Manchester United is set for life under a new head coach after the club on Friday announced the appointment of Portuguese Ruben Amorim.
The Sporting boss is set to assume his new position at Old Trafford on November 11, and succeeds Dutch manager Erik ten Hag, whom the club parted ways with earlier in the week.
Amorim is one of the fastest-growing young coaches in world football with a leadership style that has not only earned him success on the field but has placed him on the radar of some of the biggest clubs in European football.
With United having won the race for his signature following rumours of a move to Liverpool to replace Jurgen Klopp last summer and a possible move to the other side of Manchester to replace Pep Guardiola at City, Afrosport takes a look at why the Portuguese is highly sought after.
🚨 Rúben Amorim is the new Manchester United Head Coach, starting November 11!#MUFC #manchesterunited pic.twitter.com/V3jbwtoyZA
— AfroSport (@AfroSportTV) November 1, 2024
Who is Ruben Amorim?
Amorim, like many other coaches, played professional football, and he spent most of his career playing in Portugal for Belenenses, Benfica, and Braga, as well as a very short spell at Qatari club Al Wakrah.
The former midfielder, who enjoyed success at club level, also played across all age grades for Portugal before making his senior team debut in 2010, representing the country at two World Cups (2010 & 2014).
Which teams has he previously coached?
Amorim started off at Portuguese third division club Casa Pia before securing a move to the Braga B team, also in the third tier, winning seven of his eight matches before assuming the head coach role with the senior team.
He soon came into his own, leading Braga to triumph in the 2019-2020 Taça da Liga after beating Porto in the final. He also led the club to a third-place finish in the league and the round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League, losing only two games in a 13-game stretch.
Amorim, again, got the big jump to Sporting, whom he led to a fourth-place finish despite only being there for three months, while creating a distinctive playing identity and turning around a toxic environment in a short while.
His first full season in charge at the Estadio de Alvalade, however, spelled huge success for the Lisbon club as he led them to Primeira Liga triumph, their first league title in 19 years, adding another Taca da Liga title.
He won the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira and another Taca da Liga in his second year and led the team to an improved outing in the UEFA Champions League before they were eventually knocked out by Manchester City in the round of 16.
His third season in the club did not bring any silverware as they lost much of their squad to bigger European clubs, but in the 2023-24 season, he won the league again, beating rivals Benfica by 10 points.
Why have Manchester United decided to bring him on?
Although young, Amorim has proven he can win and can lead a dressing room, having coached players that have gone on to don the colours of bigger clubs. Coupled with his success on the pitch and the number of silverware won, the Portuguese has emerged as a leading name among the ‘coaching new school’.
Amorim has been in the dugout 256 times in his career and has recorded 182 wins as well as 37 draws and 37 losses for a whopping 71.09% win rate.
His record at Sporting, however, made him the proverbial talk of the town and led to his move to United. At the Lisbon club, he was in charge of 228 games, guiding them to 161 wins, 34 draws, and 33 losses for a win rate of approximately 71%.
According to Opta, since he took over at Sporting in March 2020, the club has amassed the highest win percentage (77%) of any team across Europe’s top 10 leagues, with 120 wins in 156 league matches.
77% – Since March 2020 when Rúben Amorim took charge of them, Sporting CP have the highest win percentage of any team across Europe’s top 10 leagues (77% – 120/156). Machine. pic.twitter.com/xngfVwFhnG
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 1, 2024
In the 14 games Sporting has played this season, they have won 13 and drawn just one, scoring 40 goals, including in the Primeira Liga, where they are currently top of the standings with nine wins from nine games, 30 goals scored and just two conceded.
39 – At 39 years old, Rúben Amorim is Manchester United’s youngest manager since a 33-year-old Wilf McGuinness took charge of them on Boxing Day 1970 against Derby County. Baptism. pic.twitter.com/3SroEmilGu
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 1, 2024
What will he bring to the club?
Amorim becomes the sixth permanent manager United have appointed since 2013, when legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson departed after his 26-year reign.
He is already making history, as at 39, he becomes United’s youngest manager since 33-year-old Wilf McGuinness coached the team on Boxing Day 1970 against Derby County.
Amorim, however, is no stranger to pressure, as the former Portugal international made a meteoric rise from coaching in the Portuguese third division to the top flight within months.
He was faced with uncertainty at Sporting, where he was handed the mantle to lead a disjointed team that had not won the league title in almost two decades and had lost the hearts of its fans, after some supporters attacked the players and staff in their training base.
He dealt with it well and showed that he has great man management skills, but United is not Sporting; it’s five to tenfold bigger and is arguably the biggest club in England, as well as one of the most followed in the world, with a tradition of winning and a hungry fanbase that hasn’t tasted continued success since Ferguson’s retirement 11 years ago.
The Premier League giants are in need of a manager who can put his stamp on the team and conduct them to play with a recognised style, something they thought they were getting in Ten Hag, but the Dutchman failed to proffer solutions to any of their lingering problems for the better part of three years.
With Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 style that is built heavily on possession play and a constant knack for high pressing, the Red Devils can shore up their defence that constantly leaks goals and make use of different patterns of play to help ball retention and create constant problems for their opposition.
The former Benfica and Braga midfielder is also fluid in his approach, as he has been known to switch his formation when needed, but one thing is always clear: his team’s desire to hold on to the ball, press the opposition, defend their post, and score as many goals as possible.
He comes into a United side beaming with talents but are currently 14th in the league and 21st in the Europa League. Whether he would be an instant success is left unknown, but if the players buy into his philosophy and the new club hierarchy provides him with enough time and support to spread his ideology into the team, then United faithfuls can be assured that a new dawn of improved football is coming to Old Trafford.
