In 2002, Valdas Dambrauskas was not a professional footballer, a famous coach or even a name known in European football.

He was simply a 25-year-old Lithuanian student with a dream of becoming a football coach.

Then, almost by chance, a television quiz show helped change the course of his life.

Dambrauskas appeared on Lithuania’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and walked away with 4,000 Lithuanian litas.

Rather than spending the money on a short-lived windfall, he used it to help finance a move to England, where he could study coaching and begin building the career he wanted.

In London, he studied Sports Science and Coaching at London Metropolitan University and attended coaching courses.

He also gained experience around the youth setups of Manchester United, Fulham and Brentford.

The path was far from glamorous. Dambrauskas worked ordinary jobs to support himself while pursuing his coaching ambitions, including delivering newspapers, working as a postman and painting houses.

In 2007, he took charge of Kingsbury London Tigers in England’s ninth tier, beginning the long climb through the football pyramid.

He eventually returned to Lithuania and worked his way through youth national teams before moving into senior professional football.

His career later took him across Europe, with spells at clubs including Žalgiris, RFS, Ludogorets and Hajduk Split.

Then came Sabah.

Appointed by the Azerbaijani club in 2025, Dambrauskas delivered a domestic double before guiding the side through all four Champions League qualifying rounds.

The final hurdle was extraordinary. After losing 2-1 away to Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Sabah produced a stunning 5-2 victory after extra time to win 6-4 on aggregate and reach the Champions League league phase for the first time in their history.

And now comes the chapter that could define Dambrauskas’ career.

His reward for taking Sabah to the league phase is an eight-match journey across Europe.

There will be a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, home meetings with Slavia Prague, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, away games against Viking, Villarreal and Arsenal, and a home clash with Napoli.

For a coach who once arrived in England as a young Lithuanian, returning to the country as a Champions League manager against Manchester United is almost too perfect a piece of football storytelling.

But beyond the stadiums and the famous names lies another challenge: the tactical battles.

Dambrauskas will have to pit his ideas against some of the finest coaching minds in European football.

These will be more than games against famous clubs. They will be examinations of how far a coach who started at the ninth level of English football has come.

Sabah will be the outsiders. Their opponents will have bigger squads, bigger budgets and considerably more Champions League experience.

But Dambrauskas has already spent his career proving that football journeys do not always follow the obvious route.

FKA/AM