The Azerbaijani champion team defeated Beer Sheva’s Hapoel club on Tuesday evening in overtime and will play in the main stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the team’s history.
49-year-old V. Dambrauskas will be the first Lithuanian coach to lead a team in this prestigious continental tournament.
“Dambrauskas achieved historic success and delighted Sabah fans with his statement, which will not please Hajduk fans,” one of Croatia’s largest daily newspapers, Večernji, reported on Wednesday morning.
V. Dambrauskas worked twice in this Balkan Peninsula country: from February 2020 to January 2021 he coached HNK Gorica, and from November 2021 to September 2022 he was at the helm of Split’s Hajduk.
It was at the latter club that V. Dambrauskas achieved one of the greatest career achievements by winning the Croatian Cup. However, just a few months later, the Lithuanian was dismissed, although many fans did not support the club management’s decision.
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“It was a wonderful evening with a great atmosphere. Thanks to the fans, and the players were fantastic. Sabah is the best team I have coached in my career,” Večernji quoted V. Dambrauskas as saying, words that reportedly will not please Hajduk fans.
Still, Split team fans remember V. Dambrauskas with nostalgia. Since the Lithuanian left Hajduk, the Croatian giant has still not managed to become the national champion even once and has only won the cup one more time.
So after yesterday’s victory, Croatian fans spoke about the Lithuanian, who did not stay in Split for even a year, with longing.
“During his time, Hajduk played the most beautiful football. But it seems the management did not like it, so he was kicked out, and now with Sabah he has created another sensation, reaching the Champions League for the first time. We can’t even imagine what would have happened if he had stayed on the ‘whites’ bench. He is a man with vision and excellent knowledge, but unfortunately, he was easily gotten rid of. Congratulations, maestro,” reads the Hajduk fans’ Torcida page.
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