Is Ruben Amorim the answer to Manchester United’s prayers?

Manchester United is undoubtedly one of the most followed football clubs in the world, boasting a massive global fanbase. However, the past decade has not seen the club dominate in the way it once did during the Sir Alex Ferguson era. While former players and pundits have often pointed fingers at the owners and the club’s administration for its struggles, the reality is simpler: Manchester United has yet to find a worthy successor to Sir Alex. Despite recruiting experienced managers like David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, and José Mourinho, the Red Devils have failed to recapture the success of their former glory days.

Their problems have only worsened in recent years. After two seasons in management, United’s Dutch Manager, Erik Ten Hag was axed in October, 2024 after the team’s inability to start the new season well; with the club sitting at the 13th place in the Premier League table and performing relatively poorly in the Europa League too. 

The Manchester United job is currently one of the most challenging roles in world football, given the club’s immense global popularity and the high expectations that stem from its storied history of success. In light of this, Manchester United had been exploring several managerial options, ultimately selecting Ruben Amorim, the Sporting CP head coach, as the successor to Erik ten Hag. Amorim has caught the eye of top clubs with his impressive tenure at Sporting, where he has delivered multiple trophies while instilling an aggressive, dynamic style of play.

Ruben Amorim is a 39-year-old former Portuguese professional footballer, known for his role as a midfielder. Over the course of his playing career, he earned several prestigious honors with clubs in Portugal’s Primeira Liga. Amorim retired from professional football in 2017 and quickly transitioned into management. He began his coaching career at Casa Pia, before moving on to manage Braga’s B team and eventually their senior team. In 2020, Amorim joined Sporting CP where he showcased his tactical acumen and garnered massive success. His successful tenure at Sporting didn’t go unnoticed as several Premier League clubs were interested in Amorim last season too but nothing materialised and he went back to managing Sporting once again before Manchester United came calling in November, 2024 after the sacking of former boss Erik Ten Hag. 

Amorim’s style of play is possession-based, essentially a 3-4-3 formation with a double pivot in midfield that is responsible for protecting the defense with the wingbacks and the attackers pressing higher up the pitch. He has also used the 4-2-4 formation in recent times where the defense and the midfield hold their positions with the forward line being flexible and interchanging positions. With the wingbacks bombing higher up the pitch, having too many players in the central area means more direct balls from the midfield to the forward players but they also have the option to cross from the wide areas if the central areas are crowded by the opposition team. 

Looking at the pros of the situation, he definitely has a high-quality squad of players at his disposal and with the Red Devils adding new players to the setup in the summer, he has no dearth of players to choose from. Of course, some players that were brought in by the former manager might not suit his style but his initial intent would be to train the existing players and get few reinforcements in January or the summer window. In addition, he has experienced players in Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Diego Dalot who have been at the club for long. However, it’s not easy for a new manager to come midway in the season and work miracles, it takes time for him to instill his style, formation and build rapport with a new squad of players. So, definitely the Manchester United faithful will award him breathing space initially. In my opinion, he clearly understands the style of football his team needs to play and is an excellent communicator who supports and backs his players. At his previous club, he fostered a positive environment that allowed his players to thrive, while also focusing on developing and improving youth talent, such as Geovany Quenda, Nuno Mendes, Manuel Ugarte and Gonçalo Inácio to name a few.

Now, coming to the cons, he hasn’t yet managed a club outside of Portugal. While the teams in the Primeira Liga have certainly raised their standards, the English Premier League is a whole different level of competition. Adding to that, there’s the constant media scrutiny, which is relentless in England. On top of all that, he’s joined a Manchester United side that hasn’t won a league title in more than a decade. It’s not just about winning anymore; the team hasn’t even come close to challenging for the Premier League or the Champions League in recent years. This can be seen as a significant failure for a once-dominant club that used to win everything. It’s a high-pressure situation for any new coach but one he needs to resolve sooner rather than later as the fans’ levels of patience is relatively short-lived. 

It certainly promises to be an intriguing phase for Manchester United, one that their supporters will eagerly embrace, as a young, successful coach has arrived with a fresh vision and new ideas. However, only time will tell whether he is truly the answer to Manchester United’s prayers, capable of swiftly transforming the team into genuine title contenders, or if he will become just another manager falling short at Old Trafford.