Hearts youngster Novikovas to be fast-tracked to full Lithuania squad

Published on Thursday 28 May 2009 09:43

AFTER debuting for Hearts against Celtic, 18-year-old Lithuanian prodigy Arvydas Novikovas will earn full international recognition next week when he trains with Jose Couceiro's Lithuania squad during preparations for the World Cup qualifier with Romania.

A 39-minute outing at Parkhead on Sunday proved beyond doubt that Novikovas as a talented prospect of whom much is expected. Not least in his homeland, where national coach Couceiro is ready to promote him from the under-21 ranks despite his tender years.

Lithuania's full and under-21 squads gather in the industrial city of Marijampole on Monday ahead of respective qualifiers against Romania and Greece next Saturday. They will share a hotel and training facilities and Couceiro has informed Valdas Ivanauskas, the former Hearts head coach now in charge of the under-21s, that Novikovas should train with the senior group.

Ivanauskas will hand the winger a key role against Greece's under-21s but recognises that a more grandiose stage awaits. "Both national teams are together for one week and I spoke with Jose Couceiro. He said, 'Valdas, I want Arvydas for two or three training sessions'. This is very good for the young boy and good for me also. I will call him tomorrow," said Ivanauskas.

Novikovas will encounter plenty of familiar faces in the senior ranks with Marius Zaliukas and former Hearts players Saulius Mikoliunas and Deividas Cesnauskis also in Couceiro's squad. If the national coach is keen to fast-track one of Lithuania's most prodigious talents, he could not have chosen a more receptive youngster to hone.

"He is very young but he has a future," continued Ivanauskas. "I saw him for the first time for the under-21s against Belarus and he played very well. He is now in the squad for Greece.

"Arvydas is very professional, he has a clear head and he is clever. Although he is very young, he is mature. If he works hard he has a big future with the national team. He is not a standard player for me.

"He has a big chance to start against Greece. He is an important player for us because he can play in many positions. He is left-footed but he can play on the left, in the middle or as a second striker."

Having rejected Benfica's advances when barely out of high school, Novikovas is now thriving within Hearts' youth academy. He underwent a two-week trial in Lisbon whilst still on the books of his formative club, FC Vilnius, but opted against moving to Portugal. It wasn't long before Vladimir Romanov initiated moves to lure him to Edinburgh.

"The scout from Benfica wanted him to stay but I think he was a little bit nervous and he came back to stay in Lithuania," explained Ivanauskas. "He was a good player and the coach of Vilnius saw he could play better. Mr Romanov saw him and knows him and now he is with Hearts.

"A lot of young players in Lithuania are good players but if they want a future, they must go to another country at the age of 18 or 19. Lithuania is not a football country, the football situation is not so easy here. In my opinion, if a young boy has the chance to go to a club in another country, he must go.

"Arvydas must go to school, learn the language and deal with a lot of problems. Benfica helped him see the chances available to him. He has a big chance to move to the next stage of his career."

It is bizarre hearing a national coach encourage youngsters to leave their native land, however, Ivanauskas knows opportunities abroad are far more propitious than life in Lithuania's A Lyga. The former striker spent most of his career abroad in places like Russia, Austria and Germany, and gained valuable tutoring in the process; the kind he would not have received at home.

Novikovas first played under-21 football for his country aged 16, the Lithuanian Football Federation recognising that they had uncovered genuine potential as early as his adolescent years. Ivanauskas and his assistants, Gerchardas Kvedaras and Vaclovas Jurkus, are now entrusted with the task of readying him for the demands of international football. But perhaps the biggest part in the teenager's maturing will be played by Hearts.

His first-team debut might have arrived on the final day of the season but it offered a portent of things to come. Novikovas and other academy pupils are certain to gain further exposure next year when manager Csaba Laszlo intends to augment the young hopefuls at his disposal with a smattering of experienced new recruits.

"Congratulations to Hearts, congratulations to Csaba Laszlo. He has done a great job and third place this season is a great achievement," said Ivanauskas. "His team is very young but there is no risk if he takes Novikovas to the first team. If he works hard he will get more and more chances to play.

"My team is also very young. This is a problem for me. Normally you can take players born in 1988 for the under-21 team this season, but we only have only two or three players that age. Many of the squad is born in 1990 or 1991. It's very difficult. The football federation understand my situation but, in two or three years, I think we will have more Lithuanian players like Arvydas."

Couceiro will be watching and waiting. If future youth products emerge with the potential of Novikovas, Lithuania may yet evolve into a force to be reckoned with at international level.