Tomas Kančelskis (born 19 August 1975 in

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different l ...

) is a

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n 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 ...

currently playing for KFK Šiauliai. A

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, Kančelskis started his career with Romar Mažeikiai, where he tasted success before his twentieth birthday, as Romar won the 1993-94

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� ...

title. He joined his hometown side Kareda Šiauliai in 1994, and continued to prosper, winning both the A Lyga (1997 and 1998) and the Lithuanian Cup (1996 and 1999) twice with his new team. He also developed into an international player with Kareda, making his first appearance for

in 1995. FBK Kaunas lured Kančelskis from their rivals in 2000, and he soon became a central figure at the S.Darius and S.Girėnas Stadium. Quickly appointed captain, he led the side to 6 A Lyga championships and a further 3 cup triumphs in seven years. In July 2006 Kančelskis and four compatriots were granted a trial spell in Scotland with Hearts. He featured as a trialist in a 2-0 friendly win against

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El Sa ...

but was not offered a contract. However, he did move to Hearts in January 2007, a 6-month loan move seeing him leave his native country for the first time in his career. He had a trial with

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann (commonly known as Brann, and less often as SK Brann) is a Norwegian professional football club, founded 26 September 1908, from Bergen. Brann had been in the Eliteserien, Norway's Premier Division of Football, since 1987, bar ...

in 1998. Kančelskis made his competitive debut as a substitute in a 2–0 victory at

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

on 5 March 2007. Tomas loan deal was cancelled on 26 March 2008, and returned to his previous club.

References

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Appearances
at londonhearts.com 1975 births Living people Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Lithuanian footballers Lithuania men's international footballers Scottish Premier League players FBK Kaunas footballers Sportspeople from Šiauliai Lithuanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Scotland FC Šiauliai players FK Kareda Kaunas players Men's association football central defenders {{Lithuania-footy-bio-stub