He’s been tipped as a future Manchester United manager and he’s been touted as the new Jose Mourinho.
But it will be Manchester City who will next get the chance to see Portuguese sensation Ruben Amorim up, close and personal.
The 37-year-old has been working wonders at Sporting Club de Portugal – and on Tuesday the highly-rated Lisbon-born coach will look to orchestrate a masterstroke by beating City in the Champions League.
The Citizens and the Lions clash at Stadium Jose Alvalade, with a host of last 16 clashes to look forward to next week as the competition gets back into gear.
And City and Sporting’s showdown has special significance, especially as it pits rising star Amorim against old dog Pep Guardiola, respectively.
It’s an intriguing narrative behind what promises to be a gripping first leg.
Mourinho famously burst on to the British scene when his Porto side stunned United at Old Trafford back in 2004. Who can forget his iconic exuberant dash down the touchline to celebrate his team’s breathtaking last-minute equaliser against the Red Devils back.
That year Mourinho and his young side stunned the footballing world, surprising everyone in the Champions League before thumping Monaco 3-0 in a one-sided final.
There’s little suggestion that the mild-mannered Amorim would go such extreme lengths – by all account it’s not in his character – but victory for Sporting could raise Amorim’s stock even further, especially over a coach as respected Pep.
And of course it’s a hell of a lot of expectation to say he can achieve what Mourinho has in the game.
But exactly who is Amorim? And why is being now being touted for some of the top jobs in football? After all, there’s plenty of excellent young managers in the game, patiently waiting for their big break.
Currently Sporting CP Manager and has won them the First Portuguese League title🏆
He's only 36 years
The Next Mourinho I Presume 👏⏳
England’s own Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney are all currently being given the chance to show what they are made of. However, time-and-time again the enigma Amorim is talked about being on the radar of Europe’s elite.
As a player, Amorim was a respected midfielder with Benfica, for whom he played nearly 100 times, and won an unprecedented quadruple of league titles. He also played 14 times for his country but, aged 32, he suffered a career-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury and duly retired to pursue management.
Five years on, Amorim has made incredible progress, especially with Sporting. He started his managerial career with Lisbon-based Casa Pia, plying his trade in Portugal’s third division.
A year later he took over Braga reserves, in the same tier, before progressing to take over the club’s first team. It wasn’t long before he masterminded a memorable League Cup title-winning run.
Then, just short of two years ago, his big chance came when he was offered the chance to try and guide Sporting to their first major title for 19 years. Sporting splashed out a staggering 10millions euros to secure his services – and slapped a 20million euros buyout clause on their man.
It remains the third-highest transfer fee for a manager in the history of football. It was, however, a controversial appointment, not least because Sporting are Benfica’s fiercest rivals, but because their new manager was also a former Benfica player. A double whammy which made things even worse for some supporters.
But despite plenty of criticism the club’s faith paid off – and some. Amorim delivered with silverware and has shown plenty of signs that he can deliver at the top. Last season Amorim dismantled his Sporting side, recruited brilliantly during a major upheaval which reaped dividends.
Sporting won a second successive League Cup title and, more importantly, ended a near two-decade weight for the league title. Amazingly Amorim’s side lost just once in the league all season, showing their dominance and a changing in the guard with Benfica having been the Portuguese powerhouse.
The icing on the cake was Champions League qualification.
It’s only the second time in the club’s history they have achieved it.
Having lost their opening two games it looked very doubtful whether the Lions would reach the coveted knockout stage, but Amorim worked his magic, inspired four successive victories, as the club qualified for the last 16 stage for the first time since the 2008-2009 season.
In January, Amorim won his third league title and this season also helped Sporting beat arch-rivals Benfica – in their own back garden of the Estadio da Luz – for the first time in six years. Does everything this man touch turn to gold? Well, City fans will be hoping he’s not the man who derails their Champions League title hopes.
It can’t be underestimated how bad Sporting’s affair were before Amorim worked wonders to end years of hurt and anguish.
Now, just five years into a blossoming managerial career which promises plenty, he had a chance to prove himself against Pep.
