From Who wants to be a Millionaire to Champions League: The journey of Sabah FC coach

Azerbaijan will have a representative in the Champions League this season after Sabah Baku completed a remarkable journey through the qualifying rounds to reach the league phase for the first time in the club’s history. 

At the heart of their achievement is head coach Valdas Dambrauskas, whose own journey into elite football is almost as extraordinary.

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Dambrauskas, now 49, was never a professional footballer. Instead, he decided early on to pursue a career in coaching. In 2002, while a 25-year-old student, he appeared on the Lithuanian version of the television quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and won 4,000 litas, the currency used in Lithuania at the time. Adjusted for inflation, the prize would be worth around €3,000 today.

He used the money to travel to England and further his coaching education. Dambrauskas studied Sports Science and Coaching at London Metropolitan University and attended several coaching courses, while gaining experience at the academies of Manchester United, Fulham and Brentford.

He later worked his way through Lithuania’s youth national teams before moving into senior professional football in 2013. His managerial career has since taken him to clubs including Hajduk Split and Ludogorets Razgrad.

Last year, Dambrauskas took charge of Sabah and has now delivered the biggest achievement in the Azerbaijani club’s history. Sabah negotiated all four qualifying rounds to reach the Champions League league phase, becoming the only one of the 28 teams that entered in the first qualifying round to survive all the way through.

Their final hurdle was particularly dramatic. After losing the first leg to Hapoel Beer Sheva, Sabah produced a stunning 5-2 victory at home after extra time to overturn the deficit and secure their place among Europe’s elite.

Dambrauskas has gone from answering questions on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? to coaching in football’s own millionaire’s competition. With Sabah now set to face Europe’s biggest clubs, his remarkable story may yet have another chapter to write.