26.08.2026 08:20
The extraordinary story of Valdas Dambrauskas, the head coach who led Azerbaijan's representative Sabah FK to the UEFA Champions League league stage for the first time in their history, is the talk of the world. The Lithuanian tactician's football journey began in 2000 when he used money he won on the quiz show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" to travel to England and pursue coaching education. A journey that started on television screens years ago has now reached the Champions League 26 years later.
In the UEFA Champions League play-off round second leg, Azerbaijani representative Sabah defeated HB Sheva 5-2 at home after extra time. Having lost the first match 2-1, Sabah managed to qualify for the Champions League with a 6-4 aggregate advantage. The story of the Azerbaijani representative's coach, who passed through 4 qualifying rounds, is quite interesting.
SABAH IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOR THE FIRST TIME
Sabah FK achieved the biggest success in club history by advancing to the Champions League league stage for the first time. Head coach Valdas Dambrauskas, who brought the team to this stage of giants, also made history in his own country by becoming the first Lithuanian coach to manage a team in the Champions League. However, behind this glorious victory that brought Sabah FK to the Champions League arena lies an extraordinary struggle from scratch to the top.
FROM A QUIZ SHOW PRIZE TO THE ENGLISH NINTH TIER
Dambrauskas, who secured the Champions League ticket, began his coaching career in 2000 with his participation in the show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?". The Lithuanian coach invested the money he won there into his football passion, going to England for coaching education. Taking on his first official role in 2007 at Kingsbury London Tigers, one of the English ninth-tier teams, Dambrauskas managed to take even this modest team to its best point in history.
OVERTHREW QARABAG, TOOK SABAH FK TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
After his start in England, Dambrauskas worked at 12 different clubs, mostly in the Baltic countries, but truly proved his worth in Azerbaijan. The Lithuanian coach, who turned the league, dominated by Qarabag for years, upside down, achieved a major revolution by winning both the league and the cup. Today, securing Champions League qualification with Sabah FK stands as the pinnacle of this inspiring journey that began on television screens.