Lucknow Super Giants claimed their third win in a row, and first over Gujarat Titans in five attempts, with a fighting defence of 163 in Lucknow. Marcus Stoinis’ first half-century of the season provided the ballast after the home side had chosen to bat first and, although Titans started well in their run chase, Yash Thakur claimed a maiden five-for to help demolish the innings.The LSG batting effort was rarely fluent, captain KL Rahul and Stoinis opting for accumulation after Umesh Yadav had struck twice with the new ball. Both fell when looking to up the ante and it needed flashes of power from Nicholas Pooran plus a cameo from Ayush Badoni to get them up to a respectable score.Related

• Mayank 'seemed okay, which was quite a relief' – Krunal

In their favour was the fact LSG had never been beaten defending a target of 160-plus. Titans looked set to threaten that record after racing to 54 without loss inside the powerplay, only for a stunning collapse of 8 for 48 to make it 13 from 13 for LSG. After Yash skidded one through Shubman Gill, Ravi Bishnoi’s spectacular caught-and-bowled dismissal of Kane Williamson provided the spark, while Krunal Pandya raced through his four-over allocation for figures of 3 for 11 as Titans imploded.That they managed such a comfortable defence was even more remarkable given LSG lost the services of their new pace sensation, Mayank Yadav, after just a single over due to a side strain – the one sour note as Rahul’s team moved to six points and third in the table.Titans start strong then stumble
Chasing what seemed a middling target, Titans eased out of the blocks with a fifty opening stand inside the powerplay. Sai Sudharsan was all poise and wrists, hitting four early boundaries – including two off Mayank in his only over, during which the LSG fast man barely breached 140kph – while Shubman Gill looked to play himself in. With Mayank having to leave the field and M Siddharth struggling with front-foot no-balls, Titans looked to be cruising.Krunal Pandya finished with three wickets•BCCI

However, the dismissal of Gill from the final ball of the sixth over sparked an extraordinary collapse. Krunal whizzed through a tidy over, before Ravi Bishnoi struck with his second ball, leaping to hold a brilliant one-handed return catch off Kane Williamson, Titans’ impact sub. Sudharsan then holed out to deep square leg from the first ball of Krunal’s second over, which was followed by BR Sharath top-edging a sweep to deep backward square. Titans had shipped four wickets for seven runs in the space of 18 balls and suddenly had it all to do.Yash we can!Titans’ chase never recovered. Krunal claimed a third wicket as the asking rate rose towards 12 an over, with the canny Yash returning to dismiss Vijay Shankar and Rashid Khan in the space of four balls to leave the score 93 for 7. Rahul Tewatia presented the only danger of an upset, twice clearing the ropes in 30 off 25 balls, but he picked out deep square leg before Yash wrapped up the innings for career-best T20 figures.Rahul’s slow-and-steady rebuild
LSG were after a fast start against the new ball, with Quinton de Kock marking his 100th IPL appearance by clattering Umesh Yadav into the stands second ball. He didn’t survive the over, however, an attempted repeat resulting in a big top edge to deep third. With Devdutt Padikkal notching a fourth single-figure score in a row for his new franchise, Lucknow were 18 for 2 in the third over and looking vulnerable.Marcus Stoinis and KL Rahul rebuilt after two early blows•AFP/Getty Images

Rahul is the perfect man for a rebuild, though, and he helped resurrect the innings in the company of Stoinis. After taking three boundaries off Spencer Johnson’s second over, the pair batted watchfully through the middle of the innings, until what almost appeared to be Rahul’s first shot in anger, in the 13th over, as the LSG captain attempted to hit Darshan Nalkande over long-on only to hole out. The partnership was worth 73 from 62 balls but ended just when LSG were hoping to push on.Spinners squeeze but Pooran finishes
Stonis should have been dismissed in the following over, mishitting Noor Ahmed straight up only for Rashid to grass the chance running in from long-off. Noor bowled his four overs off the reel for just 22 runs – conceding a single boundary – and although Stoinis broke the shackles to pump Nalkande twice over long-on for a 40-ball half-century, he fell trying to target the same bowler, top-edging a skier to the keeper.With two new batters at the crease going into the death overs, and Rashid still with two up his sleeve, LSG were facing an uphill struggle. Rashid conceded five singles off the 17th, but Pooran and Ayush Badoni released some pressure by taking Mohit Shah for three boundaries in the next. Although Badoni holed out looking to take on Rashid, Pooran carted the legspinner over midwicket for the only boundary of his allocation, with another six in the final over – in which Johnson conceded just eight – taking LSG beyond the magic 160-mark.

Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham made a surprise visit to League One side Wycombe Wanderers to reunite with his former youth coach Mike Dodds.

Bellingham starts career at BirminghamNow starring at Real MadridReunites with old youth coachFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Bellingham came up through Birmingham City's academy before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2020. But before getting his big break in Germany and joining Real Madrid in 2023, he was coached by Dodds in the Blues' youth setup. And on Monday, the England international paid him a visit at Wycombe's stadium, where the 39-year-old is now head coach.

AdvertisementWHAT BELLINGHAM SAID

In an Instagram story, Bellingham wrote: "Doddsy," accompanied by a blue heart and the 'top' emoji. Wycombe also thanked the 22-year-old, who is currently sporting a cast after undergoing surgery on a dislocated shoulder, for his support.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Thanks to Dodds' help, Bellingham is now, arguably, one of the best midfielders in the world. He has starred for Borussia Dortmund, Madrid, and England, and much of that may be down to the coaching he received at Birmingham. Now, Dodds is getting his first managerial role after working at City and as a coach at Sunderland – and Bellingham appears to be all for it.

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Dodds is just weeks away from pitting himself against other League One managers as Wycombe prepare for the new season, while Bellingham will continue to step up his rehab as he targets a return to action soon for Madrid.

Worcestershire, Derbyshire the only first-class counties not to tender for top tier of revamped structure

Valkerie Baynes14-Mar-2024

Sixteen of the 18 first-class counties have bid for one of eight professional women’s teams in a revamped England and Wales domestic competition starting next season.Worcestershire and Derbyshire are the only two clubs among those invited to tender who have confirmed that they did not bid for a Tier 1 team under the new structure.Surrey, Lancashire, Sussex, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, Glamorgan, Essex and Gloucestershire all confirmed this week that they had lodged tenders with the ECB.Middlesex confirmed a bid on Monday, which had received “the full support of Marylebone Cricket Club”. MCC, which owns Middlesex’s home ground, Lord’s, and was also invited to bid for a team, have not submitted a proposal of their own.Kent and Northamptonshire announced their bids last week along with Durham, Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Somerset.Related

