Tereza Romanovskaja: From a Turmantas schoolyard, to UWCL nights and the Lithuania national team | OneFootball

ŠIAULIAI, Lithuania – Long before Tereza Romanovskaja was pulling on a Gintra shirt or facing opponents on Europe’s biggest stages, she was just a kid in Turmantas — a small town of around 200 people — playing football with the boys because none of the girls wanted to join in.

Now 23, the Gintra defender has made at least 26 appearances for Lithuania since her senior debut, scoring once. She wears the No.17 for her club and No.6 for the national team. But Romanovskaja is quick to point out that none of it came easily.

“It was just a simple game during breaks or after school,” she said. “But step by step, I realised how much joy football gave me.”

Leaving home at 14

The turning point came when she was 14 and a physical education teacher noticed something in the way she played. He encouraged her to take the game seriously and helped her secure a place at a sports gymnasium in Panevėžys. For a girl from a small town, the move meant leaving behind everything familiar.

“For me, as a 14-year-old girl, moving to a bigger city was a huge challenge,” she said. “It wasn’t easy to leave home, family and everything familiar. But I had a dream to play football, and that dream gave me the strength to overcome every difficulty.”

It was there, splitting her days between exams and training sessions, that the ability her teacher had spotted began to take shape. The discipline of balancing schoolwork with serious football, she said, became the foundation for everything that followed. Gradually, the dream she had carried since childhood began to feel within reach.

“Becoming part of the club felt like a childhood dream come true,” Romanovskaja said of joining Gintra. “Because from a young age, I imagined myself wearing this team’s shirt.”

A few years later, while still studying in Panevėžys, that dream reached another level with a call-up to the Lithuania women’s national team. It is a day she says she will never forget.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tereza Romanovskaja (@romanovskaja17)

“The feeling of joy, pride and excitement was incredible. It showed me that all the hard work and sacrifices were worth it, and it gave me even more motivation to keep going.”

These days, Romanovskaja said her focus remains on the basics: training hard, improving and helping her team through the demands of the season.

“My goals are quite simple right now — to keep playing, improving and helping my team.”

Tereza Romanovskaja dreams beyond Lithuania

Looking further ahead, she allows herself to dream a little bigger — testing herself abroad in one of Europe’s top leagues while continuing to represent Lithuania.

“Football has always been my dream,” she said. “And I want to follow it as far as possible.”

It is a message she hopes reaches young girls back home, especially those growing up far from Lithuania’s bigger cities, as she once did.

“Don’t be afraid to try, and always follow your dreams, no matter where you come from. Even if you grow up in a small town or village, everything is possible if you believe in yourself and work hard.

“Play for your own joy, train as much as you can, and don’t give up when things get difficult. Football can give you so many beautiful moments, friendships and experiences. If you love the game, it will give that love back to you.”

Romanovskaja has featured in Gintra’s UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifying run this season. Gintra will now compete in the Women’s Europa Cup qualifying rounds, after finishing third in their UWCL qualifying mini-tournament. They recently beat Riga FC in the third-place match.

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