Sabah complete remarkable Champions League rise under Valdas Dambrauskas

Sabah will make their Champions League debut after completing a four-round qualifying run under Lithuanian coach Valdas Dambrauskas. BBC Sport reported that the Azerbaijani club were the only team to advance all the way from the first qualifying round, eliminating TNS, KuPS, Aarhus and Hapoel Beer-Sheva to secure their place in the competition.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1xClM-8kl8

The decisive play-off produced a dramatic finish. Sabah were heading out before Tellur Mutallimov scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to force extra time against Hapoel Beer-Sheva. They eventually won the second leg 5-2 and the tie 6-4 on aggregate, extending a European run that had already broken new ground for the club.

Their first Champions League campaign begins with a trip to Manchester United on Thursday. The fixture carries personal significance for Dambrauskas, who worked for Manchester United Soccer Schools after moving to London in 2002. The 49-year-old told BBC Sport that returning to Old Trafford as a Champions League coach was beyond what he had imagined during those early years.

Dambrauskas joined Sabah in the summer of 2025 and delivered a league-and-cup double in his first season, including the club’s first league title. The success took his career tally to 13 trophies across five countries. His previous managerial record includes league titles with Zalgiris Vilnius and Ludogorets Razgrad, plus cup victories with RFS and Hajduk Split.

Sabah, founded in 2017, are based in Masazir, about 30 miles north of Baku. Their Bank Respublika Arena holds fewer than 9,000 spectators and does not meet UEFA requirements, so the BBC reported that the club are expected to stage their Champions League home matches at Baku’s Olympic Stadium. Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Napoli are among the visitors on their schedule, while Sabah will also travel to Arsenal and Villarreal.

The achievement represents a sharp rise for a club that had never qualified for the Conference League or Europa League and had not previously progressed through more than two consecutive European rounds. Dambrauskas said Sabah have an ambitious, hungry squad and will look for ways to compete against elite opposition. After two decades building a coaching career across Europe, his return to Manchester is now tied to the biggest milestone in Sabah’s young history.