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Ruben Amorim walks through the history of Manchester United’s new management. “Guys who win everything are like (Louis) van Gaal and (Jose) Mourinho,” he said. “New people who know the club like (Ole Gunnar) Solskjaer, and one of the best who will be outside the five strongest leagues is (Erik) ten Hag. You have different coaches, the same results.
The result sometimes involved a cup or two, but never a true title challenge. None of them ultimately succeeded; not according to the standards of what Amorim called “global” club, “still the best” in England. All of which can be frustrating for many managers. Old Trafford, it could be argued, has become a graveyard for him. Getting rid of the advice has become an impossible project, Amorim even comes with the belief that he can stop the trend of disappointment, with the belief that it does not come across as arrogance.
It’s been twenty years since another Portuguese coach anointed him the “Special One”. Amorim arrived with a message from Mourinho, an open admission that he was influenced by him, but distinguished himself from his predecessor. There is charisma with less bravado, the coach positions himself for the future, not the person of yesterday.
“He’s a European champion, I’m not a European champion,” he said. “But I was a different person at a different time, football is different now and I am the right person at this time. I am a young person, I know the players.
The reference to youth is instructive. Mourinho and Van Gaal teamed up when their best days were behind them; there is a case to point to the Portuguese in 2013 but the peak in the 2000s, the Netherlands in the 1990s. There is a striking resemblance to Ten Hag’s profile, but he was in his fifties before arriving at United. Amorim is less than three years older than Jonny Evans. He was born after Sir Alex Ferguson had won the Cup Winners’ Cup with Aberdeen, less than half the age of the Scot. There is an argument that Van Gaal and Mourinho were the right people at the wrong time. Amorim appears to be a more contemporary figure. They are a new generation; not so much post-Ferguson as post-post-Ferguson.
“Call me naive,” he says, with the assurance of someone who can’t be called that. “But I believe that I am the right person at the right time. I may be wrong but the world will still turn, the sun will rise again, I am not worried about it. I really believe that I am the right person for this job. I am a little bit of dream, and I believe in myself, I also believe in the club. I think we have the same idea, the same mindset.
He plans to speak the language of his new employer, the first appointment of United’s new co-owner making a break with the club’s past. “We will try to do it our way, Ineos’ way, and my way,” he said. His job title is head coach, rather than manager, but he underlines his authority.
Consider, for example, his views on recruitment which, as United spent £600m on Ten Hag, many of which were unsuccessful, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe has brought Dan Ashworth as sporting director and Jason Wilcox as technical director, felt important and important. potential bone of contention. “I think it’s all together but the last word should be the manager,” Amorim explained. “Not only because of your right but your responsibility. Because in the end, the result is for me.
That stands in stark contrast to Ten Hag’s perennial complaints about injuries as he tries to avoid mistakes for setbacks. It’s not the only one. The initial improvement can come from forming a more cohesive side, one with a commitment to tracking back that the forwards can note. “I think we lose the ball too often and we have to keep the ball,” he said. “We’ve got to run better again. I think that’s clear to everybody.
He is a more confident, more persuasive communicator than his predecessors; where Ten Hag can be abrupt, halting and direct, Amorim is smooth, exuding a certain style. He needs a player with a bigger medal collection than his own – even from his former club – to buy into that approach. “That’s all I want: work hard and you have to believe in new ideas,” he said.
The idea is based on three centre-backs and a wing-back. This formed another change of United’s identity; The back four has a standard system for every manager, Write a brief on Van Gaal two. Amorim smiled, but did not compromise.
“I’m not saying it’s the best idea, but it’s the way to look at football,” he said. “It’s not an evolution or a revolution. As a coach, you have to choose one way or the other. I choose always 100 percent our way. I prefer to take risks, but to push in the first moment. From the first day, I really believe in the way I play , he will believe it too. So there is no second doubt, there is no other way.
It is a way or a highway. “We will change some players because we don’t have the right profile,” he said. “This team is built for a different system. Everyone wants to play now. If he has the opportunity to play as a goalkeeper, he will play in the moment. In the future, he will see. But he is open to changing some positions. He brings change- change, and quickly. The contract is only until 2027.
“For me it’s perfect, because in two years you can know if I’m a good coach for this job or not,” he said, deriving positive from it. It might take him longer to win the league, he said, but that was unlikely if he was a manager who would step down for the long term. When that contract ended, he was 42, still younger than Ferguson was when he arrived at United.
The right person in the right place at the right time, or naive and a dreamer? Ruben Amorim has two years to answer. But in the way he presented himself, he seemed to already know.
