Five tactical principles Ruben Amorim could bring to Manchester United
06 November 2024 4:22pm GMT
Ruben Amorim admitted there would be comparisons with Sir Alex Ferguson with victory against Manchester City this week and the excitement only heightened hours after Sporting Lisbon’s 4-1 win.
Manchester United wasted little time with a reminder that Amorim starts work at Old Trafford next week – they retweeted their announcement of his appointment just after the final whistle at Jose Alvalade Stadium.
Amorim’s team played thrilling football to get the better of Pep Guardiola, who he regards as the greatest coach in the world.
These are the five principles that underpinned his success against City and why it should excite United fans ahead of his arrival in Manchester.
Sit back and pounce
Guardiola was asked about Sporting’s attacking after the defeat and took exception to the view they were relentlessly going forward. They countered, having allowed City to dominate possession with a 72.7 per cent share of the ball. What they did was break swiftly. Viktor Gyokeres’s first goal saw them go from front to back in seconds.
“In transitions they were really strong,” said Guardiola. “They sat back [at 3-1] but they run a lot in transitions. When we lose the ball in transitions, they can do it. After, we can analyse the reasons why we have been doing that but we did incredible build-up.”
Three centre-back system
Some young managers are tactically flexible, tweaking formations according to opponents or trends – but Amorim is wedded to his three centre-backs. Some clubs have looked at him in the past and wondered if such a system would suit their squad.
Sporting played out from the back and in the first half against City ran into trouble often. The opening goal came from trying to carry the ball forward from the backline. Hidemasa Morita, Amorim’s defensive midfielder, dropped deep and was blindsided by Phil Foden.
Goncalo Inacio, the Portugal centre-back, has been the cornerstone of Amorim’s defence and is among the players it is said the new manager would love to have with him at United.
Use of his striker
There was no hint of a “false nine” when Sporting lined up. Gyokeres led the attack and sat on the shoulder of the last defender. It was as worrying for City as it was exciting for United fans to see Amorim’s striker get behind Guardiola’s backline so many times.