‘I did my coaching badges with Ruben Amorim, I think Man Utd have got the right man’
RUBEN AMORIM is the right man for the Manchester United job, says Gabby Agbonlahor.
The former Aston Villa striker speaks from experience as he did his coaching badges alongside the new United boss.
Amorim is set for his third job in management after being confirmed as United’s first-ever head coach.
And Agbonlahor believes he is the right man for the job, praising his record in Portugal.
He was also left impressed by Amorim when he did his coaching badges alongside him.
Agbonlahor told talkSPORT: “You could tell he was so into it in a way that he had to get his badges to start managing.
“When you look at what he’s done since leaving Braga to Sporting Lisbon, breaking 19 years without winning a league title.
“I think Manchester United have got the right man.”
Amorim has been in charge of Sporting since 2020, winning two league titles and two Portuguese cups in that time.
While he has put the club in a superb position this term, sitting top of the Primeira Liga table – winning every league game they’ve played and conceding just twice.
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Ruben Amorim is ‘Mourinho 2.0’ who turned Sporting from ‘walking dead’ into Portuguese champs… he can revive Man Utd
WHEN Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting Lisbon in March 2020, one club official compared their situation to the “walking dead”, writes Jordan Davies.
Optimism and hope was at an all-time low.
But the Amorim-effect was almost instantaneous, guiding the Portuguese sleeping giants to their first league title for 19 years in 2020/21, losing just once and only conceding 20 goals.
Since then, Sporting have lifted another league title in 2023/24 – as well as two League Cups – and currently sit top with nine wins from nine this term.
He may be young, but Amorim already has an eye for rebuilding and revitalising fallen super powers with his infectious charisma and intense tactical philosophy that hardly ever wavers.
The “walking dead” at Manchester United must be praying for a similar sort of revival.
And they may just get it from one of the most talented young coaches on the continent – a man accustomed to breathing new life back into crumbling institutions such as Old Trafford.
Amorim has spent the last decade dreaming of one day gracing England’s Premier League, such was his admiration for an ex-United boss in Jose Mourinho growing up.
Often nicknamed ‘Mourinho 2.0’, Amorim spent a week with his coaching idol in an internship capacity at United’s Carrington training base in 2018, going on to cite him as his “reference point”.
United should not be expecting a mini-Mourinho, as Amorim said himself: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won’t be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”
And yet, you cannot help but compare the two.
For all the mismanagement in the Old Trafford hot seats over the years, this would be a real get – finally a slap in the face United’s Prem rivals have no answer for.
He has a different prospect on his hands in Manchester with United currently 11th in the league after losing more games than they have won in the league this season.
However, interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy got the Red Devils firing once again in United’s first game of the post-Ten Hag era.
United thrashed Leicester City 5-2 in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night to book their spot in the competition’s quarter-finals.
Amorim is known for his high possession style and has always favoured a back three during his time as a manager.
It can be expected that he will try and maintain that winning formula as boss of United.