London24NEWS

‘I missed Ruben Amorim coaching session – there was just one purpose I wasn’t let go’

One of Ruben Amorim’s former players, Bruno Simao, has explained how the Manchester United boss has always been a strict disciplinarian with a non-nonsense approach

Ruben Amorim
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was reportedly left seething after watching his side fall 3-1 to Brighton at Old Trafford recently(Image: PA)

Ruben Amorim’s tough stance on misconduct nearly led to the Manchester United boss showing the door to an ex-teammate for being late – even though their friendship dated back to their childhood.

Amorim, who took over at Old Trafford last November, has already forged a reputation as a manager who doesn’t mess about. His handling of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho – who were axed from the squad for the Manchester derby last month due to poor training attitudes – highlighted his commitment to ensuring players are all in, all the time.

His no-nonsense approach can be traced to his managerial debut in 2018 with Casa Pia in Portugal. He might have only been manager for half a year before he stepped down, but Amorim’s hardline policies were firmly in place.

At Casa Pia, he coached Bruno Simao, a fellow footballer he had known since they were nine. Their shared history includes playing for youth teams at Belenenses and Benfica before reuniting at Casa Pia, reports the Mirror.

Ruben Amorim and Bruno Simao
Ruben Amorim and Bruno Simao back during their childhood(Image: footballbiography.com)

Yet, their long-standing bond didn’t prevent Amorim from almost kicking Simao out of the team after he missed one session. “He’s so strict that on the day I missed a training session, I was done I wouldn’t play under him again,” Simao, also 39, recounted to The Telegraph.

“The only reason why I wasn’t let go was because the other players changed his mind. Then I had a chat with him and explained everything, but in his strictness, regardless of the degree of friendship, regardless of where I had played or whatever, for him, there are no names, no data, no status. Everyone is equal,” he reminisced.

After United’s 3-1 home loss to Brighton last week, Amorim gave his team a dressing down, labelling them as potentially the worst team in Red Devils history. He has since retracted his harsh words, confessing they were born out of frustration.

“I was talking more for myself than my players because I was talking that [I am] a coach who starts out losing seven games in the first [15]. So it’s more for me,” said Amorim.

“It’s the same players doing worse with a new coach – that is my only concern at the moment. I also talked in the same response about how I was not helping my ­players and if you look at every time you [the media] push about the ­players [not being] good enough I never put the spot [blame] on my players.

Article continues below

“So I understand I give you that headline and I am frustrated sometimes. Sometimes I should not say it in these terms, but it is what it is and that’s it. Sometimes it’s really hard to hide the frustration in the moment. But the good thing is I said the same things in a different way in the dressing room five minutes before.”