Man who used 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' winnings to fund coaching career to manage in Champions League this season
A man who used his quiz show winnings to chase his dream of becoming a football coach will manage in the Champions League this season, more than two decades after featuring on the show.
Back in 2002, a young Valdas Dambrauskas made a life-changing appearance on Lithuania's version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'.
He walked away with 4,000 Lithuanian litas, which is the equivalent of around £2,500 today, and used the winnings to pursue his ambition of becoming a coach, despite having never played professional football.
Soon after the show, Dambrauskas moved to England with his girlfriend to study sport science and coaching at London Metropolitan University.
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It was a big risk. As well as speaking limited English, he used the majority of his winnings on flights and accommodation. "We had money left for just one month," he told FourFourTwo in 2022.
Dambrauskas would go on to work in retail while trying to pass his coaching badges and, after plenty of hard work, he earned a gig coaching Kingsbury London Tigers, a team in the ninth-tier of English football.
"From the day I arrived (in England), it was all about the dream to become a football coach," he said in a recent interview with Flash Score.
"It went in stages. First to learn the language. Then to sign up for the Level 1 Coaching course. Then to the Level 2 Coaching course. Then to gain experience with my first coaching session in youth football. Then to get a job in some pro or semi-pro club academy. Then a Sports Science and Coaching degree at university.
"I went to every possible course or conference to improve myself. Then I started to dream and plan how to get a job in professional football. I knew in England it would be impossible, but I would get a chance in my home country."
Valdas Dambrauskas' journey to the Champions League is an incredible one
Dambrauskas, who also enjoyed coaching roles at Fulham and Brentford after impressing with his knowledge of the game, graduated in 2009 and took charge of Lithuania's under-17 team later that year.
His career has gone from strength to strength since. He started his top-flight career with Lithuanian sides Ekranas and Zalgiris before eventually managing Bulgarian side Ludogorets.
The 49-year-old also enjoyed a successful spell with Croatian giants Hajduk Split before managing in Greece, Cyprus and Hungary, but his time with current side Sabah FC has been arguably the most successful to date.
That's because on Tuesday night, the reigning Azerbaijan Premier League champions secured their place in the league phase of this season's Champions League.
At one stage, qualification looked unlikely. After losing 1-0 to Israeli side Hapoel in their play-off first leg last week, Sabah were 2-1 down with just 20 minutes remaining when a remarkable turn of events occurred.
Goals from Umarali Rakhmonaliev and Tellur Mutallimov sent the game to extra time, where Hapoel were reduced to nine men. Sabah took advantage and won the game 5-2 to seal a 6-4 aggregate victory.
Looking ahead to the league phase, Dambrauskas is excited by the prospect of facing some of the world's biggest clubs.
He said: "First of all, to test ourselves and compete against the best. It is not only excitement but also a big responsibility and an opportunity. It is very important for the club's growth. We can only grow individually and as a team. We want to use this opportunity."
Topics: Champions League
Jack Kenmare