Ruben Amorim joins Manchester United as head coach on a contract until 2027 [Post Updated #6]

Who will be the next Manchester United manager after Eric Ten Hag's sacking?

  • Julian Nagelsmann

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Zinedine Zidane

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Gareth Southgate

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Ruud van Nistelrooy

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2

The Bald Eagle

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Man Utd are set to make an approach for Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann after Erik ten Hag was sacked on Monday, according to reports.

The Red Devils lost 2-1 to West Ham on Sunday as they continued their terrible start to the season with

Was this the right time to part company with Erik ten Hag.

“That’s INEOS, Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada, Sir Dave Brailsford and the Glazer family.

“They thought they gave him time to work within the new structure that has been set up at the club. Unfortunately, they feel results and performances have not been good enough.”

It is not clear who will be the next permanent Man Utd manager, although Ruud van Nistelrooy is set to take caretaker charge, but The United Stand journalist Sam C insists that sources have told him that the Red Devils are ‘going try their luck and approach’ Germany boss Nagelsmann

Source: Football 365
 
Man Utd are set to make an approach for Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann after Erik ten Hag was sacked on Monday, according to reports.

The Red Devils lost 2-1 to West Ham on Sunday as they continued their terrible start to the season with

Was this the right time to part company with Erik ten Hag.

“That’s INEOS, Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada, Sir Dave Brailsford and the Glazer family.

“They thought they gave him time to work within the new structure that has been set up at the club. Unfortunately, they feel results and performances have not been good enough.”

It is not clear who will be the next permanent Man Utd manager, although Ruud van Nistelrooy is set to take caretaker charge, but The United Stand journalist Sam C insists that sources have told him that the Red Devils are ‘going try their luck and approach’ Germany boss Nagelsmann

Source: Football 365

For me the best Young manager around. But he ain't going anywhere until after the world cup
 
‘Anytime, seriously’ – Pep Guardiola makes Erik ten Hag offer after Manchester United sacking

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists his door is always open for Erik ten Hag after he was sacked by Manchester United.

The Red Devils parted company with the Dutchman on Monday after a two-and-a-half-year spell in charge, with Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim lined up to replace him.

United are currently 14th in the Premier League table, 12 points behind leaders City after just nine matches.

However, Ten Hag did get one over on Guardiola during his time in charge.

United stunned the Premier League champions by beating them 2-1 in the FA Cup final in May.

But despite this, Guardiola was full of sympathy for his counterpart when asked about United's decision on Tuesday.

“Ten Hag can come to see us any time, seriously," Guardiola said.

“We are always open but I think he knows exactly what we do and it’s not going to happen but I know his agent a little bit, there is a relationship and it’s no problem for us.

“Managers don’t need advice because they know exactly what they have to do. The reality in every team is exactly what they have to do. But the reality is every club is different, players are different. To copy and paste this one for this one doesn’t work.”

Guardiola continued: “Always, I feel sorry for managers [when they are sacked], you know? He's lost his position, so I'm so sorry for him.

“I have an incredible relationship [with him]. I think he represented Manchester United at the highest level in terms of behaviour, of course.

“Our job as managers is one of the few jobs – in all the jobs in the world – where people are expecting to be sacked. People are expecting you don't have a job.

“I don't see architects or doctors or teachers or anything... the people deciding [their futures don't say], ‘get out.’ It's only us. It's our job, we have to accept it.”

Guardiola was also asked about Ten Hag's impending replacement Amorim, having faced his Sporting Lisbon side in the Champions League knockout stages in 2022.

City thumped the Portuguese side 5-0 away from home, before a 0-0 draw in the second-leg at the Etihad.

"All I can talk about is the experience of playing twice against Ruben’s Sporting Lisbon team, one or two seasons ago, and the pressure was really, really good," Guardiola said.

“I spoke with Matheus Nunes, and he was his player, and he speaks highly about him. And this season he is unbeaten and winning all the games in the Portuguese League and the Champions League, (they have) the same points as us.

