It didn’t take long for Viana to be back in football, this time as an international relations director after being appointed by Sporting, based like Belenenses in Lisbon, in 2018.
A few months later he was named sporting director and, despite requiring a bit of time to adjust, with four different coaches and failed signings like Yannick Bolasie and Jesse Rodriguez, he eventually found his feet.
“He has grown significantly because he found the right context to do that as a professional and simultaneously help improve the structure,” Leonel Pontes, who worked as Sporting coach in 2019 and is now a technical director at Shanghai Shenhua, said.
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“Between the seasons 2018-19 and 2019-20, the squad building was called into question, with unbalanced teams, which led to successive managerial changes.
“It doesn’t seem normal to me to have four different coaches in a single season, but in the end the decision to bring Amorim has proved very successful.”
It has been a turning point for Sporting in their recent history and also for Viana, of course.
Under Amorim, Sporting have won trophies again and finally found peace.
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It’s no surprise they have been producing so many players.
While the likes of Joao Palhinha, Matheus Nunes, Nuno Mendes, Porro and Ugarte have been sold for high sums, others like Goncalo Inacio, Ousmane Diomande, Morten Hjulmand, Geovany Quenda and Viktor Gyokeres have stepped up and filled their shoes.
That’s been the result of the Amorim-Viana partnership.
They are long-time friends, having played together for Portugal and also for Braga.
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But their bond grew especially strong when they were both approaching the end of their careers in the Middle East.
They would often meet in Dubai as Amorim was struggling to cope with injuries and had in Viana a shoulder to lean on.
“It’s great [to have one of my best friends working for me] but, at the same time, difficult,” Viana said.
“But we respect each other a lot, whatever we have to say, we say, whatever we have to discuss, we discuss. It’s been a nice challenge and positive for both of us.
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“What we are all living at Sporting I was never able to live as a footballer. We sometimes look around us and don’t see what we do as work but like a pleasant thing.”
With Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola out of contract this summer, and his future uncertain, many in Portugal will be keeping a close eye on the prospect of Amorim and Viana reuniting a lot sooner than expected.
It’s the first time that McDaniel has explicitly stated there’s an expectation for Tagovailoa to play again this season after he suffered a concussion in Week 2. However, McDaniel wouldn’t divulge when the team is expecting Tagovailoa’s return, adding that he’s “not playing this week” against Indianapolis (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).
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“There’s still information that he’s seeking this week and as far as timelines go,” McDaniel said. “I do expect to see him playing football in 2024, but where that is exactly, we’ll let the process continue since we still have time before we can even entertain anything.
“We’ll make sure that he’s diligent this week and assess after that.”
Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve shortly after suffering a concussion in Week 2 in a loss to the Buffalo Bills. The move immediately ruled him out for Miami’s next four games, so he isn’t eligible to return to practice after Week 7. The next game he can play in, if he’s activated, is the Dolphins’ Week 8 tilt against the Arizona Cardinals.
The concussion marked Tagovailoa’s third since the 2022 season. He initially had a fencing response after his helmet collided with Bills safety Damar Hamlin on a run in that game, sparking similar concerns to the concussions he suffered in 2022. He was able to walk off the field on his own power after the collision. Tagovailoa was expected to meet with multiple independent neurologists following the injury, McDaniel shared at the time.
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The Dolphins’ offense has suffered without Tagovailoa. They lost three games in a row before beating the New England Patriots in Week 5, 15-10, to improve to 2-3 ahead of their bye week. Miami ranks last in scoring (12 points per game).
Tagovailoa has statistically been among the league’s best QBs since he started playing under McDaniel in 2022. He threw for 4,624 yards, 29 TDs and 14 interceptions in 2023, helping Miami reach the playoffs in each of the past two years.
NFF media manager Promise Efoghe said no reason was given for the decision to divert their plane to Al Abraq on Sunday.
“No Libyan FA official has come to give reasons or provide any clarification,” he said.
“The Libyans made no effort to help. When the NFF tried to make alternative arrangement, we were locked inside the airport.
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“It’s like we are in a prison at the airport.”
Striker Victor Boniface said on social media that the squad were left without food, wi-fi or anywhere to sleep, and the Super Eagles account on X posted pictures of players sprawled out on airport chairs.
Troost-Ekong described their treatment as “mind games”, which the LFF denied.
