The new chosen one

From November 6, 1986 to May 19, 2013, Manchester United had only one taker on the bench: Sir Alex Ferguson. Since the Scot ended his Red Devil spell, nine coaches have managed the Old Trafford club. The long shadow of Govan has already caught many coaches, but last Friday the ownership, who has only been in the entity for a few months, decided to hire Rúben Amorim, a strategist who has already ‘ sleep to raise as Sporting de Portugal. .

Jim Ratcliffe, the owner of Ineos and the main face of United, only took around 12 weeks to reverse the decision he made last June when he renewed Erik ten Hag to beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final, although his season was disastrous.

The ownership gave the Dutch the names he asked for in the summer, but the team followed the same line as the previous year and the Ajax era ended with a defeat against West Ham (2-1 ).

In this context, Amorim arrives at a club that is confused about decisions, which in recent months received the services of Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth, two “main brands” of City and Newcastle. They were the ones who suggested the Portuguese, a coach with a meteoric career who in just five years has gone from managing Casa Pia to living on the Manchester United bench.

Sporting de Braga signed him, he beat Benfica and Porto, won the Cup and Sporting saw in him a kind of selection that was back to the elite. ee achieved with those from Lisbon with a clear seal: a scheme with three central backs, with the wings for two distance climbers, a double pivot, the wings inside and an offensive reference.

With that ideology he comes to the Prime Minister, to a ‘red devil’ team whose raw material is going to be much higher than it is now. Amorim will meet in Manchester with Manuel Ugarte, a midfielder who put him in the elite and who aims to be one of his extensions on the field.

Perhaps, in the current squad, there is a lack of forwards that he likes, especially on the left, and that he has too many wings. Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Amat Diallo and Antony may have been the biggest victims of the Portuguese arrival, as the Argentine could have been placed in a more inside position.

If that doesn’t happen, MasonMount has his sights set on relaunching his career with Amorim. Above, Rasmus Hojlund presents a profile very similar to that of Viktor Gyokeres, so he could be the ‘nine’ chosen by a coach who, far from choosing a style clear, in Portugal dominating almost every aspect, with the ball and without, direct or slower game. But the Premier League and United is another matter.