Michael Carrick press conference after Everton 2-2 Manchester United
Michael Carrick’s men take on Azerbaijani side Sabah FK at Old Trafford on Thursday in what will be the Red Devils’ first game back at Europe’s top table for three years.
The former midfielder guided his old employers back into the competition after a third-placed finish in the Premier League, having taken over the reins from Ruben Amorim back in January.
United’s end to last season was so good that Carrick, who was initially appointed until the end of the campaign, was given the job on a permanent basis.
Now, he will embark on his first Champions League game as a full-time boss.
When he was the caretaker following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking in 2021, he led United to a 2-0 win at Villarreal, before a 1-1 draw with Chelsea and a 3-2 win over Arsenal. He then handed over control to Ralf Rangnick, who saw out the remainder of the term.
Today, Carrick will lock horns with a manager who has a very interesting path to Europe’s premier competition.
Popular figure: Valdas Dambrauskas
Who is the Sabah manager?
Valdas Dambrauskas is in charge of the Azerbaijani club, who were founded just nine years ago.
They were crowned national champions last season, and have come through four qualifying rounds to reach the league phase of the Champions League.
While most football managers have a previous playing career to rely on, Dambrauskas bucks that trend.
Instead, his first public appearance came in 2002., on the Lithaunian verson of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ in the noughties, while he was studying engineering.
He won 4000 litas (equivalent to £730 at the time), which he used to move to England and complete his football coaching badges.
He went on to work in the youth setups at Fulham and Brentford - and ironically, United’s popular Soccer School - having studied sports science and coaching at London Metropolitan University.
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Dambrauskas moved back to his native Lithuania in 2010, where he joined champions FK Ekranas as an assistant head coach and reserve team manager, before he made the jump to Zalfiris to become a full-time head coach.
Since then, he has taken charge of some of highly-regarded European clubs, including Ludogorets and Hajduk Split, where he won the club’s first major trophy in nine years.
Now, he oversees Sabah, where he has been since June last year.
He claimed the league title and the Azerbaijan Cup, and qualified for the Champions League qualifying rounds, where his men have come through The New Saints, KuPS, AGF Aarhus and Hapoel Be’er Sheva en route to the league phase.