Manchester United believe they have appointed a proven winner, in the shape of new manager Ruben Amorim.
And from a United supporter’s perspective, it can only be hoped Sir Jim Ratcliffe & Co are right. Because if one club needs a successful manager right now, and long into the future, it is the fallen giants of European and domestic football.
It speaks volumes for how dysfunctional United have become, not to mention the size of the task ahead of Amorim, that he is now the sixth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
That was the last time United were crowned English champions. And Amorim will be expected to bring this title drought to an end as quickly as possible. No pressure then, Ruben?
Yet senior figures at United remain convinced they have pulled off something of a footballing coup in luring Amorim to the red half of Manchester. The 39-year-old had been heavily linked with replacing Pep Guardiola across town at Manchester City, once the Spaniard decided to leave the Etihad.
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And once it was decided Erik ten Hag had no long term future at Old Trafford and had to go, Amorim was the unanimous choice to replace him. Thomas Tuchel had snubbed United in favour of the England job, while long-term target Gareth Southgate chose to take a 12-month break from the game.
So all roads led to Lisbon, and Sporting’s highly-rated manager Amorim. A delegation of senior United figures flew to the Portuguese capital on Monday, the day Ten Hag was sacked, to open negotiations with their Sporting counterparts.
United were aware of the fact Amorim had a six week notice period to serve, but persuaded Sporting to release their man three weeks early from it, having met the compensation demand of almost £10m. A United source said: “Ruben is the most exciting young coach in European football.
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“He has rightly been linked with a host of roles. We are delighted to have secured him and he is delighted to be joining Manchester United. He is a proven winner.”
Amorim has won two league titles with Sporting, and five trophies in total since taking charge in 2020. But it is the manner of his team’s success which has appealed to United most.
United like Amorim’s personality and energy, along with his style of play and ability to develop your players. The English giants also believe he represents a different profile of manager to some of the ones which have come and gone in recent years.
While Amorim’s impressive impact on Portuguese football as a player once led the great Cristiano Ronaldo, a former team-mate, to nickname him ‘The Poet’. It remains to be seen which script Amorim writes in Manchester.
But you don’t have to read between the lines to realise what a humungous job he now has on his hands.