It did not take Sporting Lisbon long to realise that Ruben Amorim was something a little special. Three months and just 13 games, no less.
Sporting pounced, shortly after the 2019/20 season was curtailed due to the COVID pandemic, triggering the 10 million euro release clause in the former Portugal international’s Braga contract. And that was quite the show of faith, Ruben Amorim becoming the third-most expensive manager in football history after only a few weeks at the helm of their Primeira Liga rivals.
Four years on, that ‘faith’ has been rewarded. Amorim ended Sporting’s two-decade-long wait for domestic success immediately after taking over in the capital. The 39-year-old could go one better this term, Sporting four points clear of Benfica with a game in hand and with a Taca de Portugal cup final to look forward to.
That end-of-season curtain-closer could yet be Amorim’s final game in charge of The Lions too. HITC understands that Amorim is ready for a fresh start, and his representatives have now held ‘productive’ talks with Liverpool.
The Premier League challengers have turned to the former Benfica midfielder after Xabi Alonso committed his future to Bayer Leverkusen. Amorim interestingly, is reluctant to do the same.
“I cannot make any guarantees (that I will stay at Sporting)” Amorim told O Jogo last week.
There is interest from Chelsea too, HITC reported, but Liverpool appear to be in pole position.
Liverpool open talks with Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim
Now, any coach tasked with replacing a legendary manager who has defined an era at one of football’s great clubs will arrive under a great deal of scrutiny. David Moyes and Unai Emery know that all too well.
But Joao Palhinha, the now Fulham enforcer, is convinced that – should Amorim step into Klopp’s shoes – the transition will not be quite as fraught as it turned out to be at Manchester United or Arsenal.
“Ruben is a coach with a lot of quality. One of the best in Portugal,” Palhinha, who followed Amorim from Braga to Sporting back in 2020, tells O Jogo. “He has done an excellent job since Braga. He has in-depth knowledge of the game and has a close relationship with the players.
“The way he is growing, he will not be in Portugal for much longer. He dreams and aspires to win another title with Sporting, and then the future will be in his hands.
“(Is Amorim) capable of coaching Liverpool? Yes, of course, although the pressure is different. When you coach a big Portuguese club, you have pressure from the fans and the size of the club itself, which forces you to win.
“When you coach Liverpool, you have pressure from the fans, the club, and the whole world. The way it is growing, I think it will be a matter of time (before Amorim is handed a very big job).”
Palhinha has worked with Amorim twice
Now, it is not exactly uncommon for managers to surround themselves with a few trusted lieutenants when taking on a new role. Erik ten Hag, for instance, immediately raided Ajax for Antony and Lisandro Martinez.
One wonders if Amorim could be tempted to do the same, and reunite with Palhinha again in England’s north west. Wataru Endo, though a fine addition, may be only a short-term quick fix Liverpool’s defensive midfield. He will be 32 this time next year. Alexis Mac Allister has also filled in effectively as a ‘number six’ at times but the World Cup winner is clearly far more comfortable operating higher up the pitch.
So there may be a place in the Liverpool squad for Palhinha, who Fulham agreed to sell to Bayern Munich for £55 million last summer before talks broke down on deadline day. Just imagine a midfield with the craft and guile of Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott or Dominik Szoboszlai, given that extra bit of freedom by the steel-capped boots of the Portuguese powerhouse.
Palhinha averaged the most tackles per game under Amorim at Sporting. And, with 4.5 per game at Fulham, he is top of the charts in England too (WhoScored).
“The credit belongs to Palhinha,” Amorim said back in 2021, the midfielder having taken his game to levels few previously expected him to reach at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. “I often tell Palhinha that he is very good without the ball and with the ball.
“More than a tactical coach, I get it in Palhinha’s head that he is a special player.”
Amorim, clearly, is not just a master tactician but – like Jurgen Klopp – one who also prides himself on the man-management side of things too.
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