Ruben Amorim’s formative managerial experiences included an internship with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. Now, six years later, he could become the club’s new head coach. HereEuropean football expert Andy Brassell takes a look at the 39-year-old’s qualifications and career to date.

Ruben Amorim takes center stage as Manchester United search for a new head coach. If he is appointed, he will face an extremely demanding task. Fortunately, he is no stranger to the greatest stresses.

When Sporting Lisbon reportedly paid Braga €10 million in compensation for Amorim in March 2020, it was a huge risk for them. The former Benfica player had won the Taaa da Liga, the country’s league cup, with Braga, but only managed 13 games.

Sporting, without great resources, went all out with their coach and then some.

When he arrived at Estadio Jose Alvalade, he took over a well-known team that was struggling to live up to expectations.

The fact is that Amorim has not only repaid that faith, but has since achieved even more. In the 2020/21 season he led Sporting to their first league title in 19 years – they had a youthful Cristiano Ronaldo in their team in their previous triumph – and has rebuilt the squad despite a series of defeats.

Amorim’s midfield was decimated as Joao Palhinha and Matheus Nunes moved to successful careers in the Premier League. Pedro Porro later moved to Tottenham Hotspur, while Paris Saint-Germain picked up key players Nuno Mendes and Manuel Ugarte.

Despite having fewer resources than city rivals Benfica – the traditional giants of Portuguese football – Amorim has managed to make Sporting competitive during his tenure as coach.

In short, that’s why Man Utd tried to hire him. He is the right person at the right time for the job, a series rebuilder and an encourager and developer of young players.

Unleash potential

The relationship with Sporting’s academy has been unimpeachable over the years, from Luis Figo to Ronaldo to Nani, and Amorim is, in every sense of the word, a coach who improves players.

The club’s record signing Viktor Gyokeres, who arrived from Coventry City, has developed into one of the hottest strikers in Europe under Amorim. Pedro Goncalves has emerged as a more than adequate replacement for Bruno Fernandes, and England winger Marcus Edwards has emerged as a performer at UEFA Champions League level after making it to Spurs, where he was a highly-rated academy graduate was, didn’t quite make it.

As the growing list of Amorim alumni at the elite level of European football underlines, the players under him realize their true potential.

Many assume that Amorim will implement the 3-4-3 system that worked so well at Estadio Jose Alvalade at his next club, but that is not necessarily the case.

Amorim is a player-coach, someone who connects with his team and knows what they need. A skilled communicator, he doesn’t need to shout or bang his fist on the table to make his point. In private and in public, Amorim is fair and open, confident and confident without being pushy.

He speaks publicly about his players as people, not just as footballers. When Edwards first arrived from Vitoria Guimaraes, Amorim spoke of the young Englishman being “introverted” and needing time to understand the team’s tactics and settle in on a personal level.

The coach gradually integrated Edwards into his team and reaped the rewards with outstanding performances from his winger, such as in the 2-0 Champions League win over his former club Spurs in September 2022.

Consider the human side of management

Amorim is not only insightful but also confident, as he showed when speculation about Liverpool’s interest in him arose during Sporting’s title hunt earlier this year.

When Sporting president Federico Varandas claimed that his coach “will be too big for Portugal in a year or two” and Amorim was asked about this remark, the head coach responded by saying: “This league will never be small for me.”

He has a strong sense of his convictions, but at the same time has a dignity that is one of his most attractive qualities and that will appeal to his followers.

Much of this comes from Amorim’s playing career, a successful but not entirely stratospheric one. A hard-working and intelligent midfielder, the highlight was probably playing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with Portugal.

However, his club path often went almost, but not quite. Amorim was part of Jorge Jesus’ Benfica squad of outstanding entertainers who led the club to a long-overdue league title in 2010. But given the fierce competition for places, he struggled to get a regular start.

He grew into a frustrated individual who was derailed by multiple knee surgeries before finally retiring at the age of 32. These difficult times probably made him understand the human side of squad management when he finally became a coach.

So if he were to take charge at Man Utd, his players at Amorim would realize there is no “my way or the highway” approach, just collective growth and problems to solve.

His patience under pressure could make him a big success in the Premier League.