Ruben Amorim: The Solution to Ferguson's Void?

Manchester United announced the appointment of hotly sought after Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim, the now former manager of Sporting Lisbon. Despite Erik Ten Hag delivering 2 trophies: x1 EFL Cup and x1 FA Cup in 2 seasons, his inconsistent play style culminated in his sacking. During his tenure, Ten Hag received over £200m of investment into signing new players, many of which have been underwhelming.

Thus, will the signing of Amorim finally rectify Manchester United's longstanding issues since Ferguson's retirement? Or is this just another failed prospect, soon to be poisoned by the United chalice?

Ruben Amorim: Dominance in Portugal in a Short Space of Time

Amorim is best known for his time at Sporting Lisbon, yet it is worth diving into his history as a manager, and what led him to his current position as soon to be Manchester United manager.

In his early career, following playing most of his professional career in Portugal, Amorim spent a week long internship with José Mourinho - ironic bearing in mind he would be one of the many successors of Mourinho in Manchester in the future. A week which would've been extremely insightful, this week would prove to be pivotal in his managerial lifecycle.

Amorim officially started working as a manager in 2018-19 with third division team Casa Pia. After losing his first two games, Amorim stated that if he were to lose his third game in charge, he would resign. This match he changed his system, finding a back 3 formation which would be the spine of his managerial philosophy.

Amorim then moved on to Braga in mid-September 2019 in the reserves. 3 months later he became the first team coach, leading Braga to ten wins in 13 in the league, finishing in 3rd, losing just 2 games for the club. Additionally he won the Taça da Liga.

His time at Sporting Lisbon would be a key moment in his career. Keeping in mind that he only had 2-months of top flight experience, Sporting Lisbon took a massive gamble to acquire his services, paying €10m. This gamble would prove to be a risk with massive reward.

In his second season, Amorim won Sporting's first league title in 19 years, breaking the tradition of the FC Porto-Benfica swing which had long dominated the Primeira Liga. Of note, Amorim promoted youth to the first team, following retirements and departing senior players. The result, combined with a consecutive trophy in the Taça da Liga, showed the promise the young manager had.

Even with notable exits from the club in Matheus Nunes, Bruno Fernandes and João Palhinha, Amorim found ways to fill the gaps. This culminated in another win in the Taça da Liga and even a historic 2nd title under his guidance in the Primeira Liga in the 2023-24 season.

Amorim's prestige in Portugal cannot be doubted, winning 3 League Cups, 2 League Titles and 1 Super Cup. Whether he can convert this to England is another question altogether.

A Devout Philosophy and Transparent Character

Amorim comes across as a positive manager who consistently seeks to elevate his players, applauding them for what they do well, rather than placing himself in the limelight. Even with the unavoidable focus of his appointment at Manchester United, Amorim has maintained his focus on Sporting Lisbon. In essence, he creates an environment of strong team spirit, a type of camaraderie which extended beyond the pitch.

His playing style is one of control, domination and intensity. Often setting up in a 3-4-3 or a system that deploys 3 centre-backs, Amorim emphasises the defensive solidity of his two midfielders such as João Palhinha and Matheus Nunes. In this ilk, the attacking freedom of his wing-backs is encouraged, as displayed by the prowess of Nuno Mendes and Pedro Porro. All four of the aforementioned players are now at big teams in the top leagues, reflecting Amorim's pedigree as coach to turn players into potent weapons.

His 3 defenders tend to be mobile, agile defenders who can quickly cover ground if needed, as well as not being afraid to play high. At the top end of the pitch, his wingers and forwards interchange positions to confuse the opposing defence, often leading to gaps appearing.

Looking up to José Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Jorge Jesus (of whom he played under for several years), the combination of leadership, control, domination, intensity, attacking excellence, defensive solidity and oppositional analysis is evident in Amorim's personality and play style.

Recently, Amorim blew away his idol Pep Guardiola in Sporting's 4-1 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League. Main man Victor Gyökeres scored a hat-trick, the Swede now a hot transfer topic for many teams. Could Amorim bring him to Manchester?

Amorim's maturity as a manager is growing with every single game. He looks ready to make the step up in his career.

