Ruben Amorim never played in the Premier League, but ever since leading Sporting CP to the Portuguese league title in 2021, it has felt like a matter of time before he ended up there. Whenever an English club of any stature has been on the lookout for a new manager, his name has never been far away from the list of candidates. And after being linked with Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and West Ham, the Portuguese has been confirmed as the new head coach of Manchester United and now has the chance to show why he has received so much hype.
He has been rewarded for biding his time and rejecting previous offers, landing the biggest job in English football. But it is also arguably the hardest. Many mangers with far more prestigious CVs than Amorim have been chewed up and spat out, incapable of stopping the rot that has set in ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Just look at Amorim's role model Jose Mourinho, the larger than life Louis van Gaal or Erik ten Hag, who was one of the top coaches in Europe when he took the poisoned chalice and stepped into the Old Trafford dugout.
The 39-year-old, who will be the youngest manager United have had since Wilf McGuinness in 1969, has already restored one creaking football institution to greatness, winning two league titles with Sporting - including their first in 19 years - plus two League Cups. He brings fresh ideas and a clear vision, a recognisable 3-4-3 formation and a reputation for overseeing blistering attacking football and goals aplenty.
But he will also have to deliver quickly, as his new employers have spent £8.3 million ($10.8m) to release him from his contract at Sporting, only four months after backing Ten Hag despite all the warning signs. GOAL breaks down the winners and losers as a new era is set to begin at Old Trafford...