Ruben Amorim, after agreeing to his departure from Sporting CP mid-season, quickly joined Manchester United. His arrival, during an international break in November, marked the beginning of a new era at the club. Amorim, aware of the need for a radical change, implemented a different tactical system from that of his predecessor, Erik ten Hag. The Portuguese coach, from the first moment, made his vision and the scheme he wanted to implement clear.
Amorim’s debut at the helm of United, with the 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town in November 2024, revealed the challenges he would face. The Portuguese coach, after analyzing team videos, identified ball loss and lack of physical condition as key problems. In the match against Ipswich, Amad Diallo, playing in a new position, assisted Marcus Rashford for the first goal. Omari Hutchinson tied the match, and in the second half, the problems identified by Amorim were confirmed.Since he arrived at the club, he was very clear about how he wanted to play, the system he wanted to employ. He explained it. We were in an international break at the time when he arrived. He sat down with the team and showed us.
Jonny Evans
The change in the game system, from Ten Hag’s 4-3-3 to Amorim’s 3-4-3, only had two days of training, which created difficulties. The players, even experienced ones like Jonny Evans, admitted to feeling unsure about how to execute the new scheme. Amorim, during training sessions, actively got involved, stopping the sessions to give instructions and adjust the players’ positions. The coach acknowledged that his players were overthinking and, at times, confused. It was really difficult for them; they were thinking [about] what to do. It wasn’t fluid, which is normal after only two training sessions. The Portuguese coach explained that the tactical change required the players to adapt to new roles, which was a challenge in such a short time. The image shows Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens analyzing Ruben Amorim’s first year as Manchester United’s coach. The difficulties shown against Ipswich translated into a complicated season, with the team finishing in fifteenth position in the Premier League. However, on the eve of the match against Everton, an improvement is perceived. The change in the squad is evident, with only six players who started the match against Ipswich still at the club. Summer signings, such as Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, have contributed to the team’s development, and the playing system shows greater fluidity. Amorim values the opportunity to make early decisions and considers the start of this season as a new beginning. The trip to the United States during the preseason, with intensive tactical sessions and cohesion activities, reinforced this process. The coach also favors group conversations over individual ones, and avoids emotional post-match analyses, preferring to let the emotion of the match dissipate before talking to his players. Although, on occasion, there were reprimands at Carrington when things didn’t go well. Amorim comes to the match against Everton with a streak of five games without losing, and acknowledges that the suffering of the previous season was necessary to lay the foundations for a long-term project at Old Trafford.I think we need to improve the physical aspect of the team. I think we lose the ball too often and we have to maintain possession better. We have to be better when we fall back.
Ruben Amorim
Amorim hopes United continues to progress and starts taking the next steps towards the top of football.I think we are showing [that the team is different], but the important thing is that it doesn’t matter what we did in the last games. We cannot forget that we started at that point [against Ipswich], we suffered a lot last year, so we have to take that into account and play every game as if it were the last.
Ruben Amorim
