Who is Rubén Amorim? New Manchester United signing seen as emerging managerial talent
Manchester United are reportedly close to hiring Ruben Amorim from Sporting Lisbon to replace Erik Ten Hag, landing one of the European management’s rising stars. The Red Devils’ approach is in line with other big clubs on the continent like Liverpool and Bayern Munich, who have respectively hired Arne Slot and Vincent Kompany in recent months as a new generation of managerial talent begins to fill some of the largest vacancies in Europe. Amorim, 39, was also considered for some notable roles – his name was in the mix at Liverpool before hiring Slot, and he had conversations with West Ham last spring before leaving with Julen Lopetegui.
Although Amorim is somewhat inexperienced, his record during his six-year managerial career so far inspires confidence as United aim to turn the tide after a turbulent period under Ten Hag. Here’s a look back at Amorim’s managerial career leading up to his major move to England.
Trophies
Braga
Sporting Lisbon
- Primeira Liga: 2020-21, 2023-24
- Taca de Liga: 2020-21, 2021-22
Individual
- Primeira Liga Coach of the Season: 2020-21, 2023-24
Executive career
Pia House |
July 1, 2018-January. 7, 2019 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
17 |
3 |
+14 |
75% |
Braga B |
September 16, 2019-Dec. 23, 2019 |
11 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
27 |
7 |
+20 |
72.73% |
Braga |
December 23, 2019 – March 4, 2020 |
13 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
27 |
13 |
+14 |
76.92% |
Sporting Lisbon |
March 4, 2020 – today |
226 |
161 |
33 |
34 |
497 |
195 |
+302 |
70.61% |
Until now, Amorim has coached exclusively in his native Portugal, starting his career with third division side Casa Pia in 2018. He resigned from his position in January 2019 after being suspended for a year for giving instructions during a match without having the required qualifications. coaching licenses, with the team also benefiting from a points deduction.
The suspension was then lifted in September 2019, when he took charge of Braga’s reserve team, which also played in the third division. He won seven out of eight games in three months before replacing first team manager Ricardo Sa Pinto. He took over when they were eighth in the Primeira Liga and took them to third place with 10 wins from 13 games. Amorim also led Braga to their first trophy in four years, winning the Taca da Liga in January 2020, and oversaw their first away win at Benfica in 65 years.
After three months at Braga, he landed a career-changing job at Sporting Lisbon after Silas was fired. Sporting spent around $10 million on his release clause from Braga, making him one of the most expensive executives at the time, and the club finished fourth that season.
Sporting underwent a major rebuild ahead of the 2020-21 season, with future Bayern player Joao Palhinha and future Tottenham Hotspur defender Pedro Porro joining the club alongside a handful of others. Amorim won his second consecutive Taca da Liga that season and led Sporting to their first league title in 19 years, winning Manager of the Year honors in the process.
They won the cup again in the 2021–22 season and finished second, with Amorim becoming the fastest coach to win 50 matches in the Primeira Liga that season. They finished fourth the following season before winning the cup and the league in the 2023–24 season. So far this campaign, Sporting are off to a perfect start in the domestic league with nine wins from nine and sit eighth in the UEFA Champions League with seven points from nine.
Style of play
Amorim prefers to play in a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1, settling on the positional style through formative experience very early in his tenure at Casa Pia.
“His coaching career actually began at Casa Pia, then a third division club, where it almost ended as soon as it started,” journalist Guillem Balague said, according to the BBC. “He lost his first two games and, with his pride hurt and his doubts setting in, he announced that if he lost the third game he would quit. In the next game he changed the system and played a trio behind for the first time The system “
Amorimi’s teams like to possess the ball and have defensive stability which allows them to have a multifaceted offensive approach. They also build from the back, with center backs frequently serving as the starting point of an attack, helping to overload the midfield. The front three, on the other hand, are flexible to change positions when looking for space. Collectively, Amorim’s teams also build high-intensity pressing when out of possession.
The current Sporting manager got the best out of a handful of players, several of whom went on to play for bigger clubs. Palhinha and Porro are just two names on a list which now includes Manuel Ugarte, who joined Manchester United this summer from Paris Saint-Germain. Striker Viktor Gyokeres, meanwhile, is one of this season’s stars in Europe so far with 16 goals and four assists in 15 games.
Although Amorim happened to spend a week with José Mourinho when he was coaching United before beginning his own coaching career, the 39-year-old’s playing style is a variation of a more attacking approach than Mourinho favorite. Rather, he considers Jorge Jesus a mentor after playing for him for almost a decade at Belenenses, Braga and Benfica.