Manchester United: A Club in Disarray

Since Ferguson's retirement, United have been in complete disarray. Employing a mixture of up and coming managers as well as prestigious managers, they've struggled to find the right manager to lead the team forward and get anywhere close to the success of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Firstly, despite Ten Hag initially showing promise with exciting new ideas and success in the Netherlands, he didn't meet the hype. I've spoken to many of my Dutch friends who are Ajax fans and they were unanimous in Ten Hag being a very dislikeable character in The Netherlands. When he did leave Ajax, many of them were very happy for his exit, specially with him bringing the extremely underwhelming Antony with him.

Compared to the polemic, negative and distasteful environment under Ten Hag, I feel Amorim could restore a strong team spirit back to Old Trafford. For too long, the players have been becoming bigger than the club (Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho to name a few), head-locking with the Dutchman. I can see Amorim eliminating the individuality of players, seeking a team-orientated approach.

How United would setup is very intriguing. As a matter of fact, Amorim will already have a plethora of great options in his starting XI. Players have underwhelmed at Old Trafford but, under the right manager, they could find consistent form and start playing their best football. Here is an example of a potential lineup under Amorim:

Keeping to his 3-4-3 formation, already, the United team looks in good shape. The back 3 is rather mobile, especially when Lenny Yoro comes back from injury. Amorim may seek to play Mazraoui as a RCB with Dalot playing RWB in Yoro's absence. Quite frankly, Maguire and Evans will not be able to cope in Amorim's fast-paced system. Next summer, I could see Maguire moving to a low-block lower half side in the Premier League: if Branthwaite leaves Everton, joining Sean Dyche's side would seem like an ideal linkup.

In the midfield, Mainoo and Ugarte both fit the bill for Amorim's expectation for central midfielders. Ugarte would be the more defensive-minded, whilst Mainoo would offer creativity. Indeed, Mainoo has been susceptible to defensive naivety. Yet, I feel Amorim could make him into a monster midfielder.

Garnacho, Højlund and Rashford could work wonderfully together up top. Both Rashford and Garnacho have excellent movement, combined with Højlund's superb work rate to press from the front. The Dane is a solid striker, of whom I envision Amorim converting into a phenomenal goalscorer. Despite his injuries, Højlund has displayed lots of promise and is just waiting for a manager who will wholeheartedly support him, just like Amorim did with Gyökeres.

I must highlight Bruno Fernandes' omission from this example squad, especially as Fernandes and Amorim have a positive relationship following their time working together at Sporting Lisbon. Amorim may opt to play him as a CM, considering Bruno's hard work rate. Alternatively, he may play Bruno on the right-hand side of Højlund, moving Garnacho to LWB in a very attacking left-hand side for United. I expect Fernandes to be in that starting XI, I'm just not sure where he'll be placed. Garnacho has displayed decent defensive numbers as well, so a LWB role for him with lots of freedom is certainly not out of the question. We also cannot forget Luke Shaw, although I see him operating better as a LCB.

In essence, in my view, Amorim will be inheriting a United side with lots of promising players. Yet, players who need reminding of team spirit and that no one is bigger than the team. The likes of Casemiro, Maguire, Antony, Malacia and Eriksen will likely be moved on as they don't really fit Amorim's style. Additionally, Diallo and Zirkzee will see minutes, giving Amorim a plethora of attacking options.

Will Amorim be yet Another Manager to sip from the Poisoned Chalice?

In conclusion, combining all the points made in this article, I do believe Ruben Amorim has what it takes to be successful at Manchester United. However, United fans must have patience. This will be a long-term project, especially as Amorim needs to change a very toxic culture at Old Trafford which stretches from players to the board room.

As YouTuber Vizeh stated 'we've been here before', regarding the hype around another new United appointment. Ten Hag was thought to be a manager with exciting new ideas, of which they fell through. Amorim could face a similar fate, particularly with the jump to the Premier League being a significant one. A long list of promising managers have come to the Premier League from Europe and have failed including: Patrick Vieira, Frank de Boer, Erik Ten Hag (outside of trophy success), Bruno Lage and Vincent Kompany to name a few. Some of these names have left to do great things, others have faded into nothing.

What United fans can feel is a new sense of optimism for a young, exciting and honourable manager with a clear identity and idea of what he wants for him team and the football club. I do wish Ruben Amorim all the best at United. I'm a big fan of his ideas and him as a person. O desejo o melhor! It is just a shame Ten Hag couldn't stay for longer so United would continue underperforming!