Ruben Amorim’s management dissected: the tactics and style of Man Utd manager elect

One can only imagine the mixture of emotions coursing through Ruben Amorim’s body and brain as he emerged from the tunnel at the Estadio Jose Alvalade and, presumably for the last ever time, made his way towards the home dugout.
Truly, these are strange days for the 39-year-old, who is experiencing a set of circumstances that few managers will ever be able to understand. He arrived at Sporting’s ground with a game to win – a cup quarter-final, no less, and emerged 3-1 victors over Nacional – but also with the knowledge that every supporter in this stadium knew his time at the club is coming to an end. 
A few hours before kick-off against Nacional, Amorim’s club publicly confirmed that Manchester United are willing to pay his £8.3 million release clause. There could be no denying the reality of the situation, however much Amorim might have preferred to treat this match as just another game. 
Footballers and managers do not often have the chance to say goodbye like this. In this industry, you’re usually either in or you are out. Erik ten Hag was Manchester United manager on Sunday, and then he wasn’t on Monday. 
In comparison to the removal of Ten Hag, the Amorim situation represents a slow and sorrowful farewell from Sporting. In conversation with Telegraph Sport ahead of this match, two of the club’s supporters used the same word, independently of each other, to describe his imminent departure: “heartbreaking”.
There was more to follow. When he stepped out onto the touchline before kick-off, Amorim was met with a standing ovation from all sides of the stadium. There was no venom or anger, and seemingly no sense of resentment that he is leaving them all behind.  
A recepção de Alvalade a Rúben Amorim 👏#sporttvportugal #TAÇAnasporttv #SportingCP #CDNacional pic.twitter.com/85qzIXTYTx
Only a coach with a heart of stone would have been unmoved by such a response, and by all accounts Amorim is not that type of person. Those who know Amorim describe him, above all, as “human”. This is a superstar manager-in-waiting, perhaps, but certainly not a superstar personality. 
The Sporting supporters in attendance went on to produce a stirring rendition of their pre-match anthem, “O Mundo Sabe Que”, which continued after the first whistle had been blown. As they sang, Amorim stared at the floor with his hands in his pockets, seemingly deep in thought. 
From there, Amorim’s demeanour was that of a man going about his business as usual. At certain moments he produced a deep touchline squat, a move more commonly associated with Marcelo Bielsa. At other times, he rocked back on his heels in mild annoyance at his team’s wastefulness. 
When the opening goal for Sporting arrived after half-time, Amorim did not even twitch in celebration. Neither did he move as Viktor Gyokeres scored twice – from the spot and then from a ferocious free-kick – or when Nacional pulled one back with a deflected effort. 
One area in which Amorim should provide an instant upgrade on Ten Hag is in his choice of touchline outfits. It is hardly the biggest of issues but image does matter to clubs (especially their marketing departments) and Amorim is evidently more trendy than Ten Hag, who raised eyebrows with his objection to socks and his penchant for flat caps. 
Here, Amorim wore shiny white trainers and a white hoodie. One can easily picture him promoting United’s latest “streetwear” release, just as Mikel Arteta so regularly does in Arsenal press conferences. 
Tactically, Sporting deployed the same 3-4-3 formation that has become their trademark under Amorim. It was hardly the most thrilling attacking performance, but the truth is that this night was never going to be remembered for the action on the pitch.
It’s all over, a comfortable win for Sporting. 
Amorim shakes the hand of Nacional manager Tiago Margarido and then heads straight down the tunnel. I’m sure I’m not alone in here in wondering if he was going to wave goodbye to the home crowd… it wasn’t to be. His press conference will hopefully reveal more. 
Three minutes of stoppage time remaining. Let’s see how Amorim responds to the final whistle…
Or perhaps more focused?
Anyway, it looks like Sporting are marching on here. Whether Amorim will be in charge for their next game in this competition remains to be seen. 
There must be a slight sadness on the part of Amorim that the stadium is far from sold out tonight. This is not a reflection of his management, though, as it is actually the result of a planned boycott from supporters due to their unhappiness with the formatting of this league cup competition. 
I know the world is watching this because of Amorim but Gyokeres is doing his best to steal the headlines again… this man is unstoppable. He has just scored his second of the game with a thumper of a free-kick, smashed into the top corner from the edge of the box. As Sporting’s coaches celebrated together on the touchline, Amorim stood alone. 
It’s that man again… Gyokeres with his second of the game. 3-1 Sporting.
Oh, just as it seemed the match was over as a contest, Nacional have pulled one back. A long-range shot by Macedo deflected horribly past Sporting goalkeeper Kovacevic. Once again, no reaction from Amorim. 
Sporting have brought on star striker Viktor Gyokeres (14 goals in 14 games this season, before tonight’s game) and he’s added an extra offensive threat, as you might expect. The Sweden international has just doubled the lead from the penalty spot, having won the foul himself. No sign of Amorim on the touchline for that penalty – he appears to have taken his seat in his dugout. Such is his confidence in Gyokeres, he probably didn’t need to even watch. 
Younger managers are often the most demonstrative on the touchline (think Mikel Arteta in the early years of his Arsenal tenure, for example) but on this evidence, you would not put Amorim in that bracket. He has been largely motionless in his dugout, apart from the occasional Marcelo Bielsa-esque squat (below). 
Another thing: I don’t think he’s berated the fourth official once yet, which is surely something he will learn following his arrival in the Premier League.
Sporting finally take the lead, as Morten Hjulmand powers a low effort into the corner after the ball fell his way in the penalty box. Amorim’s response? He did not even smile. I don’t think he twitched. Completely motionless. 
