First and foremost the title of this thread was @Adnan idea so I want to give him his credit before I begin.
Ruben Amorim is a name that has been coming up in the press as of late and has been linked to United. What a good amount of people already know is that helped guide Sporting CP to their first league title in 19 years as well as a R16 berth in this years Champions League but what is his style of play and where did it all begin?
ACCOLADES:
League Title(s) - 1x
League Cup(s) - 2x
SupeTaça - 1x
Ruben Amorim was coaching in SC Braga youth setup before he was promoted to head coach following Abel Ferreiras departure. Not many people in the media paid to much attention to this move but right off the bat Amorim began to shake up the league with some huge statements wins.
In just 13 games as head coach of SC Braga Amorim accumulated FIVE (5) wins in rapid succession against Portugal’s traditional “Big Three” as well as winning a League cup and an impressive win vs Rangers in the Europa league. Ruben Amorim guided Braga to a 2-1 Win Sporting in the Semi Final of the league Cup followed by a 1-0 win in the Final vs Porto. He then defeated Sporting 1-0 in the League and a 2-1 win away to Porto followed by a 1-0 win away to Benfica. All of these wins in the same season and in 13 games. At this point the league was very well in notice and Sporting a club in turmoil at the time began to fantasize about the biggest coaching prospect In the country. Amorim quickly set up a system revolving around his 5-2-3 set up with guys like Joao Palhinha who was a loan at Braga at the time and striker Paulinho playing a big part of his tactical set up. This was "revolutionary" in Portugal as our league has been used to traditional 4-3-3 set ups as well and 4-4-2. None of the "Big Three" ever really played a five at the back formation with much success.
In the middle of the season Sporting took the chance before anyone else could and brandished 10M to SC Braga to acquire the services of Ruben Amorim. This was a decision that many Sporting fans were against as they could not understand how a coach with only 13 games under his belt could be worth so much. As far as Sporting fans were concerned Amorim was doomed to fail. When asked by journalists about the price tag and how much Sporting payed as well as the risk in investing that much money on a coach the common question by these same journalists was " What if it does not work out?" to which Amorim famously replied "What if it does?"
Ruben Amorim quickly made his mark on the team by focusing on 3 key points. 1). Returning Sporting to there roots of promoting young talent through our famed academy. 2). Investing in hidden talents in our own league. 3). The starting 11 is dictated by how the players perform in game as well as in training and not by stature.
Amorim quickly began to implant his 5-2-3 formation that emphasized on position less football with versatile players. There is no "striker" in the team but rather a conjunction of three forwards. When attacking the team would be constructed in a 3-4-3 with the wingbacks (Nuno Mendes and Pedro Porro) pushing forwards and providing with to the team. This was crucial as with any deep passes or over played crosses meant their was someone on the sidelines to retain possession. The back three was composed of Sebastian Coates acting as the anchor while the LCB (Feddal) and RCB (Inacio) were more ball playing center backs. This is crucial in his set up as the offense begins with the center backs. The midfield was constructed with a more defensive minded midfielder (Joao Palhinha) and either a box to box player (Matheus Nunes) or more possession based players like Joao Mario or Daniel Braganca. The front three interchange very often with Pedro "Pote" Goncalves cutting inside more while either Nuno Santos or Jovane Cabral provide more width. The "striker" Paulinho needs to be someone who can hold the ball up and be able to pass very well (someone like Jimenez or Benzema would be his wet dream).
Amorim focuses on a very strong defensive structure which focuses on recovering the ball as quick as they can after possession loss without breaking their shape. For example if Joao Palhinha rushes into a tackle to recover the ball or to press the opposition either a forward will drop down to cover that space or a center back will push up to cover the space with the left or right wingback covering the center back to create a back 3 and one of the wide forwards covering the space left by the wing backs. If the play is focused out wife one of the forwards will follow. If the play shifts sides Sporting do the same as to keep an aggressive shape to cause the opposition to make quick decisions and force a turn over of the ball. The key is to stay as compact as possible and force the other team to make a mistake. Sporting are very good at not letting people in behind due to this.
Amorim also likes to focus on Set pieces as a key way to score goals. Sporting have become set piece "specialists" under Amorim with 50% of their goals this season coming from set pieces. Coates is key in this as at 6'5 he he scored 7 goals last season and is on pace to break that this season. Amorim is not afraid of adjusting players to different positions that best fit the scheme of the team. For example before joining Sporting Pedro Gonçalves was primarily a CM who never scored more then six (6) goals in a season. Amorim pushed him into a RF position noticing his natural ability and attraction to the goal. This led him to being the top goal scorer in the league with 23 goals. Furthermore Amorim has prompted multiple youth products to the first team with Flavio Nazinho being the latest vs Dortmund. You could make a full starting 11 with players Amorim has prompted to the first team since taking charge of Sporting.