“So a high manager. I have the feeling that Man United, what I hear, that they are thinking about him. It’s because he’s a good manager. Man United don’t appoint managers who aren’t at that level, so we cannot say they are not able to lead Man United.”

 

Amorim expected to stay at Sporting until mid-November​


Prospective new Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim is expected to remain in charge at Sporting until next month's international break.

There remains confusion over whether a deal has been completed for Amorim to take over at Old Trafford after Erik ten Hag was sacked on Monday.

United board member Sir Dave Brailsford told fans "it's done" as he arrived for Wednesday's EFL Cup win with Leicester and posed for a photograph. This information has been corroborated by additional sources from Portugal.

However, Sporting officials are adamant there is still no official deal and talks are continuing.

Manchester United have refused to comment.

The latest talks have centred around Amorim's release. Sporting want the 39-year-old to remain in post beyond Friday's league encounter with Estrela.

Sporting have a key Champions League encounter with Manchester City on Tuesday and play Amorim's former club Braga in the league on 10 November, before European top-flight football pauses for Nations League games between 11-19 November.

 
Manager Ruben Amorim says there will be "clarification" over his expected move to Manchester United after Sporting's game against Estrela on Friday

He is expected to remain in charge at Portuguese side Sporting until the next international break from 11-19 November.

There remains confusion over whether a deal has been completed for Amorim to take over at Old Trafford after Erik ten Hag was sacked on Monday.

"It's a negotiation between two clubs, it's never easy," Amorim, 39, said.

United board member Sir Dave Brailsford told fans "it's done" as he arrived for Wednesday's EFL Cup win with Leicester and posed for a photograph. This information has been corroborated by additional sources from Portugal.

However, Sporting officials are adamant there is still no official deal and talks are continuing.

Manchester United have refused to comment.

"Even with the clauses, it's never easy, they have to talk and we will have clarification after the game, it will be very clear," Amorim added.

"So it's one more day after the game tomorrow, we will have a decision made."

Sporting have a key Champions League encounter with Manchester City on Tuesday and play Amorim's former club Braga in the league on 10 November, before European top-flight football pauses for Nations League games.

Source: BBC
 

Manchester United appoint Amorim as head coach​


Manchester United have appointed Ruben Amorim as their new head coach.

The 39-year-old Portuguese, who will move to Old Trafford from Lisbon club Sporting on 11 November, has signed a contract until June 2027.

Former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who took charge on an interim basis after Erik ten Hag was sacked on Monday, will stay on for the club's next three fixtures.

Amorim, is the sixth permanent manager United have appointed since Sir Alex Ferguson's 26-year reign ended with his retirement in 2013.

In a statement, the club said that "Ruben is one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football".

Earlier in the week, Sporting said that United had agreed to pay 10m euros (£8.3m) to trigger a release clause in Amorim's contract.

Amorim's first fixture at Manchester United is set be on 24 November against newly promoted Ipswich, which comes after the international break.

His first home game will be against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on 28 November, with a Premier League game against Everton the following weekend.

 
Excellent appointment. We mean business now. Not long before we challenge for the Majors again.
 
He is an excellent coach and there is no doubt he will turn things around for United and transform them into title contenders, but for it to happen, the following conditions must be met:

1. He must have full control of who stays and who goes. The owners shouldn’t interfere with the transfer strategy. Get him the players he wants and get rid of the players he doesn’t want.

2. The old boys club at United must not be allowed to have any kind of influence. The likes of Neville, Keane, Scholes, Ferdinand etc. should be kept as far away from the club as possible. Getting the freeloader SAF off the books is a great start so it seems like the owners will go down this route.

It will be great for English football to see United back as a title contender. I really miss the old Arsenal vs United battles when this fixture meant something. Those days can return if United can reestablish themselves as title challengers.
 

Amorim tactics: Ending the 'donut' and taming Fernandes - what's in store?​


As Manchester United supporters prepare to welcome a highly-rated and talented coach from outside of Europe's 'big five' leagues who has analysts swooning, they may be worried that it all sounds a bit familiar.

But in Ruben Amorim, they can be certain that in one crucial aspect he won’t be anything like Erik ten Hag.

