Is coach Amorim the perfect choice for Man Utd?

On the evening of October 29, European press simultaneously reported that coach Ruben Amorim will join Man Utd as soon as possible. At the age of 39, the Portuguese coach has attracted the attention of many clubs due to his success at Sporting Lisbon.

So where does Coach Amorim's heat come from? Is a new coach who has been in the profession for more than 5 years suitable for the pressure at Man Utd?

Achievements, style

Ruben Amorim is only 39 years old, and is part of a group of young coaches working in Europe. His most notable achievement before moving to Man Utd was winning the Primeira Liga championship with Sporting Lisbon in the 2021-22 season, ending the team's 19-year streak of not winning a national championship. Two years later, he continued to make his mark with the Primeira Liga title in the 2023-24 season.

With a squad of quality players and a talented coach, Sporting have outperformed all their opponents in the Portuguese National Championship this season. They have won 9 out of 9 matches, scoring 30 goals and conceding only 2.

Coach Amorim knows how to win the long race.

Sporting Lisbon achieved an efficiency of more than 3 goals/match thanks to Amorim's attacking philosophy. He used a 3-4-2-1 formation, specializing in ball control and flexibility when attacking. When pressured by the opponent, the 2 wingers actively dropped back to support the 3 central defenders, creating a 5-man midfield. This deployment is quite similar to Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen in the 2023-24 season, or Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea in the 2021-22 season.

In attack, Coach Amorim likes to use tall, independent strikers. Last season, his main striker was Victor Gyokeres, 1m89 tall, 90kg. His tall body and sharp goal-scoring ability helped him score 34 goals, contributing 12 assists after 42 appearances in the National Championship and Europa League. Gyokeres's scoring frequency is superior to most strikers in the Premier League.

In the 2024-25 season, the Swedish striker scored 16 goals in 14 matches. On average, he scored about 1.14 goals per match, achieving an efficiency close to Erling Haaland (1.16 goals/match).

At Man Utd, two tall strikers are waiting to be "rescued" by coach Amorim. Hojlund and Zirkzee have not really met the standards of the fans. If they continue to play badly under coach Amorim, the possibility of these two names being kicked out is quite high.

Gyokeres is coach Amorim's "goal machine".

Love youth football

At Sporting Lisbon, coach Amorim promoted many young players to play for the first team, not relying too much on transfer money from the board of directors.

The names that have matured under coach Amorim include: Nuno Mendes (PSG), Matheus Nunes (Wolves - Man City), Joao Palhinha (Fulham - Bayern), Pedro Porro (Tottenham), Manuel Ugarte (PSG - Man Utd). The 5 players mentioned above are all products of Sporting, sold at sky-high prices thanks to the hand of coach Amorim.

Coach Amorim reunites with Manuel Ugarte at Man Utd.

Coach Ruben Amorim is meeting all 3 criteria that Man Utd really need in a new coach, which are the ability to win titles, focus on youth football and know how to improve players. In Erik ten Hag, fans have only felt the first factor, somewhere the second factor (Kobbie Mainoo).

To play football comprehensively and thoroughly like Amorim, Erik ten Hag has not been able to meet the requirements after 2 seasons at Old Trafford. Man Utd fans expect coach Amorim to bring a new wind, younger, more effective and especially bring the desire to win back to Old Trafford.

Thanh Loc

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/hlv-amorim-la-lua-chon-hoan-hao-cho-man-utd-ar904679.html