Today, officially, is the first day of the Ruben Amorim era at Manchester United. The 39-year-old Portugese will see his contract at Old Trafford, which is set to run until June 2027, commence today. Provided nothing happens with his paperwork, and there are no procedural snafus and stuff, his first match will be November 24th at Ipswich Town.
As for the interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, his future with the club remains uncertain.
However, he did make it clear that he wants to stay with the club, in some capacity. As for Ruben Amorim, he now has to clean up the mess that was made by Erik ten Hag, which he inherited from Ole Gunnar Solskajer; which he was given from Jose Mourinho, which…well, you get the idea.
Ruben Amorim will be United’s sixth manager (ninth if you include the three interims) in the past decade. With that in mind, you have an incoherent roster, as it contains players recruited by multiple different coaches, in order to play in different styles and philosophies.
“I feel ready for the new challenge,” he told the assembled media at his final match leading table topping Sporting Lisbon, a 4-2 at Braga.
“I’m not naive, I know it’s going to be very different, very difficult. I’m at peace now, I can focus on my new job and I’m looking forward to starting tomorrow.”
He is the hand-picked successor of INEOS, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sir Dave Brailsford and the rest of the INEOS leadership contingent, so expectations will be high.
“I know it will be difficult to reproduce what I have here elsewhere, but there are other places with different exposure and pressure … It’s been a fantastic adventure,” added Amorim.
“I apologize for this mid-season decision, but I felt it was my time and my way.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.