The defining complaint about the sacked Dutchman was that after two-and-a-bit seasons the football was still formless and the tactical direction indecipherable.

Amorim, who will leave Portuguese champions Sporting to move to Old Trafford next month, is nothing if not a diligent - and decisive - tactical thinker.

From a ruthless press to proactive possession football, from a daring high line to a complexly shape-shifting 3-4-3 formation, the hallmarks of Amorim’s football will be etched into muscle memory in detailed training sessions.

And there will be valid concerns. Most prominent will be how a Manchester United squad built in Ten Hag’s image will cope with the change to a back three and a tactical system entirely at odds with what came before. It won’t suit everyone.

With United posting a £113m net loss for 2023-24, a £15m compensation bill for sacking Ten Hag and paying at least £9m to get Amorim out of Sporting, added to the £200m spent on summer transfers, the Portuguese is not likely to have much budget for January signings.

Source: BBC
 
I was told it was now or never - Amorim on Man Utd move

Ruben Amorim says he wanted to take the Manchester United job at the end of the season but accepted a mid-season appointment after being told it was "now or never".

Amorim, 39, was confirmed as Manchester United's new head coach on Friday and will complete his move to Old Trafford from Lisbon club Sporting on 11 November.

Speaking after Sporting's first match since that announcement - Friday's 5-1 league victory over Estrela which maintained their perfect start after 10 games - Amorim explained his only request following United's approach was to see out the current campaign, which he had already informed the club's president would be his last.

But the Portuguese coach was told that would not be possible as the Premier League club sought an immediate replacement for Erik ten Hag, who was sacked on Monday.

"The season started, we started very well, and then Manchester United came, they pay above the compensation clause and the president defends the club's interests," Amorim explained.

"I never discussed anything with the president. For three days I said I wanted to stay until the end of the season, but then I was told it was not possible.

"It was now or never, or Manchester would go for another option. So, I had three days to make my mind up, to make a decision that changes radically my life."

Amorim, who has agreed a contract until June 2027, is the sixth permanent manager United have appointed since Sir Alex Ferguson's illustrious 26-year reign ended with his retirement in 2013.

He has established a reputation as one of Europe's most promising managers, leading Sporting to two league titles - including the club's first in 19 years - but said he only wanted Manchester United as his next move.

"I've had other opportunities - the president and [director of football] Hugo Viana can confirm this. It's not the first or the second time that I have been requested by another team and I don't want another team," said Amorim.

"After Sporting I wanted that one, Manchester, and I want that context because that context allows me to do things my way and the club believes me that way.

"There's a time when I have to take a step forward in my career. That's what happened. It was harder for me than to any Sporting fan, believe me, but I had to do this."

He added: "Now I go home happier because I have explained. People say 'it's about the money', but there was another team that wanted to hire me before and they paid three times more than Manchester.

"It was the best phase of my life. Everyone at Sporting knows. I understand the disappointment of the fans but today is not the farewell. We still have two important games against Manchester City [in the Champions League] and Braga [in the league] to maintain the lead."

United, 20-time English champions, are 14th after nine Premier League games this season, with Ruud van Nistelrooy set to oversee the next three fixtures - two in the Premier League and one in the Europa League - as interim boss prior to Amorim's arrival.

Van Nistelrooy's future at the club remains unclear and Amorim stated his desire to take his current staff with him to Old Trafford, having worked with the same coaches since starting his first job at Portuguese club Casa Pia in 2018.

"I will take my staff with me. That was always one of my conditions. I brought them with me since Casa Pia," Amorim said.

He also insisted he would not return to buy Sporting players in the January transfer window, after watching in-form Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres score four goals on Friday.

"Gyokeres costs 100 million and it's very difficult. I'm not going to pick up any Sporting player in

'A good addition to the league' - Premier League bosses react to Amorim's appointment

Premier League managers gave their reaction to Amorim’s appointment during Friday’s news conferences - including Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna, whose side will host Manchester United in Amorim’s first match in charge on 24 November.

