Carlos Carvalhal says he and his coaching staff "changed almost everything" about their approach to football after suffering relegation from the Premier League with Swansea City in 2018.
Carvalhal made a name for himself in the English game by leading Sheffield Wednesday to the Championship play-off final in 2016, where they were beaten by Hull City.
Wednesday were then beaten in the semi-finals after finishing fourth under Carvalhal in 2016-17. That remains their highest second-tier finish since 1990-91, when they were promoted in third.
However, Carvalhal left the Owls for Swansea City in December 2017, only winning eight of 25 games in south Wales and overseeing their relegation from the Premier League the following May.
Carvalhal has since enjoyed something of a renaissance with the likes of Rio Ave and Braga, before moving to Spain to keep Celta Vigo up with a final-day victory over Barcelona last season.
The Portuguese coach is proud of his achievements since leaving English football, claiming his stint at Swansea provoked a change in his approach to the game.
"After England, we were at Sheffield Wednesday for two and half years and half a year at Swansea, then we stopped for one season," Carvalhal told Stats Perform at the Thinking Football Summit.
"We decided to stop and reflect on the things that we did and the things that we wanted to do in the future. We changed almost everything. In this moment, we saw football in a different way.
"We are not basing it on the system [anymore], we are basing it on spaces and creating spaces. It's the way that we look at football, completely differently, like a chess player looking at the table.
"The results were fantastic, I can tell you.
"We took a big risk to go to Rio Ave. Rio Ave is a medium club in Portugal. We were in the Premier League, and nobody from the Premier League goes to Rio Ave. But we decided to go there because it's a calm club, there were some good players, we could put our ideas on the pitch.
"The reality was that we achieved Europa League [qualification]. Braga the same, we continued improving, in Celta Vigo we improved and we have stopped now to refresh a little again.
"I know €14 million was raised in Rio Ave with the players that we developed, which is very good for the club. Almost €100 million at Braga, and now in Celta Vigo with Gabri Veiga and Javi Galan probably about €50 million. So we are improving players.
"It's something that of course we are very proud of and something that we want to do in the future in the next challenge."
Carvalhal oversaw Rio Ave's best points return in their Primeira Liga history in 2019-20 (55 points), before leading Braga to their third – and most recent – Taca de Portugal one year later.
The 57-year-old has been out of work since leaving Celta in June, but he is ready to get back into the game and believes taking regular breaks is crucial to stay fresh.
"The gaps, I need to rest for my mental health, which I care about. Usually, you never see me have problems with other coaches, with referees and so on, because of these kinds of things.
"I decided [to move] because we did very well [at Braga]. We did the best the club has done in its history. In two seasons, we won the cup and we reached three finals.
"We achieved the quarter-final of the Europa League, 17 players from the academy played in the first team. At Celta Vigo, we arrived at the club in a very difficult position. We finished in 13th.
"There's a lot of pressure. So I spoke with my staff, I said I need to stop for three or four months and after, we go back to the market. So at this moment, we are on the market again.
"We are not under pressure, it's not about money. We can't say that we don't ever go for the money because we never know what will happen tomorrow, but I would prefer to go because of passion and football. Let's see what happens."
United States 4-2 Jamaica (5-2 agg): Hosts secure place in Nations League semi-finals
A dominant first-half display helped the United States to book a place in the Concacaf Nations League semi-final as they brushed aside Jamaica 4-2 on Monday.
The USA won their quarter-final 5-2 on aggregate, with the Reggae Boyz unable to make up the deficit despite Demarai Gray's second-half brace at CITYPARK.
Mauricio Pochettino's side had a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg, and came out of the blocks quickly in the second, with Timothy Weah striking the post after a lovely team move just three minutes in.
Christian Pulisic broke the deadlock 10 minutes later, catching Andre Blake with a first-time shot when one-on-one and the captain created the second goal too as his shot deflected in off the unfortunate Di'Shon Bernard.
Ricardo Pepi, who scored the winner in the first leg, put the USA out of sight just before half-time, forcing a turnover in possession before curling a delightful effort past Blake.
Gray attempted to start a comeback for Jamaica after the break, netting his first goal seven minutes after the restart with a superb volley near the penalty spot.
Weah restored the USA's three-goal advantage shortly after, finishing from close range with a superb volley, with Gray's second, a rebound from a saved Renaldo Cephas shot, proving only another consolation.