“There are no grounds to accuse the Libyan security teams or the LFF of deliberately orchestrating this incident,” a statement added.
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“Such actions are inconsistent with our values and principles.
“We firmly reject any claims that suggest foul play or sabotage in this situation.”
The journey from Al Abraq to Benghazi would take over three and a half hours by road, but Troost-Ekong said the players would not want to travel by that means because of the security situation in Libya.
The country is split between two administrations – one based in the eastern region, which includes Benghazi, and the other in the west in the capital Tripoli. Both governments claim to be the country’s legitimate rulers.
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Efoghe said the Nigerian embassy in Tripoli was “handicapped” and could not intervene because of the political situation.
“We will not accept to travel anywhere by road here even with security. It’s not safe,” Troost-Ekong added.
“We can only imagine what the hotel or food would be like given to us if we continued.
“We respect ourselves and respect our opponents when they are our guests in Nigeria. Mistakes happen but these things on purpose have nothing to do with [international] football.”
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Nigeria won 1-0 when the two sides met in Uyo on Friday and top Group D on seven points, with Libya bottom of the table on one point and on the brink of elimination.
The MLB regular season is complete, October baseball is here and there’s a familiar favorite expected to win the Fall Classic.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are sitting atop the oddsboard as the lone favorite to win the World Series after taking down the New York Mets 9-0 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
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Can anyone challenge the Boys in Blue?
Let’s take a look at every team’s updated 2024 World Series odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Oct. 13.
The Dodgers odds shortened from +165 to +115 prior to their Game 1 win, and will play Game 2 of the series on Monday, October 14. New York and Cleveland will kick off the American League Championship Series with Game 1 on the same day.
Which team do you like to win the next World Series? Follow FOX Sports for the latest MLB news.
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The court agreed that Fifa’s refusal to provide Diarra with an international transfer certificate (ITC) for a proposed move to Belgian club Charleroi in 2015 demonstrated that its rules “impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club”.
Fifa has now announced that it will open a “global dialogue” with footballing stakeholders as part of a process to adapt the rules.
“Fifa sees the Diarra decision as an opportunity to keep modernising its regulatory framework, which has been one of the declared objectives of the Fifa president since 2016,” said Fifa chief legal and compliance officer Emilio Garcia Silvero.
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After the Diarra ruling, a Fifa spokesman said: “Fifa is satisfied that the legality of key principles of the transfer system have been reconfirmed.”
LOS ANGELES — Before Jack Flaherty took the mound Sunday night, he noticed his mom taking her seat behind home plate. In the crowd, a group of his lifelong friends from Sherman Oaks Little League offered their support.
Entering his second playoff start with his childhood team, he felt at ease.
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Eleven years after the Harvard-Westlake junior fired seven scoreless innings in the Southern Section Division I championship game at Dodger Stadium, the local product was back on the same mound, doing the same thing, only with considerably different stakes and circumstances.
Instead of delivering his high school team a championship, Flaherty was orchestrating the most consequential victory of his eight-year big-league career with seven shutout frames in the Dodgers‘ 9-0 victory to begin the National League Championship Series against the Mets.
“I’m sure every single one of us has done it and put ourselves in the scenario,” Flaherty said. “It’s the same thing, same game. You’ve just got to look at it as fun and try not to make things bigger than they are, not let your imagination get in the way.”
Flaherty’s Game 1 gem put the Dodgers in the driver’s seat of the series, ensuring there wouldn’t be an emotional letdown coming off a spirited series against the rival Padres in which the Dodgers staved off elimination twice. It also etched his team in the record books.
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Sunday’s victory ran the Dodger pitching staff’s consecutive scoreless innings streak to 33, tied with the 1966 Orioles for the most in MLB postseason history.
Just as important, it allowed manager Dave Roberts to save his arms.
Given their lack of starting pitching options, the Dodgers will need to use bullpen games at some point. In a seven-game series, that can be especially taxing.
Because of Flaherty’s work, the Dodgers can now confidently deploy their highest-leverage relievers in a Game 2 bullpen game Monday afternoon. With an off day Tuesday, their relievers can then reset, with Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto well-rested for Games 3 and 4 in New York.
