From 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' to the Champions League: the incredible story of Valdas Dambrauskas

There are football stories that seem written for the cinema.

In 2002, Valdas Dambrauskas was still just a 25-year-old Lithuanian dreaming of becoming a coach. He took part in the Lithuanian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and walked away with 4,000 litas, around 1,160 euros. At the time, that sum represented nearly six months of average salary in his country.

But Dambrauskas did not spend this money like ordinary game show winnings. He used it to fund his move to England and pursue his dream: becoming a football coach.

England as a starting point

Once in London, he studied sports science and coaching at London Metropolitan University. He also took on a string of odd jobs to finance his daily life while continuing to build up his coaching qualifications.

He did not, however, follow the classic path of a coach. Dambrauskas never had a professional playing career: his experience on the pitch was limited to non-professional football in Lithuania. His ambition was therefore to build his credibility differently, through education, hard work and constant learning.

Then came an opportunity that would change his trajectory.

Manchester United enters the story

Dambrauskas landed a position with the Manchester United Soccer Schools. For several years, he worked within the club's youth development programmes, taking part in training camps and activities aimed at developing young players. He also went through the structures of Fulham and Brentford.

Twenty-two years after his arrival in England, fate offered him an almost surreal image: Dambrauskas returned to Old Trafford… but this time as the coach of a Champions League team. And not with Manchester United. With Sabah FC.

From Sabah to the top

Appointed head coach of Sabah in June 2025, Dambrauskas quickly transformed the Azerbaijani club. In his first season, Sabah won the Azerbaijani championship and the national cup, completing the first double in the club's history.

Then came Europe. Sabah made its way through the various qualifying rounds before experiencing a historic night against Hapoel Beer-Sheva. Trailing and close to elimination, the Azerbaijani club ultimately turned the game around, winning 5-2 after extra time to secure its first-ever qualification for the Champions League league phase.

And the story gets even crazier

A few years earlier, Dambrauskas was using 4,000 litas won on television to fund his dream. Today, he is leading a Champions League team.

He started out simply looking for ways to educate himself. He worked, studied, earned his qualifications, coached young players, managed clubs in several European countries and gradually built his career.

And when he returned to Old Trafford with Sabah, he was not simply returning to a legendary stadium. He was returning to one of the places that had helped shape the coach he became.

From 4,000 litas won on a game show to the Champions League: Valdas Dambrauskas is one of the most improbable stories of this edition.