Manchester: On Thursday, Valdas Dambrauskas will walk out at Old Trafford as manager of Sabah in the Champions League. The Lithuanian's career will come full circle, some 20 years since he made his first steps into coaching with Manchester United Soccer Schools. "This is beyond my imagination," Dambrauskas told BBC Sport. "To go through that tunnel on to that pitch. I've been many times to Old Trafford with the kids, and now I'm going to come as a coach."
According to BBC, Dambrauskas's remarkable story begins with an appearance on the Lithuanian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Using his modest winnings, Dambrauskas moved to London and forged a career in football. It is a tale of casual jobs, a determination to succeed, and a nomadic coaching career across Europe, which now brings the 49-year-old back to England in the Champions League with the Azerbaijani club.
As Sabah's players and staff celebrated reaching the Champions League two weeks ago, Dambrauskas was unknowingly becoming a social media star. This was due to his appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2002, not for being on the show, but for how he spent his winnings. "This is so long ago," said Dambrauskas with a wry smile. "A back-in-the-year story that really was forgotten. And now suddenly everybody is speaking about this."
Dambrauskas walked away with 4,000 litas (about £725), which was equivalent to six months' wages for the average Lithuanian. For Dambrauskas, the real story should be his career, not a game show. "Everybody now takes only this part, you know, about the money," Dambrauskas said. "But yes, it is a true story."
Dambrauskas knew from age 12 he would not make it as a player, but coaching would keep him close to football. Arriving in London in August 2002 aged 25 on a student visa with limited English, Dambrauskas embarked on eight years of hard work. He coached for community projects, at a semi-professional club, and within professional youth programs, all while holding down multiple jobs and raising two children. In 2004, he enrolled in a sports science and coaching course at London Metropolitan University, marking the first real step in his career.
His first break at a professional club came when Manchester United Soccer Schools took a chance on him in 2004. Dambrauskas spent five years coaching on residential courses in the UK and Europe. "That was the best thing that could happen in my life," Dambrauskas said. He later worked with Fulham and then Brentford, where he credits academy director Ose Aibangee as a significant influence on his career.
Dambrauskas juggled home life and working multiple jobs to make ends meet. "I was a gardener, a handyman, doing newspaper rounds at the beginning, also polishing floors in a pub," he said. "So many jobs. Working in retail, and then as a sports development officer, then a sports development manager, and the central YMCA. I was doing two, three, sometimes four jobs."
Dambrauskas was working three jobs when the opportunity arose to coach full-time, prompting him to leave England for Lithuania, where he joined champions Ekranas as assistant first-team and reserve-team coach at the end of 2010. His career took off at Zalgiris Vilnius, Lithuania's biggest club, where he won two league titles, three Lithuanian Cups, and two Lithuanian Super Cups across three seasons.
Over the next nine years, Dambrauskas took charge of eight teams in seven countries, accumulating 13 trophies across five countries. With Sabah, he completed the league and cup double in his first season, marking the club's first title win and leading them to the Champions League.
Sabah are based in the town of Masazir, 30 miles north of the Azerbaijan capital Baku, with a population of just 19,000. Known as the Owls, Sabah were only formed in 2017 and will celebrate their ninth birthday on Tuesday. Their home, the Bank Respublika Arena, does not meet UEFA regulations, so they are expected to play their matches at the Olympic Stadium in Baku.
Sabah president Magsud Adigozalov praised Dambrauskas's impact, saying, "His influence goes beyond tactics. He has instilled a mindset and winning mentality in the team." Dambrauskas's journey from a game show contestant to a Champions League coach is one of perseverance and success against the odds.