Manchester United will kickstart its UEFA Champions League 2026/27 campaign against lesser-known Sabah FC at Old Trafford on Thursday.
The Azerbaijani side, based out of Masazir, was founded just nine years ago, in 2017. After winning its first trophy — the Azerbaijani Cup — last year, the team created history by winning the top flight title the following year for the first time.
The side then won four consecutive ties in the qualification rounds of the UEFA Champions League to qualify for its maiden league stage campaign.
The side is led by Lithuanian coach Valdas Dambrauskas, who has one of the most fascinating backstories among the managers in this year’s competition.
Dambrauskas never played football professionally. In the early 2000s, he appeared on a Lithuanian reality quiz show as an engineering student, winning a prize of 4,000 litas, or approximately $1,000 U.S. dollars.
He used the earnings to move to England and earn his coaching badges while working part-time with clubs like Fulham and Brentford.
After starting at second-tier Lithuanian club FK Ekranas, he has coached teams across multiple leagues in his career. He has managed Zalgiris, Ludogorets Razgrad, Hajduk Split, and Omonia Nicosia among others.
He has now taken Sabah from obscurity to the league title and now a UEFA Champions League spot to complete the fairytale.
Published on Sep 10, 2026
