From game show to Champions League: Sabah coach tells his incredible story
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Valdas Dambrauskas will manage Azerbaijan's Sabah at Old Trafford, nearly 20 years after he began coaching with Manchester United Soccer Schools.
- His route to the Champions League began with a 2002 appearance on the Lithuanian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, where he won money that helped him move to London and pursue coaching qualifications.
- Dambrauskas spent eight years combining coaching with multiple jobs and family responsibilities while progressing through community and semi-professional football.
Valdas Dambrauskas will walk through the Old Trafford tunnel as Sabah's manager, almost 20 years after he first entered the stadium with children from Manchester United Soccer Schools.
“This is beyond my imagination,” Dambrauskas told BBC Sport. “To go through that tunnel on to that pitch.” He has visited Old Trafford many times with young players. This time, he will arrive as a coach, leading the Azerbaijani club in the Champions League.
This is beyond my imagination. To go through that tunnel on to that pitch.
His unlikely route to the competition began with the Lithuanian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2002. Dambrauskas won 4,000 litas, about £725, a sum equal to six months of average wages in Lithuania at the time. He used the money to move to London and pursue coaching courses.
This is so long ago. A back-in-the-year story that really was forgotten.
“This is so long ago,” he said with a wry smile. “A back-in-the-year story that really was forgotten.” The story returned to public attention after Sabah reached the Champions League, turning the coach into a social media figure. Dambrauskas has said he would rather people focus on his career than on the game show winnings. “Everybody now takes only this part, you know, about the money,” he said. “But yes, it is a true story.”
Dambrauskas arrived in London in August 2002, aged 25, on a student visa with limited English. He knew from the age of 12 that he would not become a professional player, but wanted to remain close to football through coaching. He later studied sports science and coaching at London Metropolitan University, volunteered with the Access to Sports Project in Finsbury Park and joined the London Tigers. Over five years, he progressed from volunteer to first-team manager in non-league football while working two, three or sometimes four jobs and raising two children.
Everybody now takes only this part, you know, about the money. But yes, it is a true story.
About this summary
Originally published by BBC News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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