While Julian Nagelsmann (34) acts as a UFO in the world of football as he manages one of the biggest European clubs despite his young age and continues to impress with his tactical skills, Rúben Amorim is also part of of the best young coaches of the moment like Matthias Jaissle (33, Red Bull Salzburg). Only 37 years old, the Portuguese technician already has five titles to his credit with 3 Portuguese League Cups (2020 with Braga as well as 2021 and 2022 with Sporting), 1 Liga Bwin (2021 with Sporting) and 1 Supercup of the Portugal (2022 with Sporting). A high level of performance for someone who seemed like a novice. Ending his career with Benfica on April 4, 2017, the Portuguese international (14 caps) took charge of a club only a year later. Passed by Casa Pia then by the reserve of Braga before leading the first teamhe participated in the hatching of a certain Francisco Trincão before being transferred to Sporting CP for 10 million euros.
Rúben Amorim put Sporting CP in their place
A crazy sum for a coach, especially between two Portuguese teams. Slowly installing his 3-4-3 with the Leões, he set up a perfectly well-honed collective and sublimated by the talent of Pedro Gonçalves to win the title which the capital club had been chasing since 2001/2002. At the time, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo was patient in the Sporting CP U19 team. Having come back from afar, the Lisbon club had experienced the crisis in the summer of 2018 with the departure of many executive or promising players (Gelson Martins, Rui Patricio, William Carvalo, Cristiano Piccini, Daniel Podence, Merih Demiral, Matheus Pereira, Nani, Rafael Leão …) Three years later, the momentum was much more positive with a coveted title and the return to the Champions League. Losing only Nuno Mendes who left for PSG and Luis Maximiano (promising double) in Granada, as well as young people who left on loan (Eduardo Quaresma, Rafael Camacho, Jovane Cabral or even Joelson Fernandes), Rúben Amorim was able to strengthen his team.
The losses of Nuno Mendes and Luis Maximiano were easily made up for by the arrivals of Rúben Vinagre (22, Wolverhampton) and João Virgínia (21, Everton) while Manuel Ugarte (20, Famalicão), Ricardo Esgaio (28, Braga) and Pablo Sarabia (29, PSG) have improved some positions. Moreover this winter, Sporting made two alterations with the promising Marcus Edwards (23 years old, Vitória Guimarães) and Islam Slimani (33 years old / Olympique Lyonnais). Precious arrivals for the rest of the season which will be useful as Sporting CP plays on all fronts. Qualified in the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup against FC Porto, Sporting is still in the race to retain its title. An exceptional FC Porto which has a six-point lead, but will have to deal for the second half of the season with the departure of its best player for Liverpool: Luis Diaz. A concrete objective like that of trying to achieve a feat against Manchester City in the knockout stages of the Champions League. It will be very complicated against the Sky Blues, but Sporting CP will not play the expiatory victims for all that.
Made to be one of the greatest
Challenging Pep Guardiola is a challenge for most coaches and Rúben Amorim will once again face what is done best in Europe. In the group stage, he shone with his team by finishing second behind Ajax Amsterdam, but ahead of Borussia Dortmund. Developing an attractive and effective game in the image of the 3-0 inflicted on the Marsupials, Rúben Amorim begins to explode in the face of European football. He has yet to continue his progress having started with a heavy 5-2 defeat against Ajax Amsterdam, but his work is full of praise. Its sporting director Hugo Viana had also said this when revealing the round of 16 between Sporting CP and Manchester City: “Pep is considered one of the best coaches in the world, if not the best. Personally, I think Ruben will reach this level, because he is currently among the most promising in Europe.
Recently shielded until June 2024 by his club, Rúben Amorim has a release clause of 30 million euros. A crazy figure which testifies to its importance within the Leões project. Announced in the viewfinder from RB Leipzig, Manchester United, Leicester or Leeds during this season, Rúben Amorim stayed to finish this season and could continue his adventure in the Portuguese capital. “I’ve already talked about my future and I don’t want to dwell on it. I don’t get anything because I have my agent Raul [Costa ndlr], who knows it’s not worth calling me. So, as I said at the end of the year, whatever happens, I will coach Sporting this season. he explained at a press conference last December. In the meantime, the biggest clubs are on the lookout and are intentionally monitoring the progress of his work. There is no doubt that Rúben Amorim will soon join a great team as he has already made his mark on Portuguese football.
