Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Ruben Amorim as the club’s new manager after triggering his £8.3million release clause at Sporting. He signs a three-year contract to take over at Old Trafford and starts on November 11th.
That means interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy will remain in charge against Chelsea this Sunday and will also oversee the Europa League clash with PAOK next Thursday and next weekend’s visit of Leicester in the Premier League.
Amorim, 39, replaces Erik ten Hag, who was sacked by United last week amid an abysmal start to his third season in charge on the back of a poor second campaign.
Following the conclusion of the Dutchman’s two-and-a-half-year reign, Amorim will become the club’s sixth permanent boss since Sir Alex Ferguson and the first managerial appointment of the INEOS era.
He inherits a United side that has found wins difficult to come by in all competitions this season following a record-low eighth-place Premier League finish and Champions League group-stage exit last term.
The Portuguese tactician started his coaching career at third-tier club Casa Pia in 2018 but endured a rocky start.
He offered his resignation in the early stages after receiving a suspended one-year ban for delivering match instructions without the required coaching badges.
In May 2019, Amorim initially agreed to return to Benfica – where he spent nine years as a player – as Under-23s manager before rejecting the role.
He was appointed the head coach of Braga’s reserves team in September of that year. By December, Amorim was first-team boss.
The former midfielder only spent two months in the job but lifted his first piece of silverware in the Taca da Liga – Portugal’s Carabao Cup.
His early impression impressed Sporting so much that the Lisbon giants swept in, paying his £8.3m release clause to lure him from their rivals.
Four years later, the gamble has emphatically paid off. Amorim has established himself as one of the world’s most highly-rated young coaches since ending the club’s 19-year trophy drought.
Sporting have broken Benfica and FC Porto’s era of domestic dominance under Amorim’s watch, winning two Portuguese league titles and also clinching the Taca da Liga on two occasions.
Last season, the Lions won 29 of their 34 league games to finish 10 points above second-placed Benfica. They are now aiming for their first title defence in 70 years and couldn’t have made a better start.
Amorim has overseen nine wins from nine at the start of the league campaign while also taking seven points from nine in the Champions League.
He has impressed with his fluent use of the English language, having spent time in Belfast completing some of his UEFA coaching qualifications.
On the pitch, Amorim has earned plaudits for his flexible tactics, ability to improve individuals and track record for using and developing young players.
The Lisbon-born boss favours an intense 3-4-3 system using a goalkeeper comfortable in possession, ball-playing centre-backs and wing-backs at the foundation.
In midfield, Amorim tends to pair a ball-winning defensive midfielder with a box-crashing, more advanced option.
On either side of a target man up front, who can run the channels and link up play, he uses an attacking midfielder on one side and a more direct winger on the other.