McKenna, a former coach at Old Trafford, said: “I wish him all the best. It is a club I have an affinity with and always want to see them do well, hopefully not in the game that is coming up [against us].

"Other than that I wish them all the best and I’m sure he will be a good addition to the league."

Chelsea are up next in the Premier League on Sunday following Wednesday’s 5-2 victory over Leicester in the EFL Cup in United’s first match since Ten Hag’s sacking.

Blues boss Enzo Maresca wished Amorim “all the best”, adding: "If the people in charge took that decision, it's because they think it's the correct one.”

On coming up against Van Nistelrooy on Sunday, Maresca added: "I didn't speak with Ruud. I will give him a big hug on Sunday before the game. He's a fantastic guy, humble, very professional.”

United have been drawn against Tottenham in the EFL Cup quarter-finals – a tie for which Amorim will be in charge.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, whose side beat Ten Hag’s United 3-0 at Old Trafford in September, said: "He will have his feet firmly under the desk by then and I’m looking forward to meeting him."

BBC
 
Sporting boss Ruben Amorim says Manchester United fans may think "the new Alex Ferguson has arrived" if his team beat Manchester City on Tuesday

Amorim, 39, has two more games as Sporting head coach before taking over at Old Trafford - including the Champions League match against his new team's rivals.

"If the result is very negative, expectations will drop and I don't think that's a bad starting point, when you begin at Manchester United," he said.

"If we win they'll think the new Alex Ferguson has arrived, which is very difficult to maintain.

"I'm fully aware that I'm going to be judged as a manager on this game, and only on this game, and I realise what [people] can take from this depends on the result."

Ferguson won 38 trophies during 26 years as Manchester United boss before retiring in 2013. He is leaving his role as club ambassador at the end of the season.

Sporting have won 14 of their past 15 games, only losing in the Portuguese Super Cup this season.

Both City and Sporting are on seven points from three Champions League games so far.

In 2022 City beat Sporting 5-0 on aggregate in the last 16 of the competition.

"I feel like I'm a better coach [now]," said Amorim. "Unfortunately what I feel is that Pep Guardiola has also become an even better coach, so the gap remains.

"[City have] the best team in the world and the best coach in the world."

City's Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva was a team-mate of Amorim's at Benfica in 2013-14.

"He always showed he could read the game because he played different positions - as a defender, on the left, as a midfield player," Silva said on Monday.

"When he arrived Sporting hadn't been champions for 20 years. He changed the playing paradigm of Sporting. They are the best team in Portugal by far.

"He will be a rival but I am glad someone else from Portugal is in the best league in the world.

"When Ruben becomes coach of Man United, we will worry about that then. Right now we want three points to get to the top eight."

Source: BBC
 
Incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim saved one of his greatest Sporting victories for his last home game to condemn Manchester City to a third successive defeat for the first time since April 2018.

It was City’s heaviest defeat since September 2020 and only the second time in his trophy-ladened spell at City that Pep Guardiola has been beaten in three consecutive games in a single season.

To cap a thoroughly depressing night for City, star striker Erling Haaland blasted a second-half penalty against the crossbar.

Sporting's own Scandanavian superstar Viktor Gyokeres - formerly of Coventry City - did much of the damage with a superb hat-trick.

The Swede drove home a 38th-minute leveller to Phil Foden’s early opener and then kept his cool after the break to beat Ederson twice from the spot.

The first of those penalties came in a disastrous start to the second half for City as they went behind seconds after the restart when Maximiliano Araujo raced onto a through ball and fired into the corner.

Sporting regulars in the media tribune said the victory was the greatest single game of Amorim’s reign, which has one more match to go, at Braga on Sunday.

"I think that it was clearly a landmark, big moment for everyone, the result, and that helped with the feeling of the goodbye to the fans," said Amorim afterwards.

"I think everyone here deserved this moment, we were very happy here at the Jose Alvalade and to end in such a way adds a special touch. I think everyone deserved this."

The fear in this part of Lisbon must be that momentum from seven successive victories in all competitions cannot be maintained. Not that it tempered the celebrations at the final whistle.

