Ernestas Šetkus (; born 25 May 1985) is a retired Lithuanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who last played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

from

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. He played for the Lithuania national team.

Career

Early career

Šetkus started his senior career with Žalgiris first team in 2005, before moved to

Tauras Tauras is a Lithuanian brewery, established in Vilnius in 1860. Tauras was taken over by Royal Unibrew in 2001. It is a part of Kalnapilis-Tauras Group. History The original brewery was founded in 1860 in Vilna, then in the Russian Empire. ...

in 2009. For the 2010 season he returned to Žalgiris and earned 16 appearances in the

A Lyga The A Lyga is the top division of professional football in Lithuania. The A Lyga is an abbreviation of Aukščiausia lyga meaning Highest League. It is organized by Lithuanian Football Federation LFF ( lt, Lietuvos Futbolo Federacija). The Aukš� ...

. Šetkus played the first match of his second spell at Žalgiris on 21 March 2010, a 1–1 draw against

and kept seven clean sheets.

Cyprus, Bulgaria and Belarus

In August 2010, Šetkus joined Cyprus side

Olympiakos Nicosia Olympiakos Nicosia ( el, Ολυμπιακός Λευκωσίας, ''Olympiakos Lefkosias'') is a football club based in Nicosia, Cyprus and competes in the Cypriot First Division. The club was founded in 1931, and is a founding member of the Cy ...

. He made his debut on 2 October 2010 against

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

. During

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season he kept two clean sheets in 18 league games. He began the following season as backup to his

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n rival

Andrejs Pavlovs Andrejs Pavlovs (born 22 February 1979) is a Latvian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Pavlovs started his professional career at Policija Rīga. In 2001, he joined Skonto Rīga, but was mostly back-up fo ...

. Šetkus played his first match of the campaign on 21 November 2011, keeping a clean sheet in the 0–0 draw against

Aris Limassol Aris Limassol (Greek: ''Άρης Λεμεσού'') is a Cypriot football club based in Limassol and one of the founder members of Cyprus Football Association. The club's colours are green, black and white, and their home is the Tsirion Stadium. ...

. Later in the season Šetkus returned to be the senior goalkeeper of the team. On 7 January Šetkus got MVP of the Game award in a game against

AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club ...

which finished 1–1. In April 2012 he was linked with Hibernian and Hearts. During the summer of 2012, Šetkus signed a contract with newly promoted Parva liga club

Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv ( bg, „Ботев“ Пловдив, ) or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that competes ...

. Šetkus made his official debut in the 3–0 home win over

Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia ( bg, ПФК Славия София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home ground ...

on 11 August 2012. On 31 January Šetkus was released from the club by

Stanimir Stoilov Stanimir Stoilov ( bg, Станимир Стоилов; born 13 February 1967) is a former Bulgarian footballer and current head coach of Levski Sofia. He was the manager of Litex Lovech, the Bulgarian national team, FC Astana and the national t ...

. In March 2013 he was very close to sign a contract with Scottish side

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. On 28 March he signed short-term contract with Vysheyshaya Liga team

Gomel Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census). Etymology There are at least six narratives of the ori ...

. Few days later he got hamstring injury. After an injury on 23 June he made his first game in Vysheyshaya Liga in the 1–0 loss to Shakhtyor Soligorsk. A week later he helped his team to win 2–0 against Dynamo Brest keeping a clean sheet.

Greece, Turkey and the Netherlands

In July 2013, Šetkus came back to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

signing a one-year contract with

Nea Salamina Nea Salamis Famagusta or Nea Salamina Famagusta ( el, Νέα Σαλαμίνα Αμμοχώστου) is a Cypriot sports club based in Ammochostos (also known by its romanized name, Famagusta), Cyprus. The club is named after Salamis (or Salam ...

. After the successful season in Cyprus, in July 2014, Šetkus signed one-year contract with

Kerkyra Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

playing in

Superleague Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

. On the 2015–16 season Šetkus signed for

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 201 ...

from the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

for one year. At the end of the season he went down with his team to the

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

. On the 2016–17 season, Šetkus signed

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

from the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

for one year. At the end of the season, he finished with his team in 11th place in the Eredivisie.

Israel

On 12 July 2017, Šetkus signed

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

from

for two seasons. On 2 August, Šetkus made his debut in a 0–1 loss to

Hapoel Acre Hapoel Acre Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל עכו, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Akko'') is an Israeli football club based in Acre, Israel. The club currently plays in Liga Leumit. History Founded in 1946, the club dwelt i ...

