GettyRúben Amorim
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 09:59
This is how it goes in the football world: Erik ten Hag‘s office is barely empty when his successor is already ready. Rúben Amorim, the trainer of Portuguese Sporting CP, is the top candidate for the vacancy at Manchester United.
Sporting has confirmed the English club’s interest in the 39-year-old Amorim. The only obstacle, it seems: the Portuguese still has a contract in Portugal until the summer of 2026. United must pay a buyout sum to Sporting of reportedly ten million euros. The Portuguese club reports that United is willing to pay the amount.
Amorim himself would also like to move to Manchester. Who is this young, relatively inexperienced coach?
How experienced and successful is Amorim?
You cannot say that Manchester United is bringing in a trainer who has already made it all with Amorim. The 39-year-old coach has never trained a club outside Portugal and has only been head coach in the Portuguese league since 2019. But not everyone can tell what he did in those four seasons.
After a year in the dugout at SC Braga, he moved to Sporting Clube de Portugal, where he immediately won the national title in his first season. Good, because the club has not been champion for eighteen years, top player Bruno Fernandes has just left for Manchester United and ultras had just stormed the training complex.
Under Amorim, Sporting pulls itself out of the mud.
ANPRúben Amorim with the Portuguese Cup
After a second place and fourth place, Amorim won the Portuguese national title for the second time in his career with Sporting last year, with 96 goals ahead of and a ten-point gap on number two Benfica. He also wins the Portuguese Cup.
Not everything goes smoothly. In the group stage of the Champions League in his second season, Amorim is defeated by Ajax 1-5 at home, thanks to four goals from Sébastien Haller. It is the biggest home defeat that the trainer has suffered in Lisbon. But after countless years without a prize, Sporting is learning again what winning is under Amorim.
What does Amorim have with Mourinho?
The fate of every promising Portuguese trainer is that sooner or later a comparison will be made with ‘The Special One’.
Amorim will also have to endure comparisons with Mourinho. Not only because he followed a postgraduate course at the University of Lisbon where Mourinho teaches, but also because he sometimes takes Mourinho as a reference point in his approach to the game. Adapt to the opponent if necessary.
ANP2022: Rúben Amorim and José Mourinho during a practice match
Amorim has the ability to make his teams play with enormous intensity. Moreover, he swears by forging a close-knit team.
Amorim is famous for his clear communication, both to players and to the press. Football players must feel comfortable and understood.
“Creating a strong bond with players is crucial,” Amorim told Portuguese media. “It comes down to being able to relate to people. A football coach is not like an engineer. It’s not just pushing a few buttons and having success. No, you have to have a strong connection with the group you’re working with.”
What is his playing style?
As a trainer, you expect a hard-working, reliable defensive midfielder to play a slightly more conservative style than Amorim uses.
The former Belenenses and Benfica player always plays with three men at the back, in 3-4-3 or 5-3-2. He wants to attack and build up from behind, standing high, especially with his last line.
ANPRúben Amorim
They will recognize that attacking, energetic playing style at Casa Pia, at the third Portuguese level, as well as Braga B and the Braga first team.
Amorim wants to entertain the audience, that much is clear. Just like Erik ten Hag did at Ajax and also wanted to do at Manchester United.
