier campaign. And to be honest, Lithuania always start pretty decently, winning against teams like Austria or drawing Scotland. That is because the qualifiers begin in the summer when Lithuanian soccer season is already underway, and our main players are in good shape. Contrary to that, all the best players in the world are still laying by the beach drinking margaritas. 

Sadly, every single qualifying game gets worse and worse until Lithuania drops to the end of the table by the end of the year. To put everything into the perspective, our best ever soccer player is Edgaras Jankauskas. Do you know this guy? Yes, I figured. He did win Champions League under Jose Mourinho in 2004 with Porto. He is now the head coach of the national team. Sadly, sometimes it feels like Jankauskas would still do better on the pitch (he is retired for 10 years or so) than our current squad.

Img Source (Jankauskas is currently the coach of Lithuanian national team)

The only positive thing about Lithuanian soccer is that we always have decent goalkeepers. I mean, those guys get much more practice when they face 20 shots on target every single game. It might sound miserable and funny to you all, but I still have to root for my team and expect the best. It is not easy. There was a time when Lithuania could beat smaller teams like the Faroe Islands without any problems, but those days are over as well. Even a victory against Malta is not for granted anymore. I guess 11 losses out of 15 last games sums up the situation the best. The only 2 wins were friendlies against Armenia and... ready for it?... Sri Lanka.

In 2010, Lithuania was ranked 51st in the world, which was not that bad. Since then things only went south until Lithuania fell to 149th place. I am not in the mood of naming countries which ranks higher than Lithuania because it's pretty much all the world.

And the worst part about all this situation is the fact that there is no hope. Not because people don't love soccer, but because Lithuanian Soccer Federation is rotten from inside and no one can do a thing about it. For example, over 300 million euro was already spent to build the National Stadium in Lithuania and results are flattering:

Img source (Money well spent)

Yes, this magnificent stadium is under construction for over a decade now, and things are not looking any brighter. Vilnius is a beautiful city with a rich culture and history, but it has no freaking soccer stadium. That might sound ignorant and all, but in my opinion, every big city which represents the country must have a decent stadium. After all, it can be used for more than soccer. Look at Wembley for instance. 

Lithuania is not yet ready to join the soccer party because of massive corruption in the soccer federation and lack of talents. Hopefully, the guys in the federation are having a good time with all the money which should have been used to promote soccer, create youth organizations, and build stadiums. 15 years ago Lithuania and Iceland were equal teams. Today... let's stop talking about today for today, it makes me depressed.