Durham, Essex big winners as top-flight women's teams are named

Kent, Northants to bid for professional women's teams in 2025

Counties told to 'show their vision' as ECB revamps women's competitions

It is understood counties will be notified imminently of interview slots for the next stage of the process, with those interviews to take place by the end of March.In February, the ECB invited all 18 first-class counties plus MCC to tender for one of the Tier 1 clubs in a move away from the current regional structure which began in 2020. Currently, teams contesting the 20-over Charlotte Edwards Cup and 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fall under central ECB control and largely encompass more than one county.By aligning teams more closely with existing counties – and their men’s teams – the ECB is seeking to address an identity crisis that has afflicted some of the regional teams with ownership, responsibility and governance shifting to the clubs.First-class counties not awarded Tier 1 status, plus all National Counties, will be invited to take part in a process to determine the make-up of Tier 2 and 3 competitions, comprising 10-14 teams and 16-20 teams respectively.Despite there being no plans for promotion or relegation from 2025-28, Derbyshire have taken a longer-term view, electing to “pursue the establishment of a sustainable Tier 2 women’s structure, one which will hopefully grow into Tier 1 status” in future. Derbyshire have hosted training for existing regional women’s team the Blaze over the winter and staged at least one England Women’s international fixture every year for the past seven seasons. In 2020, Derby hosted all five T20Is against West Indies which comprised the England Women’s international season amid the initial wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.Explaining the club’s position, Derbyshire chief executive Ryan Duckett said: “Derbyshire makes up 9% of the population of the Midlands, yet 26% of women’s cricket that was played across the region in the last year involved a team from the county. There are also three players in the current senior England squad who have come through the Derbyshire pathway, which has been led by the Derbyshire Cricket Foundation, and we will continue to support further success in this area.”Our ambitions for ground development include enhanced training facilities underpinning a robust pathway structure, as well as increasing seating capacity to meet demand and ensure the club retains its status as a host venue for international women’s cricket… After honest assessment, we felt that in the short term, as a standalone county, it may have been essential to compromise what is currently being delivered as a collective across the region and therefore believe this decision is in the best interest of the game.”Worcestershire CEO Ashley Giles told the club’s podcast: “At this point it would just be more a funding and a resource issue for us. Even in ground facilities, changing facilities, practice wickets, it would be really challenging for us.”But the next process from here will be Tier 2 and even Tier 3 and certainly we’ll be into that. And, for us, we host the Central Sparks right now, which is the regional team, but we also have the Women’s Rapids and I’m very keen that we start to develop that team so that when we come to those next levels, Tier 2 for example, that we’re ready to go.”The ECB will invest a minimum of £1.3 million per year into each of the eight Tier 1 teams, a proportion of which will be ring-fenced for player salaries, sports science and medicine and talent pathways. There will be no mandated minimum financial commitment sought from the counties, who are expected to outline their projected investment as part of the tender process.The existing regions – South East Stars, Thunder, Sunrisers, Central Sparks, Western Storm, the Blaze, Northern Diamonds and Southern Vipers – will remain for the 2024 season.

أكدإ إكرامي الشحات، حارس مرمى الأهلي السابق، أن المنافسة على لقب الدوري المصري هذا الموسم، ستكون قوية بوجود بيراميدز القادم بقوة مع الأهلي والزمالك.

وقال إكرامي خلال تصريحات عبر برنامج “اللعيب” المذاع على قناة “إم بي سي مصر”: “بيراميدز منافس بقوة على لقب الدوري هذا الموسم، مع الأهلي والزمالك”.

طالع | أحمد سليمان يوضح تطورات موقف أزمة سحب أرض نادي الزمالك

وأوضح: “نادي الزمالك، أداؤه ليس قويًا ولا جيدًا، الثنائي الأفضل في الفريق عبد الله السعيد وناصر ماهر، ولكن خوان ألفينيا وشيكو بانزا لم يقنعاني حتى الآن”.

وأكمل: “الأهداف التي أحرزهما كل من خوان ألفينيا وشيكو بانزا في مباراة مودرن أمس كانت خطأ من الحارس محمد أبو جبل”.

وأتم: “لايوجد مقارنة بين ألفينا وأحمد سيد زيزو، لاعب الأهلي، من الممكن أن تقارنه بشيكابالا، إنما زيزو لا”.

وكان الزمالك فاز على مودرن سبورت، بهدفين نظيفين، في مباراة أقيمت بينهما أمس الخميس، ضمن مواجهات الجولة الثالثة من عمر بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

MatériaMais Notícias

A equipe feminina do Palmeiras sofreu uma enorme baixa nesta sexta-feira. Isso porque Ary Borges, uma das principais jogadores do elenco alviverde, se despediu do clube um dia após a conquista do Paulistão Feminino. E ela tem destino definido para 2023: o futebol dos Estados Unidos.

