Former USMNT star Tim Howard reflected on Inter Miami’s 3-1 MLS Cup win over Vancouver, acknowledging the significance of the title while warning of challenges ahead. He said the trophy cements the club’s place in MLS's history after years of high-profile signings and marketing. He also cautioned that next year could provide challenges for Lionel Messi and warned Vancouver are on the rise.
AFP'I think it's good for the league'
The former Manchester United and Everton star noted that while the club had already captured attention through high-profile signings and lucrative television deals, winning the championship provided tangible validation of their ambitions.
“I think it's good for the league,” Howard said on thepodcast. "Ultimately, there's the haves and the have-nots, and I just tend to think that makes for better drama, makes for better viewing, which ultimately, at the end of the day, this is the sport, just the business we're in, a viewership, sort of, driven sport. So, I like it."
Howard emphasized that the trophy represents more than just silverware – it demonstrates that Inter Miami has successfully translated their financial investments and star power into actual competitive success.
“You get the, you get the television deal that's linked to Messi, the biggest name in football. Like, you kinda need to win. Like, I mean, that's just my opinion on it.”
AdvertisementBelieves Vancouver better positioned for future
Looking ahead to potential rematches between these two clubs, Howard expressed confidence that Vancouver Whitecaps would be more likely to return to future MLS Cup finals.
“I think Vancouver because, because I really like their team,” Howard said. “I do. I like their team, and I think they showed how good they are in the final and in the run-up to the final. Um, Sebastian Berhalter's gonna be an X factor. Can they keep him? Um, can they keep him happy?
"Arsene Wenger used to talk about the World Cup hangover…And here's what I would say. Now, look at Inter Miami. You got a Supporter Shield last year, you got a MLS cup this year, middle of the season this year, you're gonna have a World Cup, right for two or three of your best players, and obviously, Messi, the greatest player.
“There's no doubt in my mind that that team will down tools [because of the World Cup]. There's no doubt in my mind. Not because they're bad guys. Not because they're bad, but because literally the exhaustion. "
Getty Images SportHoward urges caution
Howard stressed the unique pressure Messi carries for Argentina and suggested that both the player and Inter Miami will carefully map out his appearances to ensure he remains fully fit and rested before – and even after – the tournament.
“And by the way, don't forget, Messi, who runs this team,” Howard explained. “He's the heartbeat of his team, right? And I know he can do it 'cause he's done it for years. But just don't forget, Messi playing at a World Cup isn't a player playing at a World Cup. It's the hopes. It's the dreams. It's the threats. It's the entire nation. There's so much more on Messi's plate going into a World Cup, and then post-World Cup, how he unwraps that, than anybody else.
“He's not gonna play a ton of minutes before the World Cup, FYI, MLS. He's basically gonna look at the calendar when it comes out, speak to Mascherano, and just say, 'All right, I'll play here, here, and here.' And I'm not, I'm not lying when I say that, right? He's gotta be fully fit and rested before the World Cup. And then after the World Cup.”
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The victory validates MLS's investment in attracting world-class talent while establishing Inter Miami as a franchise capable of winning at the highest level.
Welcome to 'Ask Jimmy,' where SI Media writer Jimmy Traina will answer one question about a burning topic from the sports media world.
A balls and strikes challenge system is finally coming to Major League Baseball. After being used for several years in the minor leagues, the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System will be featured in the big leagues beginning next season. Each team will get two challenges per game when it comes to balls and strikes, which will be retained if successful.
This is nothing but a positive for the sport. You can’t have games decided on missed calls by the home plate umpire and this is a way to fix that.
The only downside is that I wish teams were allotted more than two challenges per game from the start. I’d give teams four or five challenges per game. Even if you think home plate umpires do a great job, they’re still going to miss a handful of calls in each game. Why not implement a system in order to rectify that?
If your argument against the ABS challenge system is that it will slow down the game, think again.
Baseball has done a great job of speeding up the game by instituting the pitch clock. The challenge system won’t have a significant effect on the length of games.
Via MLB: In 288 games with the ABS Challenge System during Spring Training 2025, there were an average of 4.1 challenges per game. Those challenges took an average of 13.8 seconds.
