Mindaugas Pukštas took to social media to share a touching story about his love for football and Žalgiris, the club his son scored his first European goal against last night, earning applause from the opposition.
Hajduk's visit to Vilnius was marked by young midfielder Rokas Pukštas, who delivered a stellar performance and scored his first goal in European competitions. His display did not go unnoticed by the opposing team, which named him one of the best players on the pitch. However, what followed after the match gave the whole story a special, emotional dimension. His father, Mindaugas Pukštas, took to social media, and his post quickly became a hot topic among fans of the Split club.
Mindaugas began his story by looking back to the 1980s, which he considers the golden age of Lithuanian sport. He recalled the basketball club Žalgiris Kaunas, led by the legendary Arvydas Sabonis, which won three consecutive Soviet Union championships. He particularly highlighted a moment that left a lasting impression on him.
"Jovaišina's three-pointer in the 1985 final to take a 77:75 lead against Moscow's CSKA is one of the most vivid moments of my life," wrote Mindaugas Pukštas.
In addition to basketball, he also noted the success of the handball club Granitas, which, led by Valuckis, defeated Atlético Madrid in the Kaunas Sports Hall to claim a European trophy.
However, the sport that would define the Pukštas family was football. The pivotal moment came in 1987 when his uncle first took Mindaugas to an FK Žalgiris Vilnius match. "Žalgiris thrashed Moscow's Dynamo 4:0 that day. It wasn't just the score that won me over, but the whole atmosphere, the fans, the stadium, the feeling in the stands. That evening, I fell in love with football," he recalled. He added that his father had to sign him up for training afterward, and from then on, he began measuring his life in four-year cycles, from one World Cup to the next.
That same season, Žalgiris qualified for European competition for the first time, winning their opening match 2:0 against Austria Vienna. Fridrikas scored the club's first European goal. After Lithuania regained independence, trips to the old stadium in Vilnius to watch the national team became, as he puts it, a must.
Given this family history, the choice for young Rokas was clear. "When Rokas was born, he didn't have much of a choice. He had to play football," his father wrote. That very sentence became the heart of the whole story, which reached its climax on Thursday, August 7, 2026.
"Today, he came to Vilnius and played against Žalgiris, the club that made me fall in love with this sport nearly four decades ago. My family was at the stadium. Rokas scored a goal, his first in European competition. It was a special evening. I just wish my father had been there to see it," Mindaugas wrote, unable to hide his emotions.
At the end of his post, Rokas Pukštas's father expressed great gratitude to the Žalgiris organization and Andrius Tapinas, thanks to whom Rokas's relatives were able to watch the match live even though he was playing for the opposing team. He expressed confidence that the club is in good hands and will return to its former glory with patience. He rounded off his story with a thought about future generations and a famous quote from Bill Shankly: "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. They are wrong. It's much more important than that."