Sammy Ofer Stadium Sammy Ofer Stadium ( he, אצטדיון סמי עופר), also known as Haifa Municipal Stadium (), is a 30,858 seats multi-purpose stadium in Haifa, Israel. Construction began in late 2009 and was completed in 2014. The stadium was developed ...

in the

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

. On 19 August, Šetkus made his debut in 3–1 victory over

Hapoel Ashkelon Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל אשקלון, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ashkelon'') is an Israeli football club based in Ashkelon. The club currently competes in Liga Alef and plays at the 5,250-capacity Sala Stadi ...

in the Israeli Premier League. On 9 May 2018, Šetkus helped his team win the

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involve ...

after 44 years after a 3–1 win over the

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jeru ...

Teddy Stadium Teddy Stadium ( he, אצטדיון טדי) is a sports stadium in the Malha neighborhood of Jerusalem. Three football teams currently use the stadium: Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Jerusalem, and the Israel national football team for select home match ...

. At the end of the season Šetkus won the title of "goalkeeper of the season". On 4 July 2018, Šetkus concluded his terms at

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

, but on 5 July, the deal was blown after

club owners changed the agreement between the teams on their own. January's transfer window signed Šetkus in the

for two seasons, concluding with him joining next season. By the end of this season, Šetkus had made 30 appearances in the Israeli Premier League and was a part of the Hapoel Haifa campaign in the qualifying European League. On 20 June 2019, Šetkus signed

for two seasons after receiving permission from

to leave for no consideration. On 11 July, Šetkus made his debut in Hapoel Be'er Sheva uniforms in a 1–1 draw against Laçi as part of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

Laçi Stadium Laçi Stadium ( sq, Stadiumi Laçi) is a multi-use stadium in Laçi, Albania. It is used mostly for football matches and hosts the home games of KF Laçi of the Kategoria Superiore. The stadium currently has an official seated capacity of 8,000. ...

. On 25 August, Šetkus made his debut in the

in a 0–0 draw against the Beitar Jerusalem at

International career

Šetkus was called up by

Raimondas Žutautas Raimondas Žutautas (born 4 September 1972) is a former Lithuanian footballer and current head coach. Zutautas played as a defensive midfielder. In 1999 Zutautas signed in Israeli club Maccabi Haifa F.C. and played there in the years 1999–20 ...

to the full Lithuania national team squad for the friendly match against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He made his debut on 25 March 2011 at the

Darius and Girėnas Stadium Darius and Girėnas stadium ( lt, Dariaus ir Girėno stadionas) is a multi-use stadium in the Ąžuolynas park in Žaliakalnis district of Kaunas, Lithuania. The all-seater stadium holds 15,315 people. In 1998 the stadium was renovated according ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

. He came on at half time for

Žydrūnas Karčemarskas Žydrūnas Karčemarskas (born 24 May 1983) is a Lithuanian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Between 2003 and 2013, he earned 66 caps with Lithuania national team. Club career Karčemarskas was born in Alytus. In Jan ...

with Lithuania 2–0 up. On 3 June 2011, Šetkus made his first Lithuania start in their 2–0 loss in

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

in a

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

qualifying game. On 7 June 2011, Šetkus played in a friendly game against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in Oslo. In 83rd minute he saved a penalty but Morten Gamst Pedersen scored on the rebound. The game finished 1–0 for Norway. On 29 May 2012, Šetkus kept a clean sheet in a friendly game against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in Nyon, Switzerland. Following the appointment of coach

Edgaras Jankauskas Edgaras Jankauskas (born 12 March 1975) is a Lithuanian football manager and former professional player. A powerful forward during his playing career, Jankauskas excelled in the physical side of the game. Other than in his native Lithuania, he ...

to the Lithuania in June 2016, Šetkus became the team senior goalkeeper.

Honours

Hapoel Haifa *

: 2017–18 *

Israel Super Cup The Israel Super Cup, also known as the Champion of Champions ( he, אלוף האלופים, Aluf HaAlufim), is an Israeli association football club competition played as a single match between the winner of the latest Israeli top league champion ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Hapoel Be'er Sheva *

: 2019–20 Individual *Goalkeeper of the season in Israel: 2017–18 * Lithuanian Footballer of the Year: 2019

References

External links