Ruben Amorim shares emotional goodbye with Sporting Lisbon followers after thrashing Man City in his ultimate residence recreation earlier than becoming a member of Man United – as his gamers throw him into the air!
Ruben Amorim waved an emotional goodbye to Sporting Lisbon fans following his final home game in charge of the club before taking over at Manchester United.
Amorim will take charge at Old Trafford during the upcoming international break on a two-and-a-half-year deal, replacing Erik ten Hag and taking the reins from interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.
He will have the task of turning around a dire start to the season, with United currently 13th in the Premier League table and without a win in Europe for over a year.
But he still has a job to do at Sporting, with one game remaining before he leaves the club, which is away to Braga at the weekend, with his final home match a 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City in the Champions League.
And it was an evening of celebration for the 39-year-old and the Sporting fans, who paid tribute to the outgoing manager both before and after the match.
Ruben Amorim shared an emotional goodbye with Sporting Lisbon fans before and after their game with Manchester City
Amorim was thrown into the air by his players after the game in what was his final home match in charge
Before the game a giant tifo was shown branding the word ‘obrigado’, which roughly translates to ‘thank you’
Before the game, a giant tifo displaying the word ‘obrigado’ – which translates roughly to ‘thank you’ – was on display, with Amroim’s face also featuring on the display.
Alongside the Portuguese were the two division trophies he won in his four years with the club – the first of which was the club’s first in 19 years.
An emotional Amroim then made his way out to receive a commemorative plaque of sorts representing his achievements, and he appeared to fight back the tears and waved to those in attendance.
Fans sang his name in the early moments of the game, before Phil Foden’s strike silenced the crowd just four minutes in.
On the back of a poor first half from the hosts, they turned on the style in the second period with star striker Viktor Gyokeres netting a hat-trick in the win.
At full time, City boss Pep Guardiola congratulated his future rival – the next Manchester derby is just 40 days away – before Amorim ran off to celebrate with his players.
He conducted a lap of honour at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, with 50,000 fans in attendance to give their thanks. He remained on the field well past full time.
To conclude the celebrations, Amorim’s players grabbed him and launched him into the air in celebration, as is tradition when a manager wins a trophy with a club.
Eventually, he was let back down, giving a final few waves before heading back into the dressing rooms. He also received a guard of honour.
Amorim carried out a lap of honour after the game in his penultimate match before joining Manchester United
He went round the Jose Alvalade Stadium with his players after the game, celebrating the win and his time in charge
He laughed as Sporting players launched him into the air, iconic with a manager winning a trophy
Amorim’s final game in charge of the club will be away to Braga this weekend before he joins Manchester United
He celebrated with stat striker Viktor Gyokeres, who scored a hat-trick in the win over City
Amorim received a plaque before the game to commemorate his time in charge of the club
United fans will have been left excited by what they saw on Tuesday night, with their soon-to-be boss getting the better of one of their arch rivals’ manager on the biggest stage.
City were by far the best team in the first half and missed a number of chances, with Gyokeres striking on the brink of half time to bring Sporting somewhat undeservedly level at the break.
After the interval, Sporting looked a different side as they raced out the blocks, netting after a matter of seconds through Maximiliano Araujo take the lead and Gyokeres then completing his hat-trick with two more goals.
Amorim will head to Manchester in a matter of days to take over, with van Nistelrooy to lead two more games – a Europa League match against PAOK on Thursday and a Premier League tie with Leicester on Sunday.