Adding on a minute to each game to get important calls correct is a no-brainer.
Baseball already has instant replay, so adding another layer to have balls and strikes challenged seems like a natural progression.
Think about how history would have changed if ABS was around in 1998 when the Yankees got this gift from the home plate umpire.
You just can’t miss a call like that in a World Series game.
The only downside in my view is that this will limit the number of player explosions when a home plate umpire gets a call wrong. Now, instead of throwing their helmet or slamming their bats, a batter will simply tap his head to call for replay.
ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2024Where does India’s win in Perth rank among their greatest Test wins away from home since 2000? Vote for your favourite below.
Vasco e Fluminense voltam a se encontrar nesta quinta-feira (11), às 20h30 (de Brasília), no Maracanã, pela partida de ida da semifinal da Copa do Brasil 2026. O clássico chega embalado por expectativas distintas do confronto anterior entre as equipes, disputado em 20 de outubro pelo Brasileirão, quando o Cruzmaltino venceu por 2 a 0, com gols de Rayan e Nuno Moreira. Apesar do curto intervalo entre os duelos, o cenário vascaíno passou por transformações significativas — tanto dentro de campo quanto no momento vivido pela equipe.
continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFutebol NacionalJadson Cristiano, ex-Vasco, acerta retorno ao futebol brasileiroFutebol Nacional09/12/2025Fora de CampoCorinthians, Cruzeiro, Vasco ou Flu? Luxa crava campeão da Copa do BrasilFora de Campo09/12/2025Futebol NacionalPolícia frustra planos de organizada do Vasco antes de clássico contra o Fluminense na Copa do BrasilFutebol Nacional09/12/2025
➡️ Vasco x Fluminense: onde assistir, horário e prováveis escalações do jogo pela Copa do Brasil
Momento de instabilidade no Vasco
Se naquela ocasião, o Vasco vivia sua melhor sequência no Campeonato Brasileiro, agora o time de Fernando Diniz atravessa uma fase delicada. A equipe venceu apenas um dos últimos oito jogos, acumulando pressão e dúvidas para o mata-mata. A vitória sobre o Flu no Brasileirão era a terceira das quatro que colocaram o time em posição de brigar por uma vaga na Libertadores.
➡️ Cruzmaltino encerra Brasileirão 2025 com contraste entre ataque eficiente e defesa vulnerável
Mudança no meio-campo
Outra alteração importante está no setor de meio-campo. No clássico de outubro, Tchê Tchê atuou ao lado de Barros, mas a vaga era uma das indefinições de Diniz. Desde a goleada contra o Internacional, Thiago Mendes assumiu a posição do ex-jogador do Botafogo e vem atuando como titular da equipe.
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Inversão no ataque
O ataque também mudou. A partir da partida contra o Internacional, Fernando Diniz decidiu inverter seus extremos. Nuno Moreira, que atuava pela esquerda, passou a jogar pelo lado direito, enquanto Andrés Gómez foi deslocado para a esquerda. A mudança se manteve mesmo na partida contra o Mirassol.
➡️ Rayan abre o jogo sobre renovação com o Vasco para 2026: ‘Ainda não foi assinado’
Problema na lateral
Para o clássico da Copa do Brasil, o Vasco terá um desfalque importante: Lucas Piton. O lateral-esquerdo sofreu lesão no joelho esquerdo e está fora da partida. Assim, Fernando Diniz deve novamente improvisar Puma Rodríguez no setor. O uruguaio, lateral-direito de origem, já atuou pela esquerda em outras oportunidades e terá a missão de repetir o bom desempenho nesta oportunidade.
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Apesar da vitória recente no confronto direto, o Vasco chega ao reencontro com o rival em um momento bem diferente daquele vivido há dois meses. A queda de desempenho, somada às mudanças estruturais na equipe e ao desfalque de Piton, cria um ambiente de desafio para Fernando Diniz.
Para acompanhar asnotícias do Gigante da Colina, acompanhe o Lance! Todas as informações e acontecimentos atualizados em tempo real.
انتهت مباراة سوريا وفلسطين بالتعادل السلبي 0-0، في المواجهة التي جمعت بينهما ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس العرب 2025.
