From winning £725 on a game show to facing Man Utd in Europe

· BBC-Football

Lithuanian coach Valdas Dambrauskas cut his teeth in English football, and now returns in the Champions League with Sabah.

When he does so just before 8pm, the Lithuanian's career will have 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."

This only scratches the surface of Dambrauskas' remarkable story.

It begins with an appearance on the Lithuanian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Dambrauskas using his modest winnings to move to London and forge 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.

How a game show gave Dambrauskas his break

As Sabah's players and staff celebrated reaching the Champions League two weeks ago, unbeknownst to Dambrauskas he was becoming a social media star.

It all related to that appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2002.

Not because he was on the show, but how he spent the money he won.

"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). That might not sound like much, but it was six months' wages to the average Lithuanian back then.

For Dambrauskas, the real story should be his career and not a game show.

"Everybody now takes only this part, you know, about the money," Dambrauskas said. "But yes, it is a true story.

> "My idea was somehow I will try to go on these [coaching] courses to gain the coaching badge, maybe go back one day to Lithuania and start to work as a football coach."

What began with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? would map out his whole career.

Valdas Dambrauskas moved to England aged 25, spending six years taking coaching badges and working for clubs

'I was doing two, three, sometimes four jobs'

Dambrauskas says he had known since the age of 12 he would not make it as a player, but coaching would keep him close to football.

He arrived in London in August 2002 aged 25 on a student visa with limited English.

What followed would be eight years of hard work where he would coach for community projects, at a semi-professional club, within professional youth programmes - and hold down multiple jobs while raising two children.

In 2004 he enrolled on a course in sports science and coaching at London Metropolitan University, the first real step in his career.

Then he started out coaching by volunteering with the Access to Sports Project for deprived children in Finsbury Park.

He went on to work with London Tigers, a charitable community organisation which runs teams from junior level right through to semi-professional.

Starting out as a volunteer, across five years he progressed to manage the first team in non-league football in the Spartan South Midlands League, FA Cup and FA Vase.

Dambrauskas became the first Lithuanian to achieve a Uefa coaching licence through the London Football Association.

"I went on every possible course, every possible conference, London Football Coaches Association meetings," Dambrauskas said.

> "Everywhere I could go just to gain some information, some knowledge, some extra diploma, extra course.

> "That was very important for me and I took my chances."

He got his first break at a professional club when Manchester United Soccer Schools took a chance on him in 2004.

Dambrauskas spent five years coaching on residential courses in the UK and in Europe.

"That was the best thing that could happen in my life," Dambrauskas said.

> "I went through three or four interviews. I will be forever grateful to [Foundation chief executive] John Shiels, the way he gave me this chance, because I didn't have experience.

> "I'd never been in a place with so many great personalities as I got in the Manchester United Soccer Schools."

After a short spell with Fulham, Dambrauskas moved to Brentford. He credits academy director Ose Aibangee as one of the biggest influences on his career, pushing his limits.

All the while he was juggling 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," Dambrauskas 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."

As well as the trip to Manchester United this week, Sabah will complete their Champions League group games at Arsenal in January.

This also feels like fate for Dambrauskas - one of the buildings at London Metropolitan University on Holloway Road overlooked Emirates Stadium.

When asked about his time in England, Dambrauskas' face lights up.

"When I hear this word 'England', it for me sounds like opportunities," Dambrauskas said.

> "It was really amazing. England gave me all this and I'll forever be grateful."

From England to 13 trophies in five countries

Valdas Dambrauskas led Hajduk Split to success in the Croatian Cup in 2021-22

Dambrauskas was working three jobs - at Brentford, London Tigers and as a sports development manager - when the opportunity arose to coach full-time.

It meant leaving England to return to Lithuania, champions Ekranas appointing him assistant first-team and reserve-team coach at the end of 2010.

After four years at Ekranas he was named manager of Zalgiris Vilnius, Lithuania's biggest club, where his career really took off.

Dambrauskas won two league titles, three Lithuanian Cups and two Lithuanian Super Cups across three seasons - including a treble in 2016.

Then came a series of moves in which Dambrauskas took charge of eight teams over nine years in seven countries.

First RFS, with whom he won the Latvian Cup, and then Gorica in Croatia.

A third league title came with Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad, along with another Super Cup and Europa League qualification.

Dambrauskas then returned to Croatia with Hajduk Split, a time which he described as "absolutely amazing" as the club won the Croatian Cup - their first trophy for 10 years.

Next up was a spell in Greece with OFI Crete, then Omonia in Cyprus - who qualified for the Conference League - and Diosgyori in Hungary.

Finally, in the summer of 2025, he arrived at Sabah, the 10th club of his career.

Dambrauskas completed the league and cup double in his first season, as the club won the title for the first time.

It took his trophy tally to 13 across five countries.

Read the original

People in this story

Related