Data Debrief: Home-field advantage
The USA looked much more comfortable for their home leg of the tie, which should come as no surprise as they have now won all 12 Concacaf Nations League matches played on American soil, outscoring their opponents 38-6 in those matches.
In fact, they have scored at least four goals in St. Louis for the sixth time (13 games), only doing so more often in Washington, D.C. (seven times in 26 games).
Pepi's goal was also his 10th for the national team - he is the second-youngest player (21 years, 314 days) to score 10 competitive goals for the USA after Pulisic - 20 years, 288 days.
Test cricket will 'die' without Australia, India and England efforts, warns Clark
Test cricket will "die" without regular meetings between Australia, India and England, former Aussie bowler Stuart Clark warned.
Australia face India in five Tests between 22 November and 7 January, with the first match set to begin in Perth later this week.
India will be looking to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after triumphing 2-1 on home soil in the teams' last series in 2022-23.
But Clark, who represented Australia between 2006 and 2009, believes the upcoming series has even greater significance due to the growing popularity of short-form and franchise cricket.
Speaking exclusively to Stats Perform, the former bowler warned the traditional format needs competitive meetings between Australia, India and England to maintain fan interest.
"If you compare to what we've just seen with this one-day series, people are still pretty interested in Australia – or at least in England and India – about Test cricket," he said.
"But there's a bigger story around Test cricket in that the international summer is only important to those three countries, whereas a lot of these other countries around the world, they're actually funded by their T20 tournaments, that's where they make their money.
"Whereas Australia, England, India it's in reverse. I think for the the greater good of the game, Australia, India and England need to really try and promote Test cricket and that's the biggest story to all of this.
"You know the Ashes will always exist because there's such a big rivalry and they want to beat Australia.
"But the bigger problem is what happens if India or Australia become weak and don't want to play one another? Or England become weak and don't want to play India?"
With Australia set to host the next Ashes series in 2025-26, Clark is aware of the need for Pat Cummins' team to test themselves against top-calibre opposition.
"If Test cricket doesn't remain the priority for those countries, then test cricket really dies. That's what no one wants to see, and the players are pretty adamant about that as well," he continued.
"Look at South Africa, look at West Indies. This series out here against India is a really big series, as it should be.
"Hopefully it's competitive and hopefully Australia win, but what we want it to be is competitive to try and grow that game.
"It's such an important series. These next two summers really set the tone for the following two summers, which are usually pretty dour."
Jonathan David names Barcelona as dream club amid Lille uncertainty
Jonathan David admits it is his dream to play for Barcelona as he prepares to enter the final six months of his Lille contract.
The Canada international is into his fifth season with the Ligue 1 side but is due to become a free agent at the end of the current campaign.
Lille have attempted to persuade David with a new deal, though he looks set to depart Stade Pierre-Mauroy in 2025 – potentially as early as January if a club is prepared to pay a transfer fee.
However, while the 24-year-old is seemingly open to a move to Barcelona, he suggested he would prefer to wait until the end of the campaign before taking the next step in his career.
"Going to a club midseason is never easy," he told The Athletic. "It's not like the beginning of a season where you have a pre-season, you get to know your team-mates, you have time to gel.
"In January, things are very hectic. It's about right now. It's tougher."
"[Barcelona] was always the team I grew up supporting. When you grow up supporting a team, it's your dream to play for them.
"Some people might say, 'Oh, he's staying at Lille, this is a downgrade, he's not getting better'. But for me, there's always opportunities to get better."
David has scored 13 goals in 19 games for Lille in all competitions this season, including goals against heavyweight sides Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus in the Champions League.
Including penalties, eight of those goals have been scored via his stronger right boot, four with his left and one with his head – an area the forward accepts he can still improve.
"Aerially, I can get better," he said. "Getting that header on target and scoring.
"I can get in good positions and win headers but the finishing touch, I'm still missing. With my back to goal, I can also get better."
David is averaging a goal every 112 minutes across all competitions this season, which compares to one every 139 minutes last season and 131 in 2022-23.
However, he still has some way to go to match the 18 goals scored in 27 league games for former club Gent in 2019-20.
"Things are good right now because I'm scoring goals," David said.
"But is this the best I've played in my life? Probably not. For me, it was my second year in Belgium. That was the season of my life."
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