وأقيمت المباراة بين سوريا وفلسطين على أرضية استاد البيت، في إطار لقاءات الجولة الثالثة والأخيرة من دور المجموعات لبطولة كأس العرب في قطر.
المباراة جاءت حذرة على مدار شوطيها في ظل حاجة الطرفين لنقطة واحدة لضمان العبور، ما جعل التركيز الأكبر منصبًا على التنظيم الدفاعي وغلق المساحات أكثر من المجازفة الهجومية.
طالع.. ترتيب المجموعة الأولى من كأس العرب 2025
وتبادل المنتخبان السيطرة خلال سير أحداث المباراة بجانب محاولات الاختراق، مع أفضلية نسبية لفترات للمنتخب الفلسطيني في الضغط وبناء الهجمات، مقابل اعتماد سوريا على التنظيم والارتداد، لكن غابت اللمسة الأخيرة أمام المرمى في الجانبين، وتألق الحارسان والدفاع في إفساد القليل من الفرص المتاحة خلال اللقاء.
ومع صافرة النهاية رفع كل من سوريا وفلسطين رصيده إلى 5 نقاط في صدارة جدول ترتيب المجموعة، ليحسم المنتخبان بطاقة التأهل إلى ربع النهائي معًا من المجموعة الأولى. ملخص مباراة فلسطين وسوريا في كأس العرب 2025
أدلى روبرتو مارتينيز مدرب منتخب البرتغال برأيه في قرعة كأس العالم 2026، حيث وقع مع منتخبات كولومبيا وأوزبكستان وأحد المنتخبات المتأهلة من جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية وجامايكا وكاليدونيا الجديدة.
وقال مارتينيز في تصريحات نشرتها “Zamin” عن قرعة كأس العالم: “أظهرت لنا القرعة بوضوح الاتجاه الذي يجب أن نسلكه، من المهم جداً أن نقيم المباراة الأولى في 17 يونيو، هذا سيجعل عملية الاستعداد أكثر واقعية وتخطيط، المباراة الأولى ستكون ضد الفائز من التصفيات، اسم الخصم غير معروف حالياً، لكننا سنستعد لأي سيناريو”.
وأضاف عن منتخبي كولومبيا وأوزبكستان: “هما منافسان يستحقان الاحترام ويتمتعان بديناميكية عالية، وقد استعدا بجدية للبطولة، نحترمهما ونعتبرهما خصمين قويين”.
أقرأ أيضاً.. طريق البرتغال حتى نهائي كأس العالم 2026.. هل يصطدم بـ مصر والأرجنتين؟
وواصل: “فريق أوزيبيو عام 1966 هو مرجعنا، لقد فزنا ببطولة أوروبا ودوري الأمم الأوروبية والآن أعتقد أنه من المهم جداً أن نتمكن من النضال من أجل الحلم الذي نحلم به جميعاً، أن نفعل شيئاً لم نفعله من قبل”.
وسئل روبرتو مارتينيز عن طول مسيرة كريستيانو رونالدو: “أعتقد أن السر يتمثل في أنه يعمل كل يوم كما لو كان آخر يوم في مسيرته، إنه لا يستسلم أبداً، إنه قدوة لنا جميعاً وقائدنا ومرجعنا ومهم جداً لنا”.
Tonda Eckert has been asked if he is hoping to become the next permanent manager of Southampton after guiding the club to a win over QPR on Wednesday evening.
It has hardly been the season that Southampton would have expected. In the 2024/25 campaign, they became the first team to be relegated from the Premier League with as many as seven games left to play. Even still, they were expected to be in contention for a swift return to the top flight.
Having established himself as a promising young coach in Ligue 1 with Reims and Lens, Will Still was appointed as Southampton’s new manager in May. Despite an influx of summer signings, however, Still struggled to have the impact he would have wanted at St Mary’s.
After just two wins in 13 Championship games, Still was dismissed following a loss to Preston, which was Southampton’s third successive defeat. In his place, Eckert was named interim boss as the club continue their search for a new manager.
