7 quotes on what makes Ruben Amorim a special coach ft. Nani, Mourinho, Bruno Fernandes…
Ruben Amorim has officially been announced as Manchester United’s manager – and the fans will be praying the club have finally got it right with this appointment.
With two league titles under his belt at Sporting CP, there are lots of reasons to believe that 39-year-old Amorim, widely regarded as one of the top young coaches in Europe, is the right man to take the club back to the top.
We’ve rounded up seven quotes explaining why Amorim is so highly regarded.
Nani
“I spoke to Nani a few days ago and he said to me: ‘Rio, the players play for him, they love him and respect him’,” Rio Ferdinand revealed on his YouTube channel.
“He said that Ruben Amorim is a very direct person. What I have heard from people who have played with him and who are around him is that, as a human being, Amorim’s character and charisma will be the big difference to Ten Hag.”
Jose Mourinho
“I like him [Amorim] as a person, I like him as a coach,” Mourinho told Mais Futebol back when the young Amorim served under him as an apprentice.
“I think he has the conditions to be able to coach in any league and he has the conditions to be able to coach in any club. But he’s in a good league and he’s in a big club. The decision is his and it will be up to the clubs that want him or not, to convince him with more or less arguments. What is clear from my side is that I like the person and I like the coach.”
The Coaches’ Voice
“Amorim has tended to favour a back-three structure with Sporting and, throughout his time in charge, his side has played a possession-based game. During their deep build-up play, Amorim wants his three centre-backs to break the first line through the centre of the pitch as often as possible,” explain The Coaches’ Voice.
“With the double pivot dropping deep, the centre-backs look to play forward passes into the feet of the double pivot. They then look to turn and find the attackers between the lines. If they can’t turn, the midfielders instead bounce the ball wide to the wing-backs.
“Amorim will also adjust his side’s shape, with the middle centre-back slightly higher. This means the two pivots widen and move closer to the wing-backs. This can also open up more passing lines for direct and incisive forward passes from the wider of the centre-backs – now briefly in a pair – into attackers higher up the pitch. These passes will often bypass the closest options, and instead find an attacker dropping through the inside channels.”
READ: How Man Utd could line up in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation
Bruno Fernandes
“Since Coach Amorim arrived to Sporting they became one of the teams that play better and most consistent football,” said the Manchester United captain.
“I think the signings have been right, and they are in a very good moment. They’ve won last year and this season have started leading in the standings. It’s a very well-prepared team,” he said at a news conference with Portugal earlier this month.
“Regarding Mr. Amorim, I spoke about him several times and I said that at this moment he is well-prepared because it is not easy to win titles at Sporting. Sporting was 20 years without winning trophies. Mr. Amorim came and won two and that proves his work has been good. Now, if he will be able to do the same in England or Spain or anywhere else? We’ll never know until he gets there but I’m sure that Mr. Amorim qualities are there in everyone’s eyes.”
Andy Brassell
“He has a strong sense of his convictions but at the same time he has a dignity that is one of his most appealing features, and which will please supporters,” the European football expert explained to Sky Sports.
“Much of it comes from Amorim’s playing career, a successful but not quite stratospheric one. A hard-working and intelligent midfielder, the high point was probably going to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with Portugal.
“His club path, though, was often a case of nearly, but not quite. Amorim was part of Jorge Jesus’ Benfica squad of all-conquering entertainers that swept the club to a long-overdue league title in 2010. But, facing huge competition for places, he struggled to get a regular start.
“He became a frustrated figure, derailed by multiple knee surgeries before eventually retiring at 32. Arguably these tough times made him understand the human side of squad management when he eventually did become a coach.”
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Destined to be a coach
“Ruben was one of the best students and for that reason he had a one-week internship at Manchester United,” Antonio Veloso, professor at the Faculty of Human Kinetics at the University of Lisbon, told the BBC.
“Basically it involved following the preparation of one game.
“I remember talking with Matic and he was saying: ‘Of course Ruben is going to be a coach.
“All of Ruben’s colleagues understood that he was one of those players who had a tremendous tactical knowledge and understanding of what coaching was about.”
Nothing fake
“I think the thing that impresses me the most about Ruben is that he’s genuine,” a Sporting source told ESPN.
“There’s nothing fake about him. And everyone can feel that — players, other coaches, or the average person. He’s not big-headed or boastful in any way — just a nice person — and people trust him because of that.”