2 years during which the only constant was the lack of consistency. 2 years of some highs and some very low lows might be the perfect way to describe Erik Ten Hag‘s tenure at Manchester United. A revolution that never really got going, a few sparks of brilliance amidst mediocrity… all in all, way to little for a club of Manchester United’s stature.
After another string of unimpressive results and a slow start of the season, the United leadership decided to part ways with the Dutch manager. A lot of names were in circulation regarding his successor and the replacement was eventually found in Portugal – Sporting Lisbon’s head coach, Ruben Amorim, is set to take over at Old Trafford following the November international break.
A history of good deals with Sporting
It’s not the first time that Manchester United puts the money on Sporting CP’s table to take their talent. So far, however, it’s only been for the talent on the pitch rather than in the dugout. In fact, United’s (probably) greatest transfer ever came from Sporting, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo who signed back in 2003. The signing of another Portuguese winger, Nani, followed swiftly and then Marcos Rojo joined in 2014.
Their latest great arrival from the green-white part of Lisbon came in 2020 and soon became the club’s best performer worthy of the captain’s armband. Of course, it’s Bruno Fernandes.
It’s hard to say whether signing a manager from Sporting will be the same success, but we do have a sample of Portuguese managers leading Premier League clubs. Ruben Amorim, as a matter of fact, won’t be the first Portuguese to lead the Red Devils as José Mourinho did it between 2016 and 2018.
Portuguese managers in the Prem
Even though his spell at Manchester United did not bring the all-important Premier League trophy (he did, however win a EFL Cup and a Europa League), Mourinho is by far the most successful Portuguese manager in the Premier League, in fact, the only one to win it (he did so on three occasions.
Many other managers, like the current bosses of Fulham and Nottingham Forest, Marco Silva and Nuno Espírito Santo left their mark on the league as well, obtaining some good results and impressing with their style of play.
To this day, not counting assistants taking over due to the manager’s suspension or caretaker managers, six Portuguese coaches managed in the Premier League. This is how they did:
More than a few parallels with ETH
Of course, in football, every story is unique, so trying to predict anything on the base of how some previous managers have fared would be a far fetch. We can, however, go through the data, the facts about what’s already happened and compare them in order to be a bit smarter about what the future may bring.
The very idea of Manchester United signing one of Europe’s most promising upcoming coaches who is doing a brilliant work in a top 7 league, not only winning titles but winning them in a dominant, impressive way, scoring loads of goals, winning games not only in domestic competition but making his mark in Europe as well. Sounds familiar?
Erik ten Hag joined Ajax in the middle of the 2017/18 season after a solid spell with Utrecht that saw him reach the final of the Dutch Cup. Beforehand, he spent some time managing Bayern München’s B team. Ruben Amorim joins Manchester United in the middle of the 2024/25 season, after a solid spell with Braga that saw him win the Portuguese League Cup. Beforehand, he spent some time managing SC Braga’s B team.
He’s spent four and a half years with Ajax, winning three Eredivisie titles in the process and leading the standings in the 2019/20 season which was suspended due to COVID (no title was given). What caught the most attention, however, was their run in the 2018-19 Champions League campaign where Ajax reached the semifinal for the first time since 1997. Their 1-4 thrashing of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu was definitely the highlight of Ten Hag’s tenure in Ajax, perfectly summing up his reliance on young talent and his eye for attractive, offensive football. Players like Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, André Onana, among others, made big transfers to some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Ruben Amorim has spent four and a half years with Sporting, winning two league titles in Portugal and two League Cups. In 2021-22 he made history by making it out of the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2008/09 and only the second time in the club’s history.
They’re making the headlines this season as well, winning all 11 of their league matches so far and sitting in the second place of the new Champions League table featuring 36 teams. Their 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City at the José Alvalade was definitely the highlight of Amorim’s tenure in Sporting, perfectly summing up his reliance on young talent and his eye for attractive, offensive football. Players like Manuel Ugarte, Pedro Porro, Nuno Mendes, João Palhinha or Matheus Nunes ended up playing in some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Conclusion
Someone very wise once said that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome each time.” Of course, in the world of sport as complex as football, no thing is ever the same as the other as there are innumerable factors affecting every decision and process in any club in the world, let alone one of the world’s biggest club.
From our perspective, however, the signing of Ruben Amorim does feel like a bit of a déjà-vu. Ruben Amorim will hope to learn from his predecessor’s mistakes, but what if he doesn’t quite manage to do it? What if, after two, two and a half years, everything stays pretty much the same? Will another upcoming young talented coach be the solution United turn to or will it be acknowledged that the problems at Old Trafford might be deeper than that?
Come what may, as always in football, only time has all the right answers. We have no choice but to wish Ruben Amorim the best of luck and see how it all plays out.