Connect with us

News

Who is Man Utd’s new manager Ruben Amorim? Age, tactics, achievements & more

Published:

12:27

on

| Last Updated:

12:34

on

Ruben Amorim is expected to become Manchester United’s new manager in the coming days following the sacking of Erik ten Hag this week.

Manchester United have approached Sporting Lisbon and offered to pay the release clause for Ruben Amorim’s services.

The manager is reportedly ready to make the change despite sitting top of the Portuguese league with Sporting with an unbeaten record so far this season.

It is an appointment that excites many supporters, but not everyone knows everything about the new man Amorim.

All you need to know about who the new Manchester United boss is can be read below.

Who is Ruben Amorim?

Ruben Amorim’s managerial career started shortly after his playing career ended at the age of 32. He began doing his coaching badges and even completed a postgraduate course in psychomotor education at the University of Windsor.

Part of Amorim’s coaching education came within the walls of Carrington, where he spent a week studying Jose Mourinho in 2017 when he was the manager of United. That included a class about how Mourinho’s team won against Ajax in the 2017 Europa League final.

His first managerial role came in the 2018/19 season with Portuguese third division side Casa Pia but it was far from a simple role. In January 2019, the club received a six-point deduction and Amorim was suspended for one year after giving in-game instructions without the relevant coaching badges.

Despite the ban later being suspended, Amorim departed the club afterwards and in mid-September of the same year, became the Braga reserves head coach.

First-team manager Ricardo Sá Pinto was dismissed in December and Amorim replaced him at the helm, where he remained unbeaten in the league, winning eight out of nine games.

He also won Braga the Allianz Cup, beating Portuguese giants Benfica 1-0 in the final of the competition. His only two defeats came against Rangers in the Europa League.

During his breakthrough season as a manager, Amorim’s buyout clause was activated by Sporting Lisbon, who paid a record-breaking £8.3 million for his services in March 2020 after they sacked Silas.

After leading Sporting to fourth in the league that season, Amorim’s first full campaign at the Estádio José Alvalade brought great success. Sporting won their first league title in 19 years, with Amorim’s side losing just one league fixture all season. He also won the Allianz Cup again, this time in Sporting’s colours.

In the following season, while he was unable to win the league again, Sporting managed to do the Portuguese cup double, with victories in the Allianz Cup and the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. They also provided excitement in Europe, qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2009.

Amorim’s third full season in charge of Sporting was a disappointing one, with a fourth-place finish in the league and defeat in the Allianz Cup final against Porto. He did manage to guide the team into the Europa League quarter-finals, losing to Juventus. They beat Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on their way.

Sporting bounced back from that season in the best possible way in the 2023/24 campaign, with Amorim’s side winning the league for the second time under his leadership in incredible fashion. They secured 90 points–10 more than their closest competitors Benfica–and managed to score 96 goals in that league campaign.

During that campaign, Amorim met with the bosses at West Ham amid a potential move to the Premier League but later refused the offer and publicly apologised to the Sporting family.

In the summer he was heavily linked to Liverpool and has since been touted as Pep Guardiola’s successor at Manchester City following the move of Hugo Viana, the Portuguese club’s sporting director, to the Etihad Stadium. Of course, this all came before the incredible noise surrounding his eventual move to United.

However, the rumours surrounding the manager had not stopped him from a stunning start to the 2024/25 campaign, with Sporting unbeaten in the league with nine wins out of nine under his leadership.

How old is Ruben Amorim?

Ruben Amorim is currently 39 years of age with his birthday being 27 January 1985, which is just nine days before Cristiano Ronaldo was born on 5 February 1985.

Amorim will become the youngest head coach Manchester United have had in the Premier League era. He has played alongside and against the likes of Jonny Evans, Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelöf.

What are Ruben Amorim’s tactics?

Ruben Amorim has become known for his exciting 3-4-3 formation at Sporting, which may look defensive on paper but offers a great attacking platform on the pitch.

The manager’s tactics involve bringing the wingbacks into the attacking third while the two players behind the striker come into the pockets in between the no.9 and the wingbacks.

This central focus, by almost playing four central midfield players, means that teams often play compact against Amorim’s sides and the wingbacks play an important role in exploiting that narrow shape.

Out of possession, the manager looks to start in a 5-2-3 shape but press out with the wingbacks with intensity.

Interestingly, when the team is building deep from the back, you will often see one of the three centre-backs move into the midfield as the two other centre-backs split in line with the goalkeeper. This is done to try and give Sporting numerical advantages in the build-up phase.

More details on the manager’s style at Sporting can be read in the thread by Stretford Trends below.

What are Ruben Amorim’s achievements?

Ruben Amorim has won the Liga Portugal twice (20/21, 23/24), the Allianz Cup three times (19/20, 20/21, 21/22) and the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira once (21/22).

What was Ruben Amorim’s playing career like?

Ruben Amorim was a central midfield player who made over 300 appearances across his career. He played for Benfica, Belenenses, Braga and Al-Wakrah.

As a player, he won the Portuguese title three times with Benfica as well as the Allianz Cup seven times in total. The 39-year-old competed in two World Cups with Portugal and made 14 appearances for his nation.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.

Related Topics:

Trending