- George Dempsey
- 19 December 2024
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Manchester United will hope to build on a stunning derby win when they face Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Thursday night.
Ruben Amorim is the new head coach of Manchester United, who he joined from Sporting Lisbon in November 2024.
The former Portugal international won three league titles as a player at Benfica, plus six domestic cups and one at Braga.
After starting his career in the lower levels of Portuguese football he became manager of Braga in 2019 and led them to Taca da Liga trophy in the 2019/20 season.
He joined Sporting Lisbon in 2020 and has won two Portuguese titles and two Taca da Ligas with the club.
Amorim was also named as the Primeira Liga's manager of the season in 2021 and 2024.
He was named as Manchester United's new head coach in November 2024, with the Old Trafford club paying Sporting Lisbon an extra €1m (£840,000) on top of his €10m (£8.4m) exit clause for an early release from his 30-day notice period.
Amorim playing career
Amorim began his career with hometown club Belenenses in 2003 but his playing career was ended abruptly at the age of 32, though not before landing three league titles with Benfica, as well as featuring for his country at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and again four years later in Brazil when Portugal were eliminated in the group stage.
In 2011, he publicly criticised manager Jorge Jesus for favouring overseas players over Portuguese, leading to disciplinary action that ultimately paved the way for his temporary exit on loan to Braga.
He returned triumphantly to the Estadio de Luz in 2013 to help the club to an unprecedented domestic treble.
In August 2014, he injured his anterior cruciate ligament injury and was out of action until the following February.
He joined Qatar side Al-Wakrah on a season long loan in August 2015, but struggled to regain his form and hung up his boots in April 2017 after terminating his contract with Benfica.
Amorim finds success in management
Amorim began his managerial career in 2018 in the country’s third division with Casa Pia but left after the club were sanctioned by the league owing to their coach not having the required licence.
After a brief spell in charge of Braga, he was appointed by Sporting in March 2020 tasked with ending the club’s 19-year wait for the title.
Sporting were crowned champions in 2021 and 2024 as Amorim forged a reputation as one of Europe’s most promising coaches, in part due to his young age in winning the league aged only 36.
He has also won Portugal’s League Cup on three occasions, twice with Sporting and once with Braga, as well as leading Sporting to the last 16 of the Champions League in 2022, a run which included a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in Lisbon.
Amorim has been linked to a number of high-profile jobs since his initial success, including in the Premier League.
Chelsea reportedly considered hiring him following the sacking of Graham Potter in 2023 and he was also apparently in the running to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool in 2024.
During the summer of 2024, he was forced to apologise to Sporting fans for the timing of discussions he engaged in with West Ham about succeeding David Moyes.
Amorim era at Manchester United
Amorim officially joined Manchester United after the November international break in 2024.
His first game ended in a disappointing 1-1 away draw at newly promoted Ispwich.