Man who used his ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ winnings to start his coaching career is now set to manage in the Champions League this season.
A man who used his quiz show winnings to follow his dream of becoming a football coach is now managing in the Champions League this season—more than 20 years after his TV appearance.
Back in 2002, a young Valdas Dambrauskas took part in Lithuania’s version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ He won 4,000 Lithuanian litas, which is about £2,500 today, and decided to spend that money chasing his coaching dream—even though he never played professional football.
Shortly after, he moved to England with his girlfriend to study sports science and coaching at London Metropolitan University. It was a big gamble since he barely spoke English and most of his winnings went on flights and a place to stay. “We had money left for just one month,” he told FourFourTwo in 2022.
While studying, Dambrauskas worked retail jobs and earned his coaching badges. After a lot of effort, he got a chance coaching Kingsbury London Tigers, a ninth-tier English football team.
“From the day I arrived in England, it was all about becoming a football coach,” he said in a recent chat with Flash Score. “First, I learned English. Then, I signed up for coaching courses, started coaching youth teams, and took a sports science degree. I attended every course and conference I could to improve. I knew breaking into professional football in England was tough, so I planned to try my luck back home.”
Dambrauskas also worked with Fulham and Brentford as a coach, thanks to his strong football knowledge. After graduating in 2009, he became coach of Lithuania’s under-17 team that same year.
Since then, his career has grown steadily. He managed top Lithuanian clubs Ekranas and Zalgiris, then Bulgarian side Ludogorets. He also had successful jobs with Croatian giants Hajduk Split and clubs in Greece, Cyprus, and Hungary. But his current role with Sabah FC might be his best yet.
The Azerbaijan Premier League champions recently qualified for the Champions League group stage. It was a tense match: after losing 1-0 in the first leg to Israeli team Hapoel, Sabah were 2-1 down with just 20 minutes left. Then, amazing things happened. Goals by Umarali Rakhmonaliev and Tellur Mutallimov pushed the game to extra time, where Hapoel’s team dropped to nine players. Sabah took advantage and won 5-2, sealing a 6-4 overall win.
Looking ahead, Dambrauskas is excited to face some of the world’s best clubs. He said, “It’s a chance to test ourselves and compete with the best. It’s exciting but also a big responsibility and opportunity. This will help the club grow. We want to make the most of it.”