Andrius Velička

Andrius Velička

Personal information
Full name	Andrius Velička
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Rangers
Number	TBA
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 10, 2008

Andrius Velička (pronounced /Veh-litsh-ka/) (born April 5 1979, in Kaunas) is a Lithuanian professional footballer who currently plays for Scottish Premier League team Rangers and the Lithuania national football team.

Club career

FBK Kaunas

Velička began his career at FBK Kaunas. He had spells on loan at Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala and Kazakhstani 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 subsitute for Neil McCann. On October 15, 2006 Velička scored two goals in the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian, earning 10-man Hearts a draw.

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 first hat-trick for Hearts in a 4-0 Scottish Cup third round win against Stranraer on 6 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 goal Heart of Midlothian have scored in the Scottish Premier League against Rangers at Ibrox.

Viking FK

Rumours in the press linking him with a move to to Norwegian club Viking FK proved true when it emerged that Hearts had accepted a bid of £1 million. On the 26 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 against Hamarkameratene on 6 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 in Norway.

Rangers

On the 14 June 2008 Viking accepted a bid believed to be around £1 million from Glasgow 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 on 16 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.

International career

Velička made his international debut as a 80th minue subsitute, replacing Valdas Trakys, during a 1-1 draw against Moldova in Kaunas on 16 August1998. 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.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 July, 2003	Keskstaadion, Valga, Estonia	Estonia	3-1	5-1	Baltic Cup

External links

• Andrius Velicka at Soccerbase
• Career appearances at national-football-teams.com
• Appearances at londonhearts.com
• Andrius Velička profile at www.viking-fk.no