From a Lithuanian game show to football's ultimate stage: Dambrauskas' wild tale

BENGALURU: AT Old Trafford on Thursday night, Sabah will be making history. The club from Azerbaijan, founded in 2017, will be making their Champions League in one of Europe's most storied football institutions. At just nine, it's the youngest club to feature in the group stages of Europe's premier football club competition.

But behind Sabah lies the incredible story of their manager, Valdas Dambrauskas. The Lithuanian, who fell in love with the game after watching the 1990 World Cup, had never played a competitive game. In fact, he wasn't blessed with the necessary financial means to become a coach.

But Dambrauskas had the will. He took part in the Lithuanian version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' in 2002. The rest, as they say, is history.

The official UEFA website picks up the story. "In 2002," the website wrote, "aged 25, Dambrauskas appeared on a Lithuanian television quiz show and won 4,000 litas – around €1,160. He used it to move to England, where he studied Sports Science and Coaching at London Metropolitan University and began working in football as a volunteer coach in local youth football."

Dambrauskas, whose story went viral as soon as Sabah had confirmed qualification last month, spoke to UEFA. "I am happy every day to fulfil my dream to work in football, to have the chance to live in different countries and to lead football clubs with rich history and traditions." After working his way up, he has managed in leagues across Europe before arriving in Azerbaijan in 2025, the same year they won their first major domestic Cup. In 2026, he led them to their first title.

"I was in touch with Sabah almost two years before I came to work here," he added to the UEFA website. "The foundations for success were there. Sabah may be a young club, but it has grown very fast. It is a club built on values, trust and respect. Everyone, from the club president to the groundsman, is pulling in the same direction."

Thursday night under the lights at Old Trafford, in one sense, is the completion of a journey. When Dambrauskas came to England for the first time with the money he had won in a game show, he worked in Manchester's schools. In about 24 hours, he will enter one of the city's greatest instutitions.