Amorim: Portugal's next 'special one'?

Twenty years ago it was Jose Mourinho. Now, it is Ruben Amorim who appears set to move from Portugal to the Premier League with a reputation as Europe's next coaching superstar.

Amorim has emerged as the favorite to take over at Manchester United following Erik ten Hag's sacking. His club Sporting Lisbon has confirmed the English club's interest.

Amorim is 39, two years younger than Mourinho when he left Porto and took over a Chelsea side poised to dominate English soccer.

Other coaches have come from Portugal with huge reputations, but not all have succeeded. Andre Villas-Boas, for example, failed to live up to expectations after following in Mourinho's footsteps from Porto to Chelsea in 2011.

But, everything about Amorim — who was also linked to the manager's job at Liverpool this year — suggests he could be something special, just as Mourinho famously proclaimed himself in 2004.

Yet, amid the interest, Amorim said on Tuesday his future "hasn't been decided yet".

"Nobody knows if this was my farewell match, or if there will still be a farewell match," Amorim said in a quote reported by Portugal's sports daily A Bola following Sporting's 3-1 win over Nacional in the Portuguese League Cup quarterfinals.

Hours earlier, Sporting released a statement to the Lisbon Stock Exchange, saying it has told United that Amorim has a release clause worth 10 million euros ($10.8 million) in his contract.

The Portuguese champion said United "has shown interest" in paying that amount for Amorim.

Making his name

As long ago as 2017, when Amorim confirmed his intention to become a coach, he told Tribuna Expresso: "I don't know if I am going to be good or bad, but that is what I am going to be."

Thirty-two at the time, he had just quit playing after injuries began to blight a fine career.

Amorim has made his name as a coach at Sporting, but he starred as a player for Lisbon's rival Benfica, the club he has supported from childhood.

"I can see myself coaching Benfica, or one of the world's biggest clubs. Obviously, only time will tell, and you need so much luck," he said.

Amorim began playing at Belenenses, based in the Lisbon suburb Belem, which is best known for its custard tarts.

There, he worked under Jorge Jesus, reaching the Portuguese Cup final in 2007.

In 2008 he joined Benfica, and a year later he was reunited with Jesus. Amorim mainly played at right-back, as a team featuring David Luiz and Angel Di Maria romped to the title.

The following season, Benfica was overtaken by Villas-Boas' Porto, and Amorim struggled with a knee injury.

He needed a loan move to Braga to relaunch his career, and went back to Benfica, and Jesus, in 2013.

Playing regularly in midfield, Amorim starred as Benfica won a domestic treble and lost the Europa League final on penalties to Sevilla.

His career never reached such highs again, and he ended his playing days in Qatar.