> Veja classificação e simulador do Paulistão-2023 clicando aqui

Segundo informação do Nosso Palestra, confirmada pelo LANCE!, Ary vai defender oRacing Louisville, que disputa a NWSL, principal liga de futebol dos EUA. O acordo vinha sendo costurado desde o último mês e foi sacramento depois de o Verdão levantar a taça do estadual.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasDudu posta foto de treino no CT do Palmeiras e empolga torcedores por renovaçãoPalmeiras23/12/2022PalmeirasPalmeiras vê possibilidade de novas saídas e mantém foco nos reforços pontuaisPalmeiras22/12/2022PalmeirasAry Borges celebra momento especial e destaca título do Palmeiras no Paulistão Feminino: ‘Gratificante’Palmeiras22/12/2022

Ary Borges, que tinha contrato somente até o final deste ano, estava no Palmeiras desde 2020, quando deixou o São Paulo. Ao longo de três temporadas, ela escreveu seu nome na história do clube conquistando a Copa Paulista (2021), a Libertadores (2022) e o Paulistão (2022). Ela marcou gol em cada uma das finais desses títulos alcançados pelo elenco alviverde.

> Palmeiras campeão de novo! Relembre todos os títulos do Verdão em 2022

Foi no Verdão que Ary consolidou sua presença na Seleção Brasileira de Pia Sundhage, com quem conquistou a Copa América de 2022. Ao todo, a atleta fez 86 jogos e marcou 36 gols no Palmeiras. Por tudo isso e pela identificação com clube, ela declarou a dificuldade de se despedir.

Confira o texto que Ary Borges postou em sua conta no Twitter:

“Fala, família Palmeiras. É até difícil encontrar palavras para falar com vocês. Mas foram 3 anos de muita intensidade, e não falo intensidade só dentro de campo, falo de sentimento, de emoções que eu pude viver junto com vocês.

Estarei sempre na torcida. Obrigada Palmeiras e Avanti Palestrinas!”

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Gavi is super confident about his team-mate Lamine Yamal ending his career with many Ballons d'Or, emphasising that he's improving every day.

• Gavi backs Yamal to win 'many' Ballons d'Or
• Not too worried if Yamal loses out on the award this year
• Noted that youngster keeps improving every day

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Barcelona midfielder Gavi has absolutely no qualms about Yamal lifting "many" Ballons d'Or in the future, asserting that the young winger will not be bogged down if he loses out on the prestigious individual accolade this year, thanks to his mentality.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Yamal had a breathtaking 2024-25 campaign and transcended into one of the best players in the world, helping the Catalans win La Liga, Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana. He was simply unstoppable in the latter stages of the Champions League, too, although he couldn't prevent his side from losing to Inter in the semi-final. All in all, Yamal scored 21 goals and delivered 25 assists for both club and country, staking his claim as one of the favourites for this year's Ballon d'Or.

• WHAT GAVI SAID

  Speaking to , Gavi said: "I hope he wins. If he doesn't this year, he's 18 and very young. Being among the favourites is something unique. I'm happy with what he's doing with us.

  "He's an incredible player. He's getting better every day. He's amazing in training. He has to keep going like this, with that mentality, and I'm sure that if he doesn't win the Ballon d'Or this year, he'll win many in the future."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Barcelona will play their final pre-season game of the Asia tour on August 4 against Daegu FC. Then, they will return to Spain and face Como in the Joan Gamper Trophy game, before kicking off their La Liga campaign away at Mallorca on August 16.

MatériaMais Notícias

O desafio de estar próximo de chegar a um Vasco em processo de construção marca o momento de Pumita Rodríguez. A caminho do Cruz-Maltino, onde deve assinar contrato de quatro anos, o jogador de 25 anos entra na lista de reforços que fazem parte do planejamento a longo prazo.

+ MERCADO DA BOLA: veja as movimentações do seu clube de coração

O atleta, que atuou no Nacional-URU e esteve na lista de convocados do Uruguai na disputa da Copa do Mundo do Qatar, é visto como um jogador com potencial. Jornalista do diário “El País”, Enrique Arrilaga aponta que Rodríguez tem características que podem fazê-lo se encaixar no Vasco.

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– É um jogador jovem, que tem boa imposição e, acima de tudo, sai para apoiar o ataque com critério. As investidas ofensivas chamam muita atenção no seu futebol – disse o jornalista ao LANCE!.

Aos olhos de Arrilaga, a mudança de ares pode ser crucial para seus rumos em campo.

