Did Sabah coach Valdas Dambrauskas really fund his coaching career by winning the Lithuanian edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Successfully leading Azerbaijan's Sabah into the league phase of the Champions League may not have been the most remarkable achievement of coach Valdas Dambrauskas' life.

The Lithuanian, now 49, played lower league football while working day jobs as he looked to help his family, his father having died when he was still young. However, at 25, the course of his life changed after he won the Lithuanian equivalent of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, his prize money enabling him to move to England to study coaching at London Metropolitan University. He then worked a variety of conventional jobs while gaining more coaching experience in England.

He then led Lithuania's Under-17 and U19 teams and later took charge of Ekranas, Žalgiris, Latvia's RFS, Croatia's Gorica and Hajduk Split, Bulgaria's Ludogorets, OFI Crete in Greece, Omonia in Cyprus, Diósgyőr in Hungary and then – in 2025 – Azerbaijan's Sabah, who he led to a domestic double. He explained to UEFA how that game show victory set the wheels in motion.

Valdas Dambrauskas (left) talks to Dortmund boss Niko KovačUEFA via Getty Images

"It was Šeši nuliai – milijonas [Translation: Six Zeros – A Million, the original name of the Lithuanian TV show]. You go on the show to test yourself. There definitely wasn't a plan to win some money so that I could travel somewhere or do something in particular. It was in April [2002], and I'd just turned 25. I had a job and was studying philosophy and social sciences part time at Šiauliai University.

"[I] won 4,000 litas – a little over €1,000. But at the time, those 4,000 litas were ten months' pay because the salary was 400 litas a month. It would be like winning €20,000 [in modern terms].

"Is it true that some of that money went towards training and courses right at the beginning? No, that's more of a Hollywood story. You have to understand the context.

Valdas Dambrauskas on the sidelines at Old TraffordGetty Images

"The money came in very handy. Our exams at Šiauliai University were at the end of May. When I went there, someone immediately said: 'You've done well there. That'll cover two or two and a half years of tuition.' That was the main thing. Afterwards, the opportunity to go abroad came along. Some of [the money], of course, went towards the tuition fees I still owed.

"The plan was: how do you get to England? First you buy plane tickets. You must buy return flights. Then you had to pay for an English course and have somewhere to stay for a month or so. You also needed a bank statement showing that you had some money in your account. That's what all the money went towards.

"I remember travelling with Ingrida [Dambrauskienė], who is now my wife. They let her straight through – she was through to the country in about five minutes. I stood there for about two hours while they checked everything and called the college to confirm that it existed and that this person would really be attending the course. Getting into England took me much longer. But it all worked out in the end."

This interview was conducted on 18 October 2026