Ruben Amorim has already shown the key difference that separates him from one former Manchester United manager in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at the club.
The 40-year-old Manchester United manager marked his arrival at Old Trafford last November and took charge of the Red Devils during the 2024-25 campaign.
Erik ten Hag was sacked as United manager last October after a disastrous start to the Premier League season and Ruben Amorim replaced him in the hot seat.
Amorim is United’s sixth permanent manager at Old Trafford since legendary former Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out of the Premier League club in 2013.
United’s last Premier League title win came under Sir Alex Ferguson in the 2012-13 campaign and the Red Devils have since struggled to capture the league trophy.
Amorim now faces the mammoth task of doing what his five previous United predecessors have failed to do at Old Trafford since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
Ruben Amorim showed the clear difference between him and Erik ten Hag during the 2024-25 Premier League season at Old Trafford
Manchester United limped to a woeful 15th-place finish in the Premier League table and were unable to turn their league form around under Ruben Amorim.
The Red Devils’ standing in the league table in the 2024-25 season was United’s worst finish in the Premier League since the league’s inception back in 1992.
Amorim’s men are now left without European football for the 2025-26 campaign at Old Trafford, with United also losing 1-0 to Tottenham in the Europa League final.
The Red Devils boss wasted no time in making serious changes at the Premier League club after he left his native homeland and role at Sporting CP.
Amorim rolled out his tactical system at United and the Red Devils immediately shifted to a three-man backline and dropped the conventional use of wingers.
The Portuguese coach found success with his formation at Sporting, with Amorim mainly relying on a 3-4-3 formation and sometimes using a 3-4-2-1 variation.
Amorim showed his reliance on his formation and desire to stick to his tried-and-tested blueprint was a refreshing sight for United fans compared with Erik ten Hag.
Ruben Amorim’s tactical system and sticking with his principles were everything that Erik ten Hag failed to do at Man Utd
Amorim has stuck by his tactical system and refused to pivot during the 2024-25 campaign amid the fierce criticism and United’s poor run of form in the league.
The Red Devils manager did see better results for United in the Europa League, but it was clear that Amorim was not ready to sell out his principles for the short term.
Ten Hag, who is now at Bayer Leverkusen, did not do what Amorim did and committed the biggest cardinal sin by selling out his system at the Red Devils.
The Dutchman would use a 4-2-3-1 formation at United at times, but he also shifted to a 4-3-3 as well during his reign as Red Devils head coach at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag famously claimed in 2023 that he couldn’t play the breathtaking Ajax football that he had built his name on at United because of the players that he had.
The 55-year-old former Ajax manager’s unwillingness to build for the long term to suit his Ajax playing style forever doomed his spell at Old Trafford as manager.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/3er7OAg