– Nitidamente tem muito por evoluir. Trata-se de um jogador jovem. Acredito que o Brasil é um bom mercado para ele. Foi muito bem no Nacional, conquistou o título uruguaio. Chegou à Copa do Mundo após uma disputa acirrada. Conseguiu superar a concorrência com Damian Suárez e Giovanni Gonzalez – recordou.

+ Obrigado, Vossa Majestade! Confira a página especial sobre Pelé

O jornalista alertou para um aspecto no qual Pumita Rodríguez pode evoluir.

– Caso melhore sua postura defensiva, será um jogador bem superior. Mas rende muitas expectativas – afirmou Arrilaga.

Pumita Rodríguez deve suprir a ausência de umsetor que rendeu muitas dores de cabeça em 2022. Durante a Série B, Gabriel Dias sofreu uma lesão grave, enquanto Léo Matos teve altos e baixos. Em outros momentos, outros jogadores foram improvisados na lateral direita.

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية عن مفاجأة بشأن الوجهة القادمة للنجم المغربي الدولي حكيم زياش الذي ارتدى قمصان أندية تشيلسي وأياكس أمستردام في وقت سابق.

وكان إيدير سارابيا مدرب إلتشي قد كشف قبل أيام عن مفاجأة يحضر لها النادي قبل إغلاق سوق الانتقالات الصيفية.

ووفقاً لصحيفة “كوب إلتشي” فإن النجم المغربي الدولي حكيم زياش أصبح على بعد خطوة واحدة من إتمام انتقاله لصفوف إلتشي الإسباني.

اقرأ أيضًا.. فيجو: لاعب ريال مدريد لا يستحق المقارنة مع الظاهرة رونالدو

وأكد المدير العام لنادي إلتشي بيدرو شينوكا قبل لقاء ليفانتي أن خيار ضم حكيم زياش مطروح، قائلًا: “إنه اسم لامع ولاعب رائع، سنرى في الساعات القادمة، وهو خيار لنا”.

وقد يوقع حكيم زياش في صفقة انتقال حر، لصفوف نادي إلتشي بعد انتهاء عقده مع الدحيل القطري.

ويتمتع النجم المغربي صاحب الـ32 عامًا بخبرة واسعة، خاصة بعد الفترات التي قضاها مع أياكس وتشيلسي، والتي شهدت تألقه لعدة مواسم، وساهم في حصول البلوز على لقب دوري أبطال أوروبا 2021.

يذكر أن تشيلسي تعاقد مع حكيم زياش من صفوف أياكس أمستردام في عام 2020 مقابل 40 مليون يورو.

Allrounder takes three wickets, adds 43 in chase as hosts scramble home in tight finish

