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MLS New England Revolution

Revolution adds Lithuanian forward Edgaras Jankauskas

July 1, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution announced today that the club has signed Lithuanian forward Edgaras Jankauskas to a Major League Soccer contract to play for the Revs. Per MLS and club policy, terms of the deal were not released. He will be added to the team's 20-man senior roster pending U.S. P-1 Visa approval. Once added to the roster, Jankauskas will occupy an international roster slot.

"We are pleased to sign Edgaras," Revolution Vice President Michael Burns said. "He is a very experienced player at both the club and international level, and he is a proven scorer who can hold the ball up well. We expect he will be a good fit for our team and we're anxious to get him acclimated to MLS."

Jankauskas, 34, has more than 18 seasons of experience in the European professional leagues. After beginning his career with Žalgiris Vilnius in Lithuania in 1991, he moved to Russian clubs CSKA Moscow (1996) and Torpedo (1997). He then transferred to Belgium's FC Bruges, where he played two seasons and scored 16 goals in 52 appearances while helping the club win the Belgian League in 1997-98.

His transfer fee from Bruges to Spain's Real Sociedad in 2000 set the record for a Lithuanian player, and he scored 19 goals in 56 appearances before being loaned to Benfica in 2002. His eight-goal, 12 appearance stint with Benfica preceded his signing with FC Porto, where he was a member of the club that won the Portuguese league and cup double in 2002-03, and the 2003-04 UEFA Champions League. He made 64 appearances and scored 19 goals under manager Jose Mourinho at Porto.

He also has playing experience in France (OGC Nice, 2005) and Scotland (Hearts, 2005-07 on loan from FBK Kaunas). Most recently, he has played with AEK Larnaca (Cyprus), Belenenses (Portugal) and Skonto (Latvia).

Jankauskas has represented Lithuania 54 times, scoring 10 goals for his country. Six of his goals have come in FIFA World Cup Qualifying, three each in the 2002 and 2006 cycles. He is a five-time footballer of the year in Lithuania (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004).

The Revolution, which will travel to Los Angeles to face the Galaxy at The Home Depot Center this Saturday, July 4 at 11 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel, is currently 4-4-4 overall and has advanced to the semifinals of SuperLiga 2009, the annual competition between top club teams from the U.S. and Mexico. New England is the defending champion of the event and will host a special semifinal doubleheader at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, July 15. The Revs will face the rival Chicago Fire in the first game at 7 p.m., followed by the Tigres UANL (MEX)-Santos Laguna (MEX) semifinal at 9 p.m. For more information, visit revolutionsoccer.net.

Edgaras Jankauskas

Pronunciation: ed-GAR-uhs yahn-COWS-cuss

Position: Forward

Height: 6-4

Weight: 190

DOB: March 12, 1975

Place of Birth: Vilnius, Soviet Union

Hometown: Vilnius, Lithuania Previous Club: Skonto FC (LVA)

Nationality: Lithuania

Status: Senior Roster/International Jersey Number: 10

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