RUBEN AMORIM has emerged as the frontrunner to be Erik ten Hag’s permanent successor at Manchester United.
The Sporting CP boss has a strong coaching resume at the age of just 39.
Taking over the role in 2020 following a short spell as Braga manager, his short career has already become summarised by breaking records.
At Braga, he became the first manager to beat Benfica – where he had played for nine years as a player – for 65 years, and then at Sporting, he won the club’s first league title in 19 years.
He added the Taca da Liga (Portuguese League Cup) in the same season to score a double, before following up with a repeat victory of the trophy in the season after and eventually landing a second league title last season.
His exploits on the field with his 3-4-3 system championing youth progression have seen him highlighted as one of Europe’s brightest tactical coaches and linked with some of the biggest jobs in world football.
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Man Utd are the latest club to come calling after interest from Liverpool, Manchester City and West Ham, and look set to land the Portuguese tactician.
Amorim’s rise has inevitably drawn comparisons with one of his Old Trafford predecessors, Jose Mourinho.
Special One 2.0?
However, there is likely a good reason for that.
After suffering a career-ending ACL injury at the age of 32, Amorim attended a coaching course at the Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon with lectures led by Mourinho alongside seven-time Primeira Liga winner Antonio Veloso.
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Dubbed the Special One 2.0, Amorim also had an internship at Man Utd under Mourinho in 2018, and has previously cited the Special One as his “reference point” in coaching.
He has played down any comparisons between the pair, saying of his idol: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won’t be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”
But Amorim has already become unique in his own way, with his move to Sporting seeing him become the then third-most expensive managerial appointment ever in a deal worth £8.3million (€10m).
His first job in coaching at third division team Casa Pia saw him guide the team to promotion despite being handed a six-point deduction and Amorim being briefly suspended from management because he did not have the proper coaching badges.
Although, he does seem to have the same kind of temperament as Mourinho, with Amorim being dubbed “a master trash-talker” who tries to play mind games with his opponents.
Where have we seen that before?
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Portuguese football expert Tom Kundert said of his demeanour: “He’s very open in press conferences, happy to respond to all questions – even the stupid ones – with an informative answer.
“And he also retains a remarkably jovial demeanour, even when the pressure is on.
“He’s one of these coaches who fosters a superb spirit among the whole squad, and that is no doubt the fruit of his communicative approach.
“In five years as a coach, I cannot remember him ever criticising any of his players in public and I cannot recall one news story of an unhappy player.
“When things do go wrong for Sporting, which has not happened much under Amorim, he shifts all the focus on himself.
“He will say things like, ‘We lost because Sporting have a coach who is still inexperienced and is learning the trade and who got it wrong today’.
“Overall, he has a very affable personality and generally does a great job at swerving any controversies or spats with rival managers.”
Another way he is unique is with a fan account on social media dedicated as a countdown page to Amorim’s next press conference.
Amorim has remained in touch with the former Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Tottenham boss, even though their relationship has evolved to a more equal standing now.
Then-Roma boss Mourinho messaged Amorim after Sporting knocked Arsenal out of the Europa League in 2023 to say: “The old and the new Mourinho are still in the competition.”
Married life
Work does not stop behind the scenes for Amorim.
He is a father of two and is married to Maria João Diogo, who have one son together.
Maria has built her own business in interior design with an academic degree in telecommunications engineering.
The couple got married in 2013 in front of 160 guests at a beautiful ceremony at the Palácio de S. Marcos church in Coimbra.
Players like Nuno Gomes, Miguel Vítor, Hugo Viana, Luís Filipe and Quim were all present. As was Maria’s brother, Antero Henrique.
Antero was famously the former Sporting Director at PSG – and was a Man Utd target – before the Red Devils switched their attention to Dan Ashworth.
He was responsible for the most expensive transfer ever – bringing Neymar to the Ligue 1 giants in a record-breaking £198million from Barcelona.
Antero also managed to convince Kylian Mbappe to snub Real Madrid, when he moved from Monaco.
While Dani Alves, who was fielding several offers from Premier League clubs, was persuaded that his future belonged in the French capital in 2017.
Before his tenure at PSG, Antero modernised Porto’s academy and introduced handball and basketball to the organisation.
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A club museum and TV channel were also insisted upon by the ambitious football director.
Another sister of Maria, Ines Diogo, is married to one of Amorim’s former team-mates in Luís Filipe.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