Sporting are not playing particularly well here, and they’ve just wasted another good chance by ballooning a cross into Row Z, but Amorim is staying positive on the touchline. He responded to that terrible cross by applauding enthusiastically above his head. 
45′ 🔄 Tripla substituição ao intervalo:⬅ Marcus Edwards, Ivan Fresneda e Gonçalo Inácio ➡ Viktor Gyökeres, Francisco Trincão e Zeno Debast🟢 0-0 🟡 // #SCPCDN pic.twitter.com/52KUMLl6wJ
Admittedly this is not the main issue of the day, or indeed the main issue of any day, but United supporters might be pleased to know that Amorim has a far more trendy touchline vibe than Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman was occasionally criticised by the fashion police for his rather eccentric choice of headwear, and for his refusal to wear socks with his suit. Amorim is 15 years younger than Ten Hag and he dresses like it: tonight he’s got bright white trainers and a bright white hoodie, worn beneath a Sporting tracksuit jacket. Make of that what you will!
At half-time it’s still goalless. Honestly, it’s not the best game.
Amorim has been pushing for the move following the sacking of Erik ten Hag and if a deal is closed quickly it remains possible that he will be in the United dugout for Sunday’s Premier League home game against Chelsea. However, Sporting have a home league game on Friday evening and the club expect Amorim to take charge of that. If he does it will rule him out of being in the United dug-out on Sunday, but he may be in the stands.
Sporting with 10 shots and three on target and nearly two-thirds of the possession are not able to make their territory pay.
Under Amorim, Sporting have become known for their flexible and ambitious 3-4-3 formation. They are sticking to that system again tonight, with English winger Marcus Edwards already causing problems with his dribbling ability on the right side. 
61 per cent possession, six shots and three of those on target compared to one and one for their opponents. 
Rúben Amorim aplaudido pelos adeptos à entrada em campo para o Sporting-Nacional pic.twitter.com/dMa5JGcLvt
Ruben Amorim has just emerged from the tunnel ahead of kick-off, and he was met with a standing ovation by many of the Sporting supporters here. That is a sign of the affection, and indeed the gratitude, they have for him in these parts. 
Taca da Liga (3): 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22Primeira Liga (2): 2020/21, 2023/24Portuguese Super Cup (1): 2021
All of these but one Taca da Liga are with Sporting. The other was for Braga.
O nosso 11 inicial para o desafio desta noite 🟡⚪️⚫️ Vamos! pic.twitter.com/45kYBr6xYB
O nosso 𝙊𝙉𝙕𝙀 𝙄𝙉𝙄𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙇 para os quartos-de-final da Taça da Liga 🦁 #SCPCDN pic.twitter.com/ipoAhcea90
He has managed four clubs in total and three of those total just a handful of games. Overall, though, this is an impressive record. I’ve used points per game here (including knockout games) rather than win percentage because it is a better metric. Points matter and you get them for drawing, not just winning. In any case, 90 points in a 38-game season would equate to 2.36 points per game so that tells you roughly what you are dealing with here. 
What United would give for even two points per game in the league. Since Sir Alex Ferguson left they have managed that just once, under Jose Mourinho in 2017/2018. In fairness to Erik ten Hag they averaged 1.97 points per game in his first season at the helm, but that slipped back to 1.57 last season. This season so far? 1.22. 
As well as winning nine from nine in the league Amorim has overseen an undefeated run in all competitions (excluding the domestic Super Cup) this season. Here, though, are their most recent five results with the only dropped points coming away to PSV in the Champions League, which is no bad thing. 
Famalicao 0 Sporting 3Sturm Graz 0 Sporting 2Portimonense 1 Sporting 2Sporting 2 Casa Pia 0PSV 1 Sporting 1
They have not conceded many goals, either, just four in 13 games since their 4-3 loss to Porto in the Portuguese Super Cup back at the start of August. One of those was against Nacional in their league game a couple of months ago. 
James Ducker had a look at how the potential Manchester United manager might choose to set up his team, as well as who stands to win and lose out if he signs on the dotted line and moves to Old Trafford. Here’s a glimpse of what we might expect…
Read more analysis from James here.
Manchester United to trigger Ruben Amorim’s £8.3m release clause as he has made it clear he wants to leave Sporting but United must reach agreement with coach on personal terms. Read more here.
The football world moves quickly. Today Manchester United triggered the release clause in Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim’s contract with the Portuguese club for £8.3 million. It looks very much like the 39-year-old will become Erik ten Hag’s replacement at Old Trafford, as he has made it clear to his current club that he wants to depart.
This is Amorim’s fourth managerial job after Casa Pia, Braga B and then Braga, all between 2018 and 2020 when he took over at Sporting. As a player he won several honours with Benfica and has won the league twice since arriving here as manager, as well as the League Cup twice – to go with the edition he won at Braga in 2020. Overall it is an impressive haul in a short period of time.
Sporting are in action this evening, with Amorim on the touchline. The club take on Nacional of Madeira in the Taça da Liga (League Cup) quarter-finals with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs, obviously.
Whilst Sporting sit top of the Primeira Liga after nine games with nine wins, their visitors to the Estádio José Alvalade are at the other end of the table. Nacional have won just one of their league games and have just five points, also after nine games. Only Farense are below them.
You would expect, then, that this should be an easy victory for Amorim’s side, though it looks likely to be the last time he takes charge of the club before his imminent potential move. Telegraph Sport’s Sam Dean is at the stadium in Portugal and will be providing regular updates about the game and also, crucially, about Amorim’s tactics, strategy and mannerisms on the touchline, as well as anything he says in the post-match press conference.
The game kicks off at 8.15pm GMT and we will keep you updated throughout the game with any relevant updates.