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“Incredible,” Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech said. “We know we’re going to be relied on heavily down there in the bullpen. We don’t know exactly when that is or how it’s going to be, but we know there’s games we’re going to have to cover some innings. For him to go out there and dominate Game 1, and to only use two other arms, there’s not really words for it.”
The past two years, the Dodgers have been uncharacteristically deprived of starting pitching in October. It doomed them in 2023. This year, the pitching staff has made it work.
In a do-or-die Game 4 in San Diego, it was eight relievers who cobbled together a shutout. The bullpen was crucial again in the deciding Game 5, following Yamamoto’s five scoreless innings with four more spotless frames.
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But at some point, especially in a seven-game series, the Dodgers needed length from a starter. Their prized deadline acquisition delivered.
“This is certainly a childhood dream for him and his family,” Roberts said. “You just feel that he can handle this market, handle pitching in a playoff game, starting a playoff game.”
In the hours and days leading up to the trade deadline, the Dodgers had some back-and-forth with Detroit about Flaherty before moving on to other fronts, thinking the Tigers would go in a different direction. With less than an hour to go, Detroit got back to the Los Angeles front office. The Dodgers got the frontline starter they coveted.
At that point, they figured Flaherty would be additive to their postseason rotation. Instead, with Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone out for the year, he has become essential.
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Prior to Flaherty’s masterpiece, the Dodgers had not gotten even six innings from a starting pitcher in their previous 20 playoff games. The last one to do it was Max Scherzer in Game 3 of the 2021 NLDS. That year, the Dodgers also staved off elimination against a division foe by winning back-to-back do-or-die games in the NLDS to advance. But they had also exhausted all their energy battling back. They followed by dropping the first two games of the NLCS to the Braves.
On Sunday, Flaherty’s pristine work provided a more auspicious start to the NLCS, fulfilling a childhood dream in the process.
“I usually have been able to keep it together no matter what, even if it’s the end of an outing,” Flaherty said.
This time, with 53,503 fans from his favorite childhood team giving him a standing ovation?
“Yeah,” Flaherty admitted, “it’s hard not to smile there.”
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If he was trying to stay grounded for his second playoff start with the Dodgers on Sunday, the familiar sights in the crowd helped.
Flaherty grew up going to Dodgers games, sitting in the reserve level with his mother, Eileen. In 2015, then in pro ball in the Cardinals’ system, the first-round pick got back to Dodger Stadium to see the NLDS with his little brother. He was there when Chase Utley fractured Ruben Tejada’s leg on a hard slide, and he was there the night prior, when Jacob deGrom fired seven scoreless innings.
Nine years later, Flaherty delivered the same type of performance.
Max Muncy spotted him an early lead with a two-run double in the first inning, bringing a hobbled Freddie Freeman home from second base. The first baseman had a smile on his face as he touched home plate with his good foot. Sliding can create problems for his sprained right ankle, and so can stopping abruptly, so instead, he ran into the arms of a waiting Mookie Betts to slow his speed.
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The Dodgers continued to pile on with a Shohei Ohtani RBI single in the second. They jumped all over Kodai Senga, who had no control. By the time they tacked on three more in the fourth inning, it was a rout.
Flaherty thought he had tried to do too much the past couple of times out. In front of friends and family, he felt relaxed. His defense was flawless behind him. The Mets mustered just four baserunners against him and did not help themselves when they got their few chances. Their best came at the start of the fifth inning, when they got two singles off Flaherty to start the frame only for Jesse Winker to run into an out at third base.
Flaherty then retired the last eight batters he faced. The Dodgers have now outscored their opponents 23-0 since the Padres plated six runs against them in Game 3 of the NLDS.
“It was just a pitching clinic,” Roberts said.
On Flaherty’s walk back to the dugout after his 98 pitches, Ohtani waited to slap his hand from the top step. Roberts gave the pitcher a hug. So did one of his childhood idols.
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That game Flaherty attended in 2015, when deGrom threw seven shutout innings? It came against Clayton Kershaw, who struck out 11 in that performance. Five years later, Kershaw struck out 13 batters in eight scoreless innings in a wild-card game against the Brewers en route to a Dodgers championship.
Kershaw’s outing in 2020 was the last time a Dodgers pitcher threw at least seven shutout innings in a playoff game — until Sunday.
“Getting a hug from him afterwards and him letting me know it was a really good job is special,” Flaherty said. “Things that you can’t make up.”
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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