Eckert answers questions about Saints future
Eckert’s first game in charge of the Saints was an away clash against Queens Park Rangers. The 32-year-old, picked out personally by sporting director Johannes Spors in the summer to take charge of their under-21s, guided Southampton to a 2-1 win at Loftus Road.
As reported by The Daily Echo, the young coach was then asked about his desire for the permanent job.
Evidently, Eckert is focused solely on guiding Southampton through their immediate future, with the club set to host Sheffield Wednesday in their next league game. Should they win, it would be the first time this season that they have won consecutive matches in the Championship.
Given their current position in the league, though, it would be a massive gamble for the Saints to hire a young and inexperienced manager, regardless of how much potential they may have.
Saints could turn to veteran to fill managerial vacancy
The Angels were considering multiple former franchise stars to become their next skipper, but they reportedly ruled out two big names in their managerial search after Ron Washington and interim Ray Montgomery's departure.
According to a report from 's Bob Nightengale, Los Angeles has informed five-time All-Star Torii Hunter that he is no longer in the running to become their next manager. Earlier Monday, the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported that Albert Pujols have broken off talks on the role as he receives interest from the Orioles and Padres for their openings.
Neither former franchise star possesses experience as a manager at the MLB level, but Pujols has found quick success as a manager in his native Dominican Republic. He's slated to manage their national team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Hunter joined the Angels as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian last year.
Who are the other candidates for the Angels' managerial vacancy?
Los Angeles could still look to a former player with Kurt Suzuki still in the mix, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Suzuki has served as a special assistant to Minasian as well. Bollinger mentioned Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde as well as former Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli as additional candidates linked to the Angels.
The Angels finished last season 72-90 and missed out on the playoffs for the 11th season in a row.
TORONTO — When it was over, when after 162 regular-season games and another 15 in the playoffs and now two excruciating innings, the Dodgers won Game 7, 5–4, to repeat as World Series champions, the man who won the game raced to the mound to grab the man who saved it.
It was Will Smith, the catcher, who launched the 11th-inning home run that stunned the sellout crowd of 44,713 at the Rogers Centre and gave the Dodgers their first lead of the night. But it was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Game 6 starter who got eight outs in Game 7 on no days’ rest, who gave him the chance. Twenty-five hours after he threw 96 pitches in Game 6, an outing that followed back-to-back complete games, Yamamoto all but forced his way into the game and threw 34 devastating pitches.
Manager Dave Roberts had tried not to use him at all, and then he tried to remove him after his second inning on Saturday. “Daijoubu,” Yamamoto said.
“It’s unheard of,” said Roberts, who struggled to explain how Yamamoto could possibly have done this. “I think that there’s a mind component, there’s a delivery, which is a flawless delivery, and there’s just an unwavering will. I just haven’t seen it [elsewhere]. I really haven’t.”
So the manager let him go back out and close the door for a team that just kept propping it open. The Blue Jays were two outs away from ending a 32-year World Series drought when an unlikely hero emerged. In a game that featured Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., it was Dodgers glove-first second baseman Miguel Rojas, playing in his second game in three weeks, who lined a solo home run over the left field wall to tie the game.
Each team loaded the bases with one out—the Blue Jays in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers in the top of the 10th—and failed to score. Smith, dragging himself around the field after catching all 72 innings of this epic World Series, dragged the Dodgers ahead.
It almost wasn’t enough. Guerrero, the face of a franchise and the face of a nation, doubled to lead off the bottom of the 11th. Isiah Kiner-Falefa sacrificed him to third. Addison Barger worked a walk. But Yamamoto broke Alejandro Kirk’s bat with one of his signature splitters, and Betts, the shortstop snagged the easy chopper, stepped on second base and fired to first for the double play. The Dodgers, who became the first team since the 2000 Yankees to repeat, were on the field almost before the Blue Jays understood what had just happened to them.
Smith tackled Yamamoto from behind. Their teammates raced in from the dugout and the bullpen to join them. They jumped up and down on exhausted legs and hugged one another with spent arms and screamed with hoarse throats.
