2008 A Lyga
Football league season
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The Lithuanian A Lyga 2008 was the 19th season of top-tier football in Lithuania. The season started on 29 March 2008 and ended on 16 November 2008.[1]
| Season | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 29 March-10 November |
| Champions | FK Ekranas |
| Relegated | FK Silute |
| UEFA Champions League | FK Ekranas |
| UEFA Europa League | FBK Kaunas FK Suduva FK Vetra |
| Top goalscorer |  Rafael Gaúcho (14 goals) |
← 2007 2009 → | |
The league had to reduce the number of its teams from ten to nine prior to this season due to lacking of team able to earn promotion (see below). Shortly before the start of the season, Vilnius withdrew from participating in the league because of unknown reasons, leaving the league with 8 competing teams.
Clubs
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantas | Klaipėda | Žalgiris Stadium | 5,000 |
| Ekranas | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija Stadium | 9,940 |
| FBK Kaunas | Kaunas | S.Dariaus ir S.Girėno Stadium | 8,500 |
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | Sūduva Stadium | 4,000 |
| Šiauliai | Šiauliai | Savivaldybė Stadium | 2,430 |
| Šilutė | Šilutė | Šilutė Stadium | 3,000 |
| Vėtra | Vilnius | Vėtra Stadium | 5,900 |
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | Žalgiris Stadium | 15,030 |
Promotion and relegation
Interas-AE Visaginas were relegated to the Lithuanian First League after finishing the 2007 season in last place with only 8 points. Šilutė were originally scheduled to play the 2nd placed team of the First League, Rodiklis Kaunas, in a relegation play-off, but Rodiklis declined promotion due to lacking financial capabilities.
First League champions Alytis Alytus also had to forfeit their place in this year's league because their ground was not suitable for top-tier football, so no team was promoted.
League standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ekranas (C) | 28 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 46 | 12 | +34 | 65 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | FBK Kaunas | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 51 | 17 | +34 | 55 | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Vėtra | 28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 33 | 24 | +9 | 48[a] | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Sūduva | 28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 35 | 25 | +10 | 48[a] | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round[b] |
| 5 | Žalgiris | 28 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 27 | 41 | −14 | 28[c] | |
| 6 | Atlantas | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 | 44 | −13 | 28[c] | |
| 7 | Šiauliai | 28 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 24 | 41 | −17 | 24 | |
| 8 | Šilutė (R) | 28 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 19 | 62 | −43 | 13 | Relegation to I Lyga |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- VET: 7 pts, 5–3; SUD: 4 pts, 3–5
- Sūduva won the 2008–09 Lithuanian Football Cup and thereby qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.
- ŽAL: 5 pts, 7–6; ATL: 5 pts, 6–7
Results
Every team played each other four times, twice at home and twice on the road, for a total of 28 games.
First half of season |
Second half of season
|
Top goalscorers
Source: lfe.lt (in Lithuanian)
| Pos. | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rafael Gaúcho |
FBK Kaunas | 14 |
| 2 |  Mindaugas Grigalevičius |
FBK Kaunas | 12 |
| 3 | Povilas Lukšys |
Sūduva | 11 |
| 4 | Vitalijus Kavaliauskas |
Ekranas | 8 |
| 5 | Darius Maciulevičius |
Sūduva | 7 |
| 6 | Egidijus Varnas |
Ekranas | 6 |
| Valdas Trakys |
Ekranas | ||
 Ivans Lukjanovs |
Šiauliai / Sūduva |