On Saturday afternoon, Manchester United won three crucial points against Fulham thanks to a spectacular late goal from captain Bruno Fernandes.
After suffering a crushing 3-0 loss to Manchester City in the derby last Sunday and losing to Newcastle United by the same scoreline in the EFL Cup midweek, the outcome momentarily relieved head coach Erik ten Hag’s strain.
But with matches against Chelsea, Newcastle United, Everton, and Galatasaray coming up soon, the Dutchman’s position doesn’t appear secure at all.
However, if things really became serious and Man United had to break up with Ten Hag, there’s one player who could be able to restore the fallen titans to their former grandeur.
Merits of Ruben Amorim to Manchester United
The 13-time Premier League winners are currently seventh in the standings after losing eight of their 16 games thus far this season across all competitions. This is the club’s worst start in 61 years. However, ESPN revealed that the Manchester United board was “desperate” to retain their Dutch tactician in the dugout following last weekend’s crushing derby loss.
In any case, a long list of names has been selected to replace ten Hag. The United manager was “on thin ice,” according to a stinging story published by The Times on Thursday. Real Madrid icon Zinedine Zidane and Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim were being considered as alternatives.
Amorim recently disclosed that he had “an idea for the end of the season” at a press conference, but he declined to address the connections to Old Trafford. The 38-year-old had previously been linked to a move to Manchester United. According to reports, the hierarchy was planning for Amorim to take over as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s permanent replacement in 2021. Ralf Rangnick was then given the position through the end of the 2021–2022 season.
Before Unai Emery was appointed last year, the former Portugal international was connected to the Aston Villa position; journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic described him as “the best young manager in Europe right now.”
Amorim signed a new contract with Sporting in November that would keep him in Lisbon until 2026, yet it is rumored that the manager has an £8.7 million release clause that Man United might exercise.
Comparing Amorim and Ten Hag
Sporting had not won the Primeira Liga title in eighteen years when the relatively untested coach took the position with the Portuguese powerhouse in 2020. But in his first full season in charge, Amorim won Portugal’s top division by a margin of five points. Sporting looks good again this season and leads the league by the same amount of points as rivals Benfica from Lisbon, with a game remaining.
Considering that he is only 38 years old, his success as a young coach will probably make people compare him to Mikel Arteta, who, like Amorim, had very little coaching experience prior to taking over at a major club.
Of course, Arteta hasn’t yet taken home a league championship, but both the manager’s stats and his forward-thinking, lively style are intriguing. According to Soccerway, the former Braga manager has managed 173 games at Sporting across all competitions, with a 69% win percentage and a 15.6% loss rate.
Ten Hag, the manager of Man United, on the other hand, has a 64.1% win percentage and, with his victory at Craven Cottage on Saturday, became the club’s quickest manager to 50 wins in history.
Under the Dutchman, the Red Devils have nevertheless given up 1.16 goals per contest. Nobody managed a poorer defensive record than Ralf Rangnick. Sporting, on the other hand, has the lowest predicted goals against per ninety, at 5.4, and has conceded just 0.78 goals per game in the league this season. With just two more games played than Amorim’s team, Manchester United has the eighth-highest xGA per 90 in the Premier League this season (18.5).
Though they are positioned differently to accomplish the same objective, Amorim and Ten Hag share similar views on how football should be played, favoring a possession-based strategy, much like Arteta. In games, the Sporting manager has typically favored to use a 3-4-3 formation, which changes to a 3-2-5 when in possession and a 5-2-3 when applying pressure high up the field.
Conversely, Ten Hag has taken a rigid stance in his approach, which has occasionally hurt the squad. Man United used to line up in games with a 4-2-3-1 configuration, but they have switched to a more 4-3-3 formation this season, with less success. In a 3-1 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion at home in September, United even attempted to play with a 4-4-2 diamond, which Ten Hag said “absolutely worked.”
Amorim might be a great addition to the team if United relieves Ten Hag of his responsibilities soon. This would allow the team to maintain its attacking, positive football attitude while having a coach in the dugout who is a little more adaptable tactically.