Of course this World Series came down to extra innings in Game 7. It could not be contained by the laws of physics, the columns of scorebooks or even, at times, by the customs of human decency. At one point in Game 7, the only daylight between the teams came when the umpires pushed the players apart. Counting the 18-inning Game 3, this was the first Fall Classic that featured more than eight games’ worth of baseball. Only three of the games were truly close—Games 1, 2, 4 and 5 were decided by an average of five runs—but neither team ever seemed overmatched.
Still this one was loopier than most. The Dodgers used all four of their World Series starting pitchers, two—Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow—on no days’ rest. The Blue Jays used three of theirs. The fourth, Kevin Gausman, said he would have been available had the game continued.
And for a while it appeared it might go forever. The Blue Jays never seemed to go away. Twice the Dodgers won in what should have been backbreaking fashion—the 18-inning Game 3, and then the wild double play to snuff out a rally in Game 6—but Toronto just kept fighting. It won Game 4, and it nearly won this one.
Los Angeles’s roster boasts 44 All-Star Game appearances and 22 World Series rings. For the Blue Jays, those figures are 29 and three. The Dodgers’ record $328 million payroll has made some observers question whether they are ruining baseball. The Blue Jays were not interested in narratives, just in wins.
Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas (72) celebrates with Shohei Ohtani after his game-tying home run in the ninth inning. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Game 7 pitted two Hall of Famers against one another, one who had been preparing for this start all series and one who learned for sure he would get it after Game 6.
When manager John Schneider told Max Scherzer he would start Game 3, Scherzer said, “O.K., so 3 and 7.” The assignment made him, at 41 years and 97 days, the oldest pitcher to start a winner-take-all World Series game. When Schneider walked by him after Game 6, which the Blue Jays lost on a brutal game-ending double play, he said, Scherzer looked “ready to kill somebody.” Schneider added, “So you trust him to be ready for this environment.”
The Dodgers trust Shohei Ohtani as well, although they were not sure what to expect from him. After Game 6, they reviewed their options. Glasnow, the Game 3 starter, had gotten the final three outs that night. Blake Snell, who started Games 1 and 5, would be on short rest; Yamamoto, who started Games 2 and 6, would be on even shorter rest. Despite playing 18 innings—and reaching base a postseason record nine times—in Game 3, then receiving IV fluids and pitching six innings 17 hours later in Game 4, Ohtani assured them that he was available on the mound for Game 6. (This is a man who, offered the chance to come out of Game 3 in the 11th due to leg cramps that had him hobbling around the bases, declined, and who, asked in the sixth inning of Game 4 how many more frames he could go, said three.)
He might have been a more traditional option in relief. But there is nothing traditional about Ohtani. The Dodgers chose to start him largely because of the rule that allows him to remain in the game as the DH once he comes off the mound—but only if he starts the game. If he relieves, when he exits as a hitter, he exits as a pitcher. Between that regulation and the logistical nightmare of getting him to the bullpen to warm up in between at-bats, this pathway was the obvious choice. But Ohtani, still recovering from surgery to repair his left elbow, had only started on three days’ rest once in his career, and that came when rain cut the first outing to two innings and 30 pitches.
“This is Game 7,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot of things that people haven’t done, and you’ve just got to trust your players and try to win a baseball game.”
Ohtani opened the game with a single, took second on a grounder to first and took third on a deep fly ball to center field. Betts grounded out to end the frame, which gave Ohtani two and a half minutes to dart into the dugout, remove his batting armor, grab his glove, huddle with pitching coach Mark Prior and bench coach Danny Lehman, and take the mound for his six warm-up pitches. Just under five minutes—and, it must be said, two and a half minutes after the rules stipulate—after he ran out Betts’s grounder, Ohtani threw ball one to George Springer. Springer, visibly wincing on every swing as he managed a right-side injury that cost him two games, singled but was retired on a strike-’im-out-throw-’im-out double play to end the inning.
Ohtani caught a break in the second inning. His secondary command was spotty, so he had to lean on his fastball. He walked Bo Bichette to lead off the frame and allowed a single to Addison Barger. With two outs, Ernie Clement knocked a single to right field, but the hobbled Bichette had to hold at third. Andrés Giménez waved at an inside fastball to end the threat.
