Ernestas Šetkus

Before moving to Israel, Šetkus played in several European leagues and remained under contract with Dutch club ADO Den Haag.[1] He later said he had been unhappy there and had hoped to secure a move to a larger Dutch club, but that option did not materialize.[1] He arrived in Israel in July 2017 to join Hapoel Haifa.[1]

His first impressions of the club were far from encouraging. Recalling the moment he saw Hapoel Haifa's training ground at Kiryat Haim, Šetkus said: "The moment I saw the training ground, I said to myself, 'Come on, this is the time to turn around, go back to the airport and fly back to Lithuania.'"[1] He was persuaded to sign after being told the arrangement was temporary and that the team would relocate to better facilities at Beit Nagler.[1] His family enjoyed living in Israel, and he later described the country as his second home.[1][2]

Šetkus established himself as one of the Israeli Premier League's leading goalkeepers during his time at Hapoel Haifa. He started the 2018 Israel State Cup final against Beitar Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium on 9 May, making several saves, including from efforts by Hen Ezra and Ofir Kriaf.[3] Hapoel Haifa won 3–1 after extra time, securing the club's fourth State Cup and its first since 1974.[3]

Šetkus later called his decision to sign with Hapoel Haifa the best of his career. He credited the team's cohesion under coach Nir Klinger for its cup-winning season and named the trophy as his greatest moment in Israel.[1]

By the end of the season, Šetkus had been selected as the Premier League's goalkeeper of the season.[4] His agent, David Dahan, proposed that Hapoel Haifa receive Vova Brown and Mohammed Ghadir of Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Beitar Jerusalem goalkeeper Boris Kleyman, and €100,000 in exchange for Šetkus.[4] Hapoel Haifa rejected the proposal and said it would not release him even for €1 million.[4]

While still at Hapoel Haifa, Šetkus signed with Beitar Jerusalem midway through a season. Beitar later decided it did not need a foreign goalkeeper after Yossi Benayoun became sporting director and Roni Levy took over as coach, and Šetkus moved instead to Hapoel Be'er Sheva.[1]

On the opening weekend of the 2019/20 league season, his saves earned Be'er Sheva a 0–0 draw away to Beitar Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium. The match preceded a Europa League second leg against Feyenoord, after Be'er Sheva had lost the first leg 3–0 in the Netherlands.[5] Šetkus described the winning mentality at Be'er Sheva under coach Barak Bakhar as exceptional and recalled the club winning a cup during a difficult period affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Šetkus joined Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2020 and became the club's regular starting goalkeeper.[1] A preview of the 2021/22 season described him as the club's Lithuanian shot-stopper and included him among its experienced players as the team sought to build on the previous campaign.[6]

He played in the 2021 Israel State Cup final against Maccabi Tel Aviv at Bloomfield Stadium, smothering Enric Saborit's shot in the 14th minute and catching Yonatan Cohen's header late in the match.[7] Maccabi nonetheless won 2–1 in extra time, with Luis Hernandez scoring the decisive goal in the 96th minute.[7] The defeat left a lasting mark; Šetkus later described a mistake in the cup-final derby as one of the most disappointing moments of his career.[1]

His performances continued to draw praise from opponents. After a Tel Aviv derby ended 1–1, Maccabi interim coach Barak Itzhaki stated: "Hapoel's keeper Ernestas Setkus was incredible and deserves a lot of credit."[8] During the 2021–22 season, Šetkus suffered an arm or elbow injury shortly before the upper playoff began, during a 2–2 match against Maccabi Netanya, and Hapoel Tel Aviv signed Ukrainian goalkeeper Bohdan Sarnavskyi as cover.[2] Šetkus returned sooner than expected and regained his starting place under coach Kobi Refua.[2]

In June 2022, Šetkus said he remained Lithuania's first-choice international goalkeeper and was with the national squad ahead of UEFA Nations League fixtures.[2] His Hapoel Tel Aviv contract had expired, making him a free agent, and he said he hoped to remain in Israel, citing his daughter's Hebrew-language schooling as an important consideration.[2]

After his Hapoel Tel Aviv contract ended, Šetkus received several offers but said none interested him enough to pursue. By September 2022, he had concluded that his playing career was over. He publicly announced his retirement in February 2023 at age 37, having made about 180 appearances in Israeli football.[1]

Šetkus moved into a private logistics business focused on vehicle transport, arranging the movement of cars from manufacturers to ports and dealerships.[1] He said the business had shipped 2,000 cars from a manufacturer to a port in the preceding month and was moving almost 1,000 vehicles per week at the time of his retirement interview.[1]