Ruben Amorim has also been able to show adaptability and an eagerness to learn and adapt. This was evident in his naiveness in his first ever Champions League game vs Ajax where Sporting was thrashed 5-1 by Ajax. After the game he admitted that not only is the squad young but the coach is young and they will learn from better more experienced coaches like Erik ten Hag. Many here labeled Sporting one of the worst teams in the competition after that game but Amorim quickly adjusted and put on a solid performance away to Dortmund before getting three (3) straight wins scoring 11 goals and only conceding three. In between European fixtures Sporting stayed consistent and continued to win in the league even with confidence was low.
The big games also don't seem to phase him as his record vs the "Big three" was not a one off. In Sporting Amorim has only lost one derby which came the matochday after the title in with a rotated squad. The scores are as follows:
VS Porto: (DWDD) 2-2 vs Porto, 2-1Win. vs Porto, 0-0, vs Porto, 1-1 vs Porto
VS Benfica (WL) 1-0 Win, 4-3 Loss
VS Braga (WWWWW) 2-0, 1-0, 1-0, 2-1, 2-1
Ruben Amorim has proven to be a terrific man manager and leader always knowing the right things to say especially with motivating his side. One thing he implemented in Sporting which became crucial in their title winning season is the never say die attitude with a big percentage of their goals coming after the 85th minute and many deep into stoppage time. His own remix to "Fergie time" if you will with the absolute most respect to the greatest coach of all time (IMO). This is helped by having Sporting overload the opposition box. One of the center backs (Coates) having clear instructions to join the attack when Sporting are down or need a goal deep into games. This culminated in multiple late game heroics by Sebastian Coates.
Now Amorim does come with his flaws one of them being his stubbornness in terms of his tactical set up. He is still only 36 years of age and it is clearly working bur I would like to see him implement different formations and tactical set ups. Then again who is to say he won't over time.
In conclusion Ruben Amorim has took a club which was in turmoil and resurrected them. He has turned Sporting into contenders again and has a project with them which is both beneficial for the club as well as for his growth as a coach. Ruben Amorim in just a little over a year has guided Sporting to three trophies one being the league title as well as a R16 berth in the CL. Only the second since the new format and the first in 12 years. Ruben Amorim has done so with his own style of play which has influenced his competitors like Jorge Jesus and at time Sergio Conceicao to do a similar five at the back formation.
At just 36 Years Old Ruben Amorim has justified his price tag by delivering million to the club as well as securing a title that has eluded Sporting for so long. While everyone was so focused on the risk of the price tag and looking at the bottle half empty Amorim looked at it as a glass half full.
"What if it works out"?
Ruben Amorim is a name that has been coming up in the press as of late and has been linked to United. What a good amount of people already know is that helped guide Sporting CP to their first league title in 19 years as well as a R16 berth in this years Champions League but what is his style of play and where did it all begin?
ACCOLADES:
League Title(s) - 1x
League Cup(s) - 2x
SupeTaça - 1x
Ruben Amorim was coaching in SC Braga youth setup before he was promoted to head coach following Abel Ferreiras departure. Not many people in the media paid to much attention to this move but right off the bat Amorim began to shake up the league with some huge statements wins.
In just 13 games as head coach of SC Braga Amorim accumulated FIVE (5) wins in rapid succession against Portugal’s traditional “Big Three” as well as winning a League cup and an impressive win vs Rangers in the Europa league. Ruben Amorim guided Braga to a 2-1 Win Sporting in the Semi Final of the league Cup followed by a 1-0 win in the Final vs Porto. He then defeated Sporting 1-0 in the League and a 2-1 win away to Porto followed by a 1-0 win away to Benfica. All of these wins in the same season and in 13 games. At this point the league was very well in notice and Sporting a club in turmoil at the time began to fantasize about the biggest coaching prospect In the country. Amorim quickly set up a system revolving around his 5-2-3 set up with guys like Joao Palhinha who was a loan at Braga at the time and striker Paulinho playing a big part of his tactical set up. This was "revolutionary" in Portugal as our league has been used to traditional 4-3-3 set ups as well and 4-4-2. None of the "Big Three" ever really played a five at the back formation with much success.
In the middle of the season Sporting took the chance before anyone else could and brandished 10M to SC Braga to acquire the services of Ruben Amorim. This was a decision that many Sporting fans were against as they could not understand how a coach with only 13 games under his belt could be worth so much. As far as Sporting fans were concerned Amorim was doomed to fail. When asked by journalists about the price tag and how much Sporting payed as well as the risk in investing that much money on a coach the common question by these same journalists was " What if it does not work out?" to which Amorim famously replied "What if it does?"
Ruben Amorim quickly made his mark on the team by focusing on 3 key points. 1). Returning Sporting to there roots of promoting young talent through our famed academy. 2). Investing in hidden talents in our own league. 3). The starting 11 is dictated by how the players perform in game as well as in training and not by stature.
