Ruben Amorim will be grimly determined to hit the ground running at Man United after arriving from Sporting Lisbon with former Portugal defender Jose Fonte claiming that playing against Manchester United will create a ‘puzzle’ for opponents following the appointment of Ruben Amorim.
Amorim was appointed as United’s new head coach earlier this month and will make his debut when the Reds face Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday. The Portuguese was quickly identified as United’s first-choice option to succeed Ten Hag, and the club wasted no time in quickly wrapping up a deal with Sporting Lisbon to extract the 39-year-old from the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
United described Amorim as ‘one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football’ with the distinction of winning five trophies during his time at Sporting, including two league titles.
Guiding Sporting to a 4-1 win over Manchester City in his penultimate game in charge earlier this month, Amorim implemented a tactical plan that left United supporters drooling over his appointment. And for former Southampton man Fonte, Amorim apparently has the ability to create headaches for the opposition.
“Playing against a Ruben Amorim team is a puzzle, for the last few years teams in Portugal have been trying to figure that out, but it’s difficult,” Fonte told JeffBet.
“Sporting have a very good defensive transition, they either win the ball back or make a foul so they can get back into their shape.
“They do spend a lot of time in the opponent’s half so they can get exposed in behind, but their central defenders have so much pace which gives you that security.
“If you look at the stats, Sporting don’t concede a lot of goals. That’s credit to the reaction of the team when they lose the ball. They’re very aggressive. They spend most of the game in possession and It’s just a difficult system to play against. Amorim developed that and he will need time to adjust at Manchester United and time to see who will fit into his system.”
Fonte also believes United captain Bruno Fernandes has the capacity to excel under his fellow countryman’s management.
“Bruno Fernandes can play two roles in Ruben Amorim’s system, both as a central midfielder and as one of the No.10s,” Fonte added. “He could play deeper because he loves to play long passes, but then again the closer you have him to goal the more goals he will score.
“I think in one of the new No.10 positions he would be at his very best, he can play deeper but you want him scoring goals.”
Premier league, Manchester united, ruben amorim, sporting Lisbon, Ipswich town, fonte, Southampton, Bruno fernandes