Let’s just say, the expectations have been raised. That’s the cold, hard (hot, soft?) reality for soon-to-be Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim after his Sporting CP side hammered Manchester City 4-1 in his final home game on Tuesday.
[ MORE: UEFA Champions League table | Champions League schedule & scores ]
Amorim will manage Sporting’s league game against Braga, his previous managerial job, this weekend before he officially replaces Erik ten Hag, taking over from interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, on Monday.
Manchester United fans should actually like Ruben Amorim
No offense to David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho or Ten Hag, but they weren’t exactly worried about coming across as charming. (That’s four of the five permanent managers appointed since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, by the way.) But nothing was more apparent on Tuesday: Ruben Amorim is beloved by the Sporting fans, and why wouldn’t he be? Not only has he delivered an abundance of trophies, and that means they also watched him grow and develop as a coach to the point he had simply outgrown their club and now requires a greater challenge. How about (arguably) the greatest challenge in the world, then? “I feel like I’m a better coach [now],” Amorim said this week. I’ll say! Eight goals better, in fact. “Unfortunately, what I feel is that Pep Guardiola has also become an even better coach, so the gap remains,” he would go on to say, playing nice with a legend whom he holds in the highest regard.
As the players and coaches entered the arena prior to kickoff, a massive tifo reading Obrigado (thank you, in Portuguese) was raised on one side of the stadium. As the final minutes of the game ticked away and one of the best nights in club history was all but assured, the fans sang Amorim’s name as “the best team in the world” (his words) were played off the park.
Rasmus Hojlund as Viktor Gyokeres in Ruben Amorim’s system
No forward in Europe carries the ball forward, shoots on target or scores as often as Gyokeres (via FBref, over the last 365 days). When your center forward can generate scoring chances all on his own (for himself or others), it’s almost an unfair fight against 98 percent of teams in the world. (Think: prime Luis Suarez) Hojlund is already pretty good at the part where he runs onto through balls and beats the ‘keeper, but his passing and dribbling numbers are much lower (against much tougher competition) than Gyokeres has posted in the Portuguese league. Considering United are pretty devoid of any other reliable scorers in the side, Hojlund is going to have to be Superman until they can get him some help.
