He is one of the most sought-after managers in Europe and West Ham United have him at the top of their list of potential replacements for David Moyes.
Ruben Amorim, the head coach of Sporting Lisbon, is a name that many are starting to know. The 39-year-old is heavily linked with the Liverpool job, with Jurgen Klopp set to leave at the end of the season and Xabi Alonso reaffirming his commitment to Bayer Leverkusen.
West Ham have held discussions over an ambitious move to appoint Amorim as manager if Moyes leaves when his contract expires at the end of the season. The 60-year-old Scot revealed in February that he had been offered a new contract, but after being knocked out of Europe and his Premier League form slumping, a change appears to be on the agenda.
The decision on who comes next will fall to chairman David Sullivan and technical director Tim Steidten, who arrived from Bayer Leverkusen last summer and are leaving their mark on the club.
Another option is former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Julen Lopetegui, but Amorim has emerged as the main target.
What are its strengths? What team does he play in? Is he giving young people a chance? Is he playing exciting football? Athleticism has analyzed why Amorim is high on West Ham’s radar.
Who is he?
Amorim, originally from Lisbon, played for Belenenses, Benfica, Braga and Al-Wakrah during his playing career. He retired at the age of 32 in 2017 and began his coaching career in 2018-19 with Portuguese third division side Casa Pia.
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“He will be an essential name in European football” – Ruben Amorim, the next European super-coach?
But it didn’t start well when he was handed a one-year suspended ban for giving instructions during the match without obtaining his coaching badge from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Casa Pia was fined and threatened with points deduction, Amorim resigned, but the team he left still won promotion at the end of the season.
Amorim rejected a job offer from Benfica, the club he supported, to take charge of their B team and became manager of Braga’s B team in September 2019. He won seven of his first eight matches and became first team manager three months later. following the dismissal of Ricardo Sa Pinto.
“Here in Braga, Ruben Amorim’s impact has been huge,” said Paulo Meneses, head of recruitment. “First in the B team then in the first team. His personality, his way of working made us think that we could be in the presence of a high-level coach.
Amorim won eight of the nine league matches he managed for Braga. There were notable victories against Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Benfica. He won the Portuguese League Cup, which was Braga’s first trophy since 2016. But when Sporting sacked Silas in March 2020, Amorim was named as his successor. He didn’t come cheap, with Sporting activating his €10 million (£8.6 million; $10.7 million) release clause.
Since his appointment, Amorim have won the Portuguese League Cup twice and are set to win a second title this season. Sporting are 10 points ahead of Benfica. It’s no wonder he’s a sought-after man and would be attainable this summer.
He has a release clause of around €10 million – a relatively modest figure for such a highly-rated manager – but it remains to be noted that he is yet to prove himself outside of Portugal.
What is his style?
Amorim have a fixed 3-4-3 setup based on high possession that looks to move the ball into the thirds in a careful and thoughtful manner, although the arrival this season of center forward Viktor Gyokeres from Coventry City in the league, gave them a strong transition threat. Amorim’s full-backs occupy more fixed positions in height to maximize width on the pitch.
“Ruben is a coach who brings everyone together,” Meneses said. “Whether it’s the players, the administration or the staff, everyone “buys in” to your idea. This is the key to creating a winning mindset. He has a very strong personality but does not fracture the group. Thanks to his strong leadership, he manages to unite and unite. He is very intelligent in human relations and communication. These are Ruben’s strengths as a coach.
Amorim’s style differs from Moyes’ favored 4-2-3-1 formation. West Ham try to play counter-attacking football and often have less possession than their opponents. West Ham have won just four of their 21 matches in all competitions this year. Among those wins against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Freiburg, Everton and Brentford, Moyes’ side had less possession.
As you can see by Athleticism Visualizing the style of play below, West Ham’s share of possession ranks in the sixth percentile among Europe’s top seven leagues. On the other hand, Sporting d’Amorim is in the top 20 percent (possession, 83 out of 99).
Amorim instructs his players to press high up the pitch (intensity, 92 of 99) and to press the play by often bringing his central defenders to the halfway line (high line, 80 of 99) – two much less common characteristics. to see on the side of David Moyes.
For Sporting, only city rival Benfica has recorded more turnovers (gains 40 yards or less from the opposition’s goal) than its 278 in the Primeira Liga this season.
He is happy to give youngsters a chance, with Nuno Mendes, Joelson Fernandes, Matheus Nunes, Eduardo Quaresma and Tiago Tomas under his command. Mendes was sold to Paris-Saint Germain for £34 million in May 2022, while Nunes joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in a record £42.2 million deal in August that year. Last summer, the midfielder joined Manchester City for £53million.
Why so much enthusiasm?
Sporting was sleepwalking towards decline before Amorim’s arrival. He transformed the club and oversaw the smart additions of Gyokeres, Francisco Trincao and Ousmane Diomande. Gyokeres, the 25-year-old Swedish striker, has been a revelation after signing for €20 million from Coventry, scoring 38 goals in 45 appearances. An eye for a striker would really suit West Ham given their struggles to find a different option to Michail Antonio in recent years.
Porto and Benfica had dominated the league before Sporting won the title in 2020-21, their first championship since 2001-02.
“Ruben is destined to join a top club in the ‘Big Five’ leagues,” Meneses said. “It will have to be an ambitious project. He is an extremely ambitious coach. There will be nothing else to excite him other than the ambition to win big trophies.
Could this be a springboard?
It would be the youngest appointment to the West Ham board, with proven appointments including Manuel Pellegrini, 64, Moyes, 55, and Sam Allardyce, 56. Slaven Bilic was a relative rookie when he joined at 46 years old.
While it seems likely that Moyes will leave at the end of the season, Amorim would be an attractive, young and high-profile appointment.
It gives opportunities to young people, which fits with the club’s mantra of being the football academy. Moyes struggled to give game time to members of last season’s FA Youth Cup-winning squad in the Premier League, much to their frustration.
Replacing Moyes doesn’t bring the same level of pressure as replacing Klopp at Liverpool. Moyes had the daunting task of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager in 2013 after a long and successful spell at Everton. His reputation was damaged after his dismissal with failed spells at Real Sociedad and Sunderland, but he restored it during his time at West Ham.
Staying at Sporting is still a real option for Amorim, but Sullivan and Steidten hope they can convince him to join their rebuild. Much like Brighton & Hove Albion with Roberto De Zerbi, further success at a club like West Ham would surely attract interest from Europe’s elite – but it would be a win-win for both Amorim and West Ham.
(Top photo: Pedro Loureiro/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)