New Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim turned Liverpool flop into ‘best of the year’ in Portugal

Manchester United have announced that a familiar face to one Liverpool flop, Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim, will become its new manager.

Amorim was unveiled by United on Friday as the permanent replacement to current interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy after the sacking of Erik ten Hag earlier this week. The Red Devils moved quickly to appoint Amorim, who will take up the position on November 11, given his incredible success in Portugal.

The 39-year-old is seen as one of the most talented young coaches around having won the Primeira Liga twice with Sporting – ending their near two-decade-long wait for a title – and he currently has the Lisbon giants top of the table with nine wins from nine games. But his work can also be seen on an individual level as he turned ex-Liverpool defender Sebastian Coates into the best player in the country.

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Coates joined Liverpool in 2011 from Uruguayan side Nacional in his homeland for £7million. The center-back played just 24 times in two seasons with Liverpool before heading on a series of loans to find consistent game time. He returned to Nacional on a short-term basis before a loan move to Sunderland was made permanent in 2015.

However, he only made a further 18 appearances after making the permanent switch before he was on the move again, originally on loan to Sporting before he was signed permanently a year later. Coates finally found a home at the Estadio Jose Alvalade but didn’t find his top form until the arrival of Amorim from Braga in 2020.

Amorim soon set about turning Sporting’s setup into his admired 3-4-3 with Coates playing a crucial role in the side as captain. Amorim led Sporting to the league title in his first full season in charge as Coates was named the Premeira Liga Player of the Year for the 2020/21 season after scoring five times in 33 games with Sporting conceding just 20 goals in the league.

Coates remained an integral part of Amorim’s plans the following seasons as Sporting finished 2nd and won the Taca da Liga and 4th where they made the Europa League quarter-finals. The Uruguayan lifted the league title again last season, playing 29 times and scoring four as Sporting won the league at a canter by ten points.

It was the perfect ending for Coates and Sporting as he headed back to his homeland to rejoin Nacional for a third time in his career at the age of 34. Coates played 369 times in all competitions for Sporting, including the most successful period of his career under Amorim, who he played under 179 times – the most of any manager during his career.

United fans will be hoping that Amorim can have a similar effect on a number of their struggling players when he takes the reins later this month during the upcoming international break. Amorim’s first game in charge of United will be away against Ipswich Town on November 24.