Hajduk Continues to Wait and Wait

Lithuanian coach Valdas Dambrauskas (49) led Azerbaijan's club Sabah into the Group Stage of the Conference League, an achievement that his former club HNK Hajduk Split has been waiting for since 16 years. After taking over as head coach in 2021, Dambrauskas managed to guide the Azerbaijani team into the main phase of a European competition despite their players' worth being nearly half of what Hajduk's is worth according to Transfermarkt data.

Sabah's squad has a total player value of 17.55 million euros, and it is the only Split club with a higher valuation compared to Hajdukov (33.83 million euros) except for Varaždin (11.4 million euros). The highest-valued Sabah player is Tymoteusz Puchacz, a Polish left-back valued at 2.5 million euros.

Hajduk Continues to Wait and Wait

Dambrauskas's success takes on more significance due to his connections with Hajduk Split. After joining the club in 2021, he led them to win the Croatia Cup and competed for a top-tier title, but their European ambitions were dashed by an early exit from Europe.

This Season Still Hopes

HNK Hajduk Split is currently in much better shape this season compared to previous years. They progressed into the group stage of Europa League, defeated Žilinu and Pafos, putting themselves on course for further European advancement. If Sabah remains in the Conference League or enters a preliminary phase of a major European competition, Hajduk would be just one step away from qualifying for the Europa League小组赛。