As for Amorim, he joked on Monday that a victory might mean United fans start comparing him to Sir Alex Ferguson.

That might be a stretch. But, there could not have been a better way to shove a huge amount of credit in the bank.

City's struggles get worse with third straight loss

If the build-up to this game was all about Amorim and his impending move, much of the aftermath will be centred around Guardiola and his team.

The injury issues City are wrestling with meant Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was handed his first senior start in central defence, less than a week after his first-team debut. Simpson-Pusey only turned 19 the day before the game and he was given a baptism of fire by Gyokeres, who used all his experience to full effect.

Guardiola must have had his heart in his mouth when Manuel Akanji went down in the second half with what appeared to be a head injury. But the Swiss defender recovered and was able to complete the game.

The City boss has said this season will be 'a struggle'. That prediction is already coming true.

To help him out, he needs his senior players to have an impact. Foden did so when he drove home his fourth goal of the season to set City on course for what seemed certain to be an easy win.

But early chances to double the advantage came and went and City were swept away by two goals in four minutes at the start of the second half.

Normally, a response would be expected. Had Haaland converted his penalty, it might have come. The Norwegian has now failed to score in four of his last six games.

It is not just City as a whole who are struggling, individual players are too.

Gyokeres on fire

Gyokeres' named was linked with United before Amorim’s appointment was confirmed by the Old Trafford club, so it is only natural the speculation has intensified in recent days.

The 26-year-old has plenty of experience in the English leagues following spells with Brighton, Swansea and Coventry.

However, it is with Sporting that the Swede has really shot to prominence.

He now has an impressive 66 goals for the club in all competitions and 12 in his last six games following four strikes against Estrela last Friday.

Up until his equaliser, it wasn’t as though he was having a particularly productive evening.

Quite aside from wasting an early chance to level when he almost seemed to have too much time and not enough in the same moment as he bore down on the City goal, yet snatched at the opportunity and sent his chip straight to Ederson, Gyokeres was also wasteful in possession.

One run took him straight into a crowd of opponents inside the City box when he had team-mates in excellent positions, another routine pass across the area went straight to a blue shirt.

At that point, it was easy to wonder what the fuss was all about. Gyokeres soon sorted that out.

It is probably a good job for Sporting that Amorim has pledged not to take any of their players to Manchester United in the January transfer window.

BBC
 
Ruben Amorim refuses to joke about Manchester United transfer that every fan wants

Ruben Amorim refused to joke about signing Viktor Gyokeres for Manchester United.

Gyokeres eviscerated Man City, scoring a hat-trick as Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon thrashed Pep Guardiola’s side 4-1.

It has, understandably, got United fans excited about Amorim’s impending arrival at Old Trafford next week.

However, Gyokeres will not be coming with him just yet.

The former Brighton and Coventry striker has a frightening record for Sporting. This season alone he has 23 goals in just 17 games.

The 26-year-old also has an £84million release clause and has been linked with a move to a major European club.

Amorim was asked about whether Gyokeres will be joining him in Manchester.

He told TNT Sports: “No, no, no, no. I cannot be funny with that in this moment. It is stuff for me to leave if I’m joking about Gyokeres, I will have problems.

“This is my city, this is my country, so I will respect. Viktor has to stay until the end of the season and then it’s his life is, maybe, going to someone else.”

Meanwhile, hat-trick hero Gyokeres addressed his manager's imminent departure after the game.

He told UEFA: "We will miss him a lot.

"We've done amazing things together. We will miss him and the other guys in the staff who will leave. We have to look forward and attack the next challenge ahead of us."

Reflecting on the match as a whole, the striker added: "It's always nice to score and even better to score a hat-trick. Most important was to win the game so it was a brilliant night for us.

"We knew it was going to be tough and we didn't start off well. We knew they would give us space and we could have scored more than four to be fair. They could have scored more as well. You need to raise your level when you play better opponents. I tried to keep doing what I've been doing."

That will be Amorim’s final home game in charge of Sporting, with the club travelling to Braga on the weekend.

