Manchester United’s new manager Ruben Amorim takes charge of his first game on Sunday when he leads his side to Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
The 39-year-old Portuguese coach and former player was announced as Erik ten Hag’s replacement at the helm of the fallen giants this month.
media takes a look at five things you need to know about Amorim before his debut:
The latest Portuguese managing sensation to be dubbed “the new Mourinho” – after former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho – Amorim arrives with quite the reputation as a coach even in his fledgling career.
Amorim established himself as one of the most sought-after young coaches in world football at Sporting Lisbon, but his challenge in Manchester is of a different magnitude.
The coach, who won two league titles at Sporting, follows the path from Portugal to the Premier League taken a generation ago by Mourinho, then the shining young managerial star, who swapped Porto for Chelsea while naming himself the “Special One”. Amorim will, however, be expected to do something that even Mourinho did not manage during his subsequent stint at United – win the club’s first Premier League title since the trophy-filled days of Alex Ferguson ended in 2013.
Amorim has described Mourinho as a role model. He spent a short internship with his compatriot when Mourinho was managing United from 2016 to 2018. He arrives at Old Trafford two years younger than Mourinho was when he took over a Chelsea side that won two Premier League titles in his first two seasons at the helm.
Other coaches have come from Portugal with big reputations, but not all have succeeded. Andre Villas-Boas failed to live up to expectations after swapping Porto for Chelsea in 2011. He too was burdened with the same nickname as Mourinho gave himself.
But everything about Amorim, who was also linked to the manager’s job at Liverpool this year, suggests he could be something special.
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