Springer led off the next inning with another single. When Nathan Lukes bunted him over and he took third on a wild pitch, the Dodgers elected to walk Guerrero intentionally. That brought up Bichette. The first pitch he saw was a slider that slid right into the middle of the zone. As 44,713 roaring fans shook the Rogers Centre, Springer and Guerrero each raised their hands and jogged home. Bichette slowly limped after them.
Bichette knew he would be a free agent after the World Series ended. He knew aggravating the injury could hurt his long-term earning potential. He did not care. “It’s the World Series,” he said. “So none of that stuff really matters.”
The homer ended Ohtani’s night on the mound after 2 ⅓ innings pitched. The Dodgers manufactured a run in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the inning, 194-pound floppy-haired lefty Justin Wrobleski buzzed 5’ 11” shortstop Andrés Giménez with an inside fastball. On the next pitch, he hit him. The benches—and the bullpens—cleared. The umpires issued warnings. The Dodgers scored another run in the top of the sixth; the Blue Jays did the same in the bottom of the frame. With his sixth-inning single, Clement set a record with his 10th multi-hit game this postseason; with his eighth-inning double, he set a record with his 30th hit.
To cap one of the finest offensive postseasons of all time—he had more hits this postseason (28) than swings and misses (25) and more homers (eight) than strikeouts (seven)—Guerrero dazzled with his glove. He made a diving stop and flipped to first in the first; snared a rope just beyond the foul line to end the fourth; and started a nifty double play to end the seventh. He roared after each one as if he’d hit the game-winning homer.
Both pitching staffs were topsy-turvy after such a grind of a series. Snell got four outs. The Blue Jays threw Louis Varland, presumably pitching in long sleeves to keep his right arm attached to his body, who set a postseason record by appearing in his 15th game (Toronto played 18); Chris Bassitt, the starter turned relief ace; and Trey Yesavage, the 22-year-old pitching on two days’ rest after yet another postseason masterpiece in Game 5, who allowed a home run to Max Muncy in the eighth inning that brought the game within one. Then came Rojas, and then came Smith.
And most of all, then came Yamamoto, who was named World Series MVP. The Dodgers did not, as it turned out, ruin baseball. In fact, they gave us more of it.
Treinador campeão do mundo com a Argentina em 1978, César Luis Menotti faleceu no último domingo (6). A divulgação da morte do veterano de 85 anos foi feita pela Associação de Futebol da Argentina (AFA).
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Embora não tenha tido um grande destaque como jogador, El Flaco, como era conhecido, teve uma passagem rápida pelo Brasil, tendo vestido a camisa da Juventus-SP. No entanto, o profissional tornou-se referência como técnico.
O primeiro grande trabalho do treinador foi com o Huracán, onde permaneceu entre 1971 e 1974. Nesse período, o comandante conseguiu tirar o clube de 45 anos sem conquistar um título nacional e venceu o Campeonato Argentino em 1973. Inclusive, esse foi o último troféu na elite do país.
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Devido ao grande trabalho com o El Globo, Menotti foi promovido a comandante da Argentina em 1975 visando a Copa do Mundo de 1978. E em casa, a lenda foi responsável pela primeira conquista da Albiceleste no maior torneio de futebol. E no ano seguinte, venceu o Mundial Sub-20 com os hermanos.
Referência em seu país, o treinador foi contratado pelo Barcelona, onde conquistou uma Copa do Rei, uma Copa da Liga Espanhola e uma Supercopa da Espanha. Após o período na Catalunha, o profissional passou por Peñarol, Boca Juniors, Atlético de Madrid, mas sem o mesmo sucesso em relação ao início de sua carreira.
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RELAÇÃO COM MARADONA
Maior ídolo do futebol na Argentina, Maradona recebeu sua primeira oportunidade com a camisa da Albiceleste sob comando de Menotti. Juntos, os dois conquistaram a Copa do Mundo Sub-20, além de terem trabalhado juntos no Barcelona.
No entanto, a relação dos dois foi um pouco estremecida pelo fato do técnico não ter convocado o camisa 10 para o Mundial de 1978. Ainda assim, o Dios cravou que El Flaco foi o melhor treinador com quem trabalhou na carreira em uma entrevista dada em 1996.