Dambrauskas Stuns Qarabag, Hajduk Still Searching for a Solution
The Lithuanian tactician came within a step of the Champions League with Azerbaijan's Sabah, while five coaches have come and gone at Poljud since his departure.
The Lithuanian tactician came within a step of the Champions League with Azerbaijan's Sabah, while five coaches have come and gone at Poljud since his departure.
Enough time has passed to calmly assess one of the most controversial personnel decisions in Hajduk's recent history from a certain distance. The dismissal of Valdas Dambrauskas after just seven league rounds increasingly looks like a move that triggered a domino effect of instability on the Split club's bench. While Hajduk continues to search for continuity, the Lithuanian coach is racking up successes at the helm of Azerbaijan's Sabah, confirming the class that was prematurely cast out of Poljud.
Dambrauskas arrived in Croatian football in 2020 when his compatriot and friend, sporting director Mindaugas Nikoličius, brought him to Gorica. At the club from the Turopolje ring, he quickly demonstrated tactical maturity, coming within a step of knocking Hajduk out of the Conference League race, finishing the season just one point behind the Split club.
Those performances recommended him to the Whites, who brought in both Nikoličius and Dambrauskas as a package. In the 2021/2022 season, Hajduk came within a step of the league title under his leadership. Fans still point to the away slip against Slaven Belupo in Koprivnica as the key turning point, where the team was weakened by the absence of suspended Marko Livaja and Nikola Kalinić.
Despite the missed title, Dambrauskas showed in derbies that he knew how to prepare the team for the biggest challenges. Under his leadership, Hajduk celebrated 2-0 at Maksimir and 1-0 at Poljud with a goal from Kalinić, completely outplaying Dinamo in both matches. In addition to domestic dominance, the team had a recognizable style of play under his guidance and could at times match Unai Emery's Villarreal, further testament to the level at which the Split side operated back then.
The season was capped with a Cup triumph after a comeback against Rijeka at Poljud, despite the visitors taking a 1-0 lead. The celebration of that trophy remains etched in fans' memories due to the viral scene where Dambrauskas tearfully embraced Livaja, showing how emotionally attached he was to the club and the city.
Despite all this, patience was in short supply. The dismissal came after a draw with Šibenik in the seventh league round. Then-president Lukša Jakobušić later admitted that "maybe it would have been better to hand him the pink slip after the penalty loss in the Super Cup," which only further highlighted the irrationality of the entire decision.
Since Dambrauskas's departure, as many as five coaches have come and gone at Poljud: Mislav Karoglan on two occasions, Ivan Leko, who was also quickly used up, Gennaro Gattuso, who was tolerated longer due to a hefty compensation package, and current strategist Gonzalo Garcia. The latter has already been in charge longer than his Lithuanian predecessor, mostly without concrete results, with a Cup quarterfinal exit and a second-place finish in the HNL.
While Hajduk wanders, Dambrauskas's coaching star shines ever brighter. With Azerbaijan's Sabah, a club that has existed for only nine years, he managed to break Qarabag's long-standing dominance in the domestic league. The crowning achievement is coming within a step of the Champions League league phase, which would be a historic success for a club of such size and tradition.
Every new Dambrauskas success on the international stage further highlights the error of the decision made at Poljud. Besides prematurely driving away a good coach, it also created a sort of domino effect that wore out coaches due to the excessive expectations that he himself had set with his work.