Amorim quickly began to implant his 5-2-3 formation that emphasized on position less football with versatile players. There is no "striker" in the team but rather a conjunction of three forwards. When attacking the team would be constructed in a 3-4-3 with the wingbacks (Nuno Mendes and Pedro Porro) pushing forwards and providing with to the team. This was crucial as with any deep passes or over played crosses meant their was someone on the sidelines to retain possession. The back three was composed of Sebastian Coates acting as the anchor while the LCB (Feddal) and RCB (Inacio) were more ball playing center backs. This is crucial in his set up as the offense begins with the center backs. The midfield was constructed with a more defensive minded midfielder (Joao Palhinha) and either a box to box player (Matheus Nunes) or more possession based players like Joao Mario or Daniel Braganca. The front three interchange very often with Pedro "Pote" Goncalves cutting inside more while either Nuno Santos or Jovane Cabral provide more width. The "striker" Paulinho needs to be someone who can hold the ball up and be able to pass very well (someone like Jimenez or Benzema would be his wet dream).
Amorim focuses on a very strong defensive structure which focuses on recovering the ball as quick as they can after possession loss without breaking their shape. For example if Joao Palhinha rushes into a tackle to recover the ball or to press the opposition either a forward will drop down to cover that space or a center back will push up to cover the space with the left or right wingback covering the center back to create a back 3 and one of the wide forwards covering the space left by the wing backs. If the play is focused out wife one of the forwards will follow. If the play shifts sides Sporting do the same as to keep an aggressive shape to cause the opposition to make quick decisions and force a turn over of the ball. The key is to stay as compact as possible and force the other team to make a mistake. Sporting are very good at not letting people in behind due to this.
Amorim also likes to focus on Set pieces as a key way to score goals. Sporting have become set piece "specialists" under Amorim with 50% of their goals this season coming from set pieces. Coates is key in this as at 6'5 he he scored 7 goals last season and is on pace to break that this season. Amorim is not afraid of adjusting players to different positions that best fit the scheme of the team. For example before joining Sporting Pedro Gonçalves was primarily a CM who never scored more then six (6) goals in a season. Amorim pushed him into a RF position noticing his natural ability and attraction to the goal. This led him to being the top goal scorer in the league with 23 goals. Furthermore Amorim has prompted multiple youth products to the first team with Flavio Nazinho being the latest vs Dortmund. You could make a full starting 11 with players Amorim has prompted to the first team since taking charge of Sporting.
Ruben Amorim has also been able to show adaptability and an eagerness to learn and adapt. This was evident in his naiveness in his first ever Champions League game vs Ajax where Sporting was thrashed 5-1 by Ajax. After the game he admitted that not only is the squad young but the coach is young and they will learn from better more experienced coaches like Erik ten Hag. Many here labeled Sporting one of the worst teams in the competition after that game but Amorim quickly adjusted and put on a solid performance away to Dortmund before getting three (3) straight wins scoring 11 goals and only conceding three. In between European fixtures Sporting stayed consistent and continued to win in the league even with confidence was low.
The big games also don't seem to phase him as his record vs the "Big three" was not a one off. In Sporting Amorim has only lost one derby which came the matochday after the title in with a rotated squad. The scores are as follows:
VS Porto: (DWDD) 2-2 vs Porto, 2-1Win. vs Porto, 0-0, vs Porto, 1-1 vs Porto
VS Benfica (WL) 1-0 Win, 4-3 Loss
VS Braga (WWWWW) 2-0, 1-0, 1-0, 2-1, 2-1
Ruben Amorim has proven to be a terrific man manager and leader always knowing the right things to say especially with motivating his side. One thing he implemented in Sporting which became crucial in their title winning season is the never say die attitude with a big percentage of their goals coming after the 85th minute and many deep into stoppage time. His own remix to "Fergie time" if you will with the absolute most respect to the greatest coach of all time (IMO). This is helped by having Sporting overload the opposition box. One of the center backs (Coates) having clear instructions to join the attack when Sporting are down or need a goal deep into games. This culminated in multiple late game heroics by Sebastian Coates.
Now Amorim does come with his flaws one of them being his stubbornness in terms of his tactical set up. He is still only 36 years of age and it is clearly working bur I would like to see him implement different formations and tactical set ups. Then again who is to say he won't over time.
In conclusion Ruben Amorim has took a club which was in turmoil and resurrected them. He has turned Sporting into contenders again and has a project with them which is both beneficial for the club as well as for his growth as a coach. Ruben Amorim in just a little over a year has guided Sporting to three trophies one being the league title as well as a R16 berth in the CL. Only the second since the new format and the first in 12 years. Ruben Amorim has done so with his own style of play which has influenced his competitors like Jorge Jesus and at time Sergio Conceicao to do a similar five at the back formation.
At just 36 Years Old Ruben Amorim has justified his price tag by delivering million to the club as well as securing a title that has eluded Sporting for so long. While everyone was so focused on the risk of the price tag and looking at the bottle half empty Amorim looked at it as a glass half full.
"What if it works out"?
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I have no doubt about it !