He will officially start work at Manchester United on November 11, with his first match after the international break.

Amorim, who took a long lap of honour after the game, said: "Those who were here and have seen Sporting over the last four years deserved a night like this. It was very special.

"But we shouldn't stop here, it shouldn't be a one-off. It was special in the circumstances but we have to think about the next match against Braga.

"Perhaps it was written in the stars we should end this way. I will keep these memories forever but I cannot enjoy them fully yet."

 
Amorim vows to restore Man Utd to where club 'belongs'

Manchester United's new head coach Ruben Amorim says he is confident of putting the club back where it "belongs".

Amorim flew into Manchester on Monday after being confirmed as Erik ten Hag’s replacement.

The 39-year-old is the seventh man since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 to take up the challenge of trying to get United competing for major trophies again.

None of them has been able to engineer a sustained Premier League title push, taken United beyond the last eight of the Champions League or completed three full seasons in the job.

In his first public comments since arriving in the UK, former Sporting boss Amorim told United's club media he is determined to change that narrative.

"I will try to do everything to put this club in the place that it belongs," he said.

"And I believe a lot that we are going to succeed."


 
‘We will be found out’: Amorim warns United of challenging times ahead

Ruben Amorim has warned his Manchester United players “the storm will come” and there will be difficult times ahead despite a promising start to his tenure, as his team prepare to face Arsenal. The 39-year-old is unbeaten in his opening three matches as head coach, winning twice, but the trip to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night promises to be a tougher challenge.

“The storm will come,” Amorim said. “We are going to have difficult moments and we will be found out in some games. And I know that because I know my players and I know football and I follow football.

“I understand the difference between the teams and we are in the point in that we are putting simple things in the team, without training, and you feel it in [last Sunday’s] game against Everton: they changed a little bit the way they were building up. They are a very good team, and we had a lot of problems because we cannot change it by calling one thing to the captain. We don’t have this training, so let’s focus on each game, on the performance, what we have to improve, trying to win games.

“I know it’s really hard to be a Manchester United coach and say these things. We want to win all the time, no matter what, we are going to try to win, but we know we are at a different point, if compared to Arsenal. We go with confidence to win, but we know we need to play very well to win.”

United will be without Luke Shaw after sources confirmed the defender is expected to be out for a few weeks after a fresh injury setback. “I’m devastated and it’s extremely tough to come to terms with reality at this moment in time,” the player stated on social media on Tuesday night.

Amorim will come up against Mikel Arteta, who took on the Arsenal job almost five years ago when the club were 10th, giving parallels to United’s predicament, and has turned them into title contenders. “Sometimes coaches are just judged about the titles, but what he has been doing in Arsenal is amazing,” Amorim said.

Top of Form

“It transformed the team. He bought some youngsters that now are the big talents in this country. I hope to have the same mindset that he had in the difficult moments because I followed the Premier League for a long time.”

SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...-ruben-amorim-arsenal-challenging-times-ahead
 

Amorim's task to improve 'mediocre Man Utd'​


On the day co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe called Manchester United "mediocre" in an interview with popular club fanzine 'United We Stand', the team unfortunately reinforced the assessment with their on-pitch performance.

As many were quick to point out, Nottingham Forest's victory at Old Trafford was not "a shock" given Nuno Espirito's men started the game higher in the table.

Nevertheless, it was something Forest had not achieved in almost 30 years. And, at expectation level at least, Old Trafford's ambitions are more lofty than those at the City Ground. Their aim is to eventually win the Premier League and compete strongly in the Champions League.

How realistic that is in the short-term is anyone's guess. On this evidence, not very.

Asked for his view on his first few weeks as United manager (five games with two victories, only one of which has come in the Premier League) and results that are alien to him - his old club Sporting had won 16 games out of 17 before United prised him to England - Amorim said the perceptions were not true.

"I had this and worse in Sporting in the beginning," he said. "The feeling for me is the same but for the world it's completely different.

"You know Sporting in Portugal but Manchester [United] has a lot of attention."

Source: BBC
 
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