Valdas Dambrauskas (born 7 January 1977) is a Lithuanian professional football manager who is currently the head coach of Azerbaijan Premier League club Sabah.
Life Dambrauskas was born and raised in Pakruojis, Lithuania, in a working-class family. His father worked in construction and his mother was a cook in a canteen. He was one of four children. His father died when Dambrauskas was 11, and he began working at a young age to help support his family.
As a child, Dambrauskas participated in several sports, including basketball, athletics and chess, before concentrating on football. He played football from the age of 17 to 23, reaching the third tier of Lithuanian football.
In 2002, aged 25, Dambrauskas appeared on the Lithuanian version of the television quiz show Šeši nuliai – milijonas (Six Zeros – A Million), based on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. He won 4,000 litas, a sum that was approximately equivalent to a year's salary for some Lithuanians at the time. He used the prize money to move to England with his partner, later his wife, and to begin a career in football coaching.
Before moving to England, Dambrauskas had obtained a degree in engineering. In England, he studied sport science and coaching at London Metropolitan University. During his studies, he worked in youth football, including at Fulham, Manchester United F.C. and Brentford F.C.. He subsequently pursued a master's degree at the Lithuanian Sports University.
Dambrauskas supported himself through various jobs while developing his coaching career in England. He worked as a shop assistant, delivered newspapers, worked in a kindergarten and later as a private childminder, using much of his income to pay for coaching courses and books.
In 2022, Dambrauskas was named an honorary ambassador of the Pakruojis region by the Pakruojis District Municipality.
Managerial career
Early career Dambrauskas worked as a coach at several youth academies in England, including Fulham, Manchester United and the Brentford Centre of Excellence. His first senior managerial position was with Kingsbury London Tigers in the Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division, where he led the team to its highest finish in club history. For his work, Dambrauskas received an award at the Active Westminster Awards. He was also head coach of the Lithuania national under-17 team between 2009 and 2010.
Ekranas In December 2010, Dambrauskas joined Lithuanian champions Ekranas as an assistant coach to Lithuanian coach Valdas Urbonas. Together, they won domestic double in 2011 season, the Supercup and A Lyga titles in 2012 campaign, while also reaching the domestic cup final, where they lost to Žalgiris after penalties, and also placed 3rd in 2013. After Urbonas' resignation, he became head coach of the team. Despite scarce resources, he managed to place sixth in the 2014 season, even though this did not help the club, and it was forced to declare bankruptcy after the season had ended. He also managed the Lithuania under-19 team between 2011 and 2012.
Žalgiris On 17 December 2014, Dambrauskas became new head coach of Lithuanian champions Žalgiris. Together with the team, he managed to win every domestic title until 2017, including a domestic quadruple in 2016 season. Žalgiris' winning streak finally came to an end on 24 September 2017 when they lost the Lithuanian Football Cup Final to Stumbras. After that defeat, the club's morale was broken; they failed to win any of the following league games, and were overtaken by Sūduva after a 0–3 defeat in Marijampolė. This was Žalgiris' first league defeat by three goals since the 2010 season.
Due to these defeats, Dambrauskas decided to resign on 23 October 2017.
RFS Dambrauskas was appointed manager of Latvian Higher League side RFS on 6 December 2017.
Gorica On 25 February 2020, Dambrauskas joined Croatian First Football League side HNK Gorica as their new manager. On 3 January 2021, Dambrauskas, together with the club's sporting director Mindaugas Nikoličius, left Gorica.
Ludogorets Razgrad On the day of his departure from Gorica, Dambrauskas was appointed as the head coach of Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad. In early October 2021, Dambrauskas parted ways with the team.
Omonia On 29 February 2024, Dambrauskas was appointed head coach of Cypriot First Division club Omonia Nicosia starting from the 2024–25 season. He left the club by mutual consent on 29 November 2024, following a 0–3 UEFA Conference League defeat against Legia Warsaw.
Diósgyőr On 26 February 2025, he was appointed manager of Diósgyőr. He debuted with a 2–1 league victory over Puskás Akadémia at Diósgyőri Stadion on 1 March 2025.
Sabah On 20 June 2025, Dambrauskas was appointed head coach of Sabah in the Azerbaijan Premier League, signing a three-year contract. In 2026, Sabah were crowned the Azerbaijan Premier League champions and won the Azerbaijan Cup, completing the domestic double under Dambrauskas' management. On 25 August 2026, Sabah reached the UEFA Champions League league phase for the first time in the club's history after defeating Hapoel Be'er Sheva 6–4 on aggregate in the play-off round.
Personal life Dambrauskas is married to Ingrida, and they have two sons, Lukas and Midas.
Outside football, Dambrauskas has a strong interest in chess. He has said that he has played chess more than football and that the game helped him develop emotional control, particularly in dealing with victories and defeats. He played for a club in Panevėžys while managing Ekranas and participated in the Lithuanian rapid chess championship.
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordEkranas26 April 201319 September 2014Žalgiris17 December 201423 October 2017RFS6 December 201724 February 2020Gorica25 February 20203 January 2021 Ludogorets Razgrad3 January 20213 October 2021Hajduk Split2 November 202112 September 2022OFI25 October 20229 December 2023Omonia1 June 202429 September 2024Diósgyőr26 February 202530 June 2025Sabah1 July 2025PresentTotal—
Honours Managerial Žalgiris A Lyga: 2015, 2016 Lithuanian Cup: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016 Lithuanian Supercup: 2015, 2016, 2017
RFS Latvian Cup: 2019
Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgarian First League: 2020–21
Hajduk Split Croatian Football Cup: 2021–22
Sabah Azerbaijan Premier League: 2025–26 Azerbaijan Cup: 2025–26
Individual Active Westminster Awards Active Coach: 2010 A Lyga Manager of the Round: 2016 3rd round, 2017 1st round Lithuanian Coach of the Year: 2016, 2020, 2021
References
External links Profile at lfe.lt