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2024Thunder 125 for 7 (Morris 43, Davis 2-19) beat Central Sparks 121 for 8 (Arlott 28, Graham 3-16, Morris 3-22) by three wicketsLancashire Thunder achieved one of their best results of the season when they overcame the previously undefeated Central Sparks by three wickets in their Charlotte Edwards Cup match at Emirates Old TraffordHaving won the toss and opted to bowl first, Thunder restricted Sparks to 121 for 8 in their 20 overs, with Phoebe Graham taking 3 for 16 and Fi Morris 3 for 22. Thunder chased down that target with one over to spare, Morris again catching the eye with 43, although Sparks made their opponents fight all the way for their spoils.Sparks’ innings got off to a woeful start when Tara Norris bowled Chloe Brewer and Davina Perrin with the second and third balls of the match and those setbacks rather set the tone for the visitors’ effort with the bat.Abbey Freeborn took the attack to the bowlers but was caught by Morris at midwicket for a 12-ball 15 when she tried to pull a short delivery from Graham. And Morris then took the next two wickets, trapping Courtney Webb lbw for 9 and having the Sparks skipper Eve Jones caught at backward point by Sophie Morris for 19 when trying to drive a wide full toss.The departure of the former Thunder batter left Sparks on 54 for 5 at the midpoint of their innings but it was followed three balls later by a shower which delayed play for 25 minutes.On the resumption, Katie George and Charis Paveley took 19 runs off the next three overs but Fi Morris ended their promising stand with another full toss, George driving the full bunger straight back to the bowler and departing for 17.However, a late boost to the Sparks effort was provided by Emily Arlott who put on 47 in 36 balls with Paveley, a stand which included a huge six over square leg in Norris’s final over. Graham ended this fun in her last set of six when she had Arlott caught by Hannah Jones for 28 when sweeping and Grace Potts taken at deep midwicket by Danni Collins off the final ball of the innings.Those dismissals left Sparks very moderately placed and in no respect did 121 for 8 resemble a par total, Paveley finished with a useful run-a-ball 27 not out.Despite facing an asking-rate only a scrap above six runs an over, Thunder’s pursuit was littered with errors. Emma Lamb was caught at short fine leg by Chloe Brewer off Paveley for 10 and when Georgia Davis dismissed Seren Smale and Ellie Threlkeld with successive deliveries, the home side were 42 for 3 in the sixth over.Fi Morris tried to restore some stability but she soon lost Danni Collins, who was bowled for 5 when hitting across the line in George’s first over. Ailsa Lister then helped Morris add a further 38 in 28 balls but the opener’s luck ran out on 43 when she attempted another pull off Hannah Baker and George took a fine catch at deep midwicket.When Lister skied Arlott to Freeborn and trooped off with 23 against her name, 24 were needed off five overs. Norris’s straight six off Baker aided the home side’s cause but she was bowled by Arlott for 10 in the penultimate over and it was left to Graham to all but seal the win with an edged four off her first ball.

What started with four guys, a few laptops, and a bunch of data might turn into something special for the MLS expansion side

In the beginning, for San Diego FC, it was three guys in a room, with laptops, and a club to form. They didn’t have a manager, technical staff or any players. Instead, they had data – lots of it. 

It was an odd environment, at first, San Diego Sporting Director Tyler Heaps admitted. There were numbers to be crunched, players to be analyzed, and previous examples to be studied. It was hard to know where to start. 

Well, that was just more than a year ago, and San Diego are now not only the best team in the Western Conference, but also have a decent claim – through 25 games – to being the best MLS expansion franchise in recent memory. Their expansion – pun intended – has been a rapid, data-driven approach in which an incoming club cut through noise, expectations and soccer preconceptions to construct a team capable of competing in MLS. Immediately. 

And their dreams aren’t exactly slowing down. 

“There’s still a ways to go, but so far so good,” CEO Tom Penn told GOAL.

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  'Nothing brings an entire community together like a properly executed sports team'

  San Diego FC was an interesting proposition from day one. The expansion franchise was one of those that just made sense. The city had all of the right characteristics for MLS – demographics, market size, area appeal. But a professional franchise had yet to get off the ground. 

  The nearby San Diego Loyal had their fans, but the USL Championship side folded in 2023. And while the San Diego Wave were a talent factory in NWSL, there was room for a men’s soccer setup to get to work. 

  “Nothing brings an entire community together like a properly executed sports team,” Penn said. “These are the modern day campfires that bring everyone together for shared experiences where you cheer and hug and cry together.” 

  But saying the right things, paying a $500 million expansion fee, and getting the goodwill of league commissioner Don Garber is one thing. Actually building a team that can compete, without an academy, is another altogether. Yet San Diego have done it in style.

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  Right to Dream and 'unique backgrounds'

  Their big advantage is the Right to Dream system. In 25 years, Right to Dream has gone from a talent identification center founded by a former Manchester United scout to a global football empire, owned by a conglomerate worth billions. It is truly a remarkable soccer story. 

  Tom Vernon, Man United’s former head scout in Africa, started an independent boys' training school in Accra – mostly relying on volunteers. Over time, further academies popped up around Africa, while American colleges started to show interest in bringing in talent on scholarships. 

  Investment into professional soccer clubs followed. As of 2025, Right to Dream is involved in three professional clubs: Denmark’s FC Nordsjælland, Egypt’s FC Masar, and, most recently, San Diego FC. The academy has developed more than 150 professionals from scratch.

  That’s where Heaps came from. He joined the Right to Dream network in 2023, and immersed himself in the system entirely. He traveled to Ghana, Egypt and Denmark – and spent most of his time listening. 

  “I'm a person of few words, and I'm so used to being behind the scenes and working that I quite enjoyed just listening to people and learning from people,” Heaps said. 

  Within a year of joining the system, he was running recruitment at Nordsjælland, while also offering advice to San Diego as the franchise began to take shape. San Diego officially announced him as their sporting director in August 2024 – making him the youngest one in the league. 

  “My background is quite unique,” he says. “It's football, but it's also objectivity and numbers and finance. And so I kind of tried to understand everything. I don't foresee myself being an ‘expert’ in anything, but I just try to have a really good knowledge of a number of different subjects.”

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  'We got offered every bad contract in the league'

  And a good thing, too, because Heaps was handed a glut of information and numbers. Some of it came from his own experience with Right to Dream. Others were from third parties and consultants. His first task was deciding what, exactly, was applicable. 

  “We had a lot of third-party consultants that put together a lot of information, largely before I arrived, so I kind of tried to take in all of theirs, and took some of it on. Some of it maybe wasn't relevant,” Heaps said. 

  As a result, San Diego were sometimes painstakingly cautious. They evaluated everything, asking questions about where their model could succeed, and where it might fail. Without a true academy setup, it was admittedly difficult. There were no extra options to throw into the team, no pre-developed talent to flesh the squad out should things fall apart. 

  So they consumed as much information about players as they possibly could. A small staff watched hours of MLS and MLS Next Pro. They identified free agents that could make an impact while still keeping the ownership under the league’s restrictive salary cap. 

  “It was a daunting task, but I think we have really good people, and we used our network,” Heaps said. “We were fortunate that we have a lot of people that have been across a lot of different environments, and so they reached out and got insights.” 

  And as important as it was to sign the right players, it was equally vital to avoid the wrong ones. San Diego needed to be agile, forward thinking, and looking into the areas where others weren’t. That meant ignoring the wrong offers. 

  “I think we got offered every bad contract in the league,” Heaps said. “The good part about being an expansion team is that you don't have bad contracts. So we were able to avoid those mistakes.”

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  'We had six players for a long time, and no one knew who any of them were'

  The early names didn’t exactly jump off the page. San Diego brought in, effectively, a variety of question marks. Mikey Varas had a brief stint as the USMNT’s interim manager before Mauricio Pochettino was hired, but hadn’t coached a single minute of Major League Soccer.

  Meanwhile, their first signings, European journeymen Jeppe Tverskov and Marcus Ingvartsen, were largely unknown by those in America who weren’t Football Manager addicts. 

  “We had six players for a long time, and no one knew who any of them were,” Heaps said. 

  And then came the big swing. Hirving “Chucky” Lozano was disgruntled at PSV, and falling out of the picture for the Dutch giants. A new era was on the horizon, and it was clear that he wouldn’t be a part of it. San Diego struck, bringing in one of the most famous Mexican footballers on the planet as the first Designated Player signing in club history. 

  He has offered a certain star power and marketable verve for a team that otherwise seemed to be about the collective. San Diego needed to sell jerseys, and Lozano offered the perfect way to do so. It helped, too, that he still has some football left in him – something his 15 goal contributions in 20 games has proved. 

  “He’s different from the rest of us in that he has to manage all of the attention,” Tverskov said. “His life can be a little different than ours… but he’s ended up getting really into how we want to do everything.” 

  Otherwise, though, the front office was fairly frugal. In January, they brought in Luca de la Torre on loan and signed Anders Dreyer to a permanent deal. The latter was a designated player, but he makes $2.3 million per year – hardly a massive outlay for a player who operates outside of standard salary cap restrictions. 

  “Outside of Hirving, I would argue that we're probably among the bottom five spenders in the league,” Heaps said.