There are some who argue that Ruben Amorim and his stint with Manchester United has been an unmitigated disaster thus far. Last season, the Portuguese manager led the Red Devils to their worst Premier League finish in 40 years, slipping all the way down to 15th place in the table. If that wasn’t bad enough, they were also beaten by compatriots Spurs in the Europa League final in Bilbao, handing the North London club its first trophy in 17 years – and a spot in the UEFA Champions League – in the process.
MAN UNITED OWN GOAL RIGHT BEFORE HALFTIME đ±
Tottenham lead 1-0 #UELfinal
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Tottenham -255â Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) May 21, 2025
2025/26 Gets Off To a Miserable Start
This season, things have hardly improved. Things looked to be on the up after a spirited opening day defeat to title challengers Arsenal, but a League Cup exit at the hands of fourth-tier Grimsby Town ramped up the pressure. Since then, United have managed to pick up their first win of the campaign, making hard work of a 3-2 home triumph against newly promoted Burnley. But even so, online gambling sites aren’t convinced that the Red Devils have turned a corner just yet.
The popular Bovada gambling site has United priced as a 2/11 shot to NOT finish in the top four this season, with their odds clearly stating that Amorim isn’t yet up to the task of leading arguably England’s biggest club back to the promised land of the UEFA Champions League. And with more tough tests just around the corner against the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool, things could get worse before they get better.
Luckily for the Old Trafford faithful, Amorim has turned around sinking ships before, albeit not to this extent. Here is how the former Portugal international midfielder’s first full season went in charge of former club Sporting CP, and our thoughts on whether he can replicate it in the North West.
Stemming the Tide
When Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting CP in March 2020 – for a hefty fee of 10m paid to former club Braga – he inherited a club in turmoil. An incident had occurred in May 2018 in which 50 masked hooligans, frustrated by their team’s poor results, stormed the club’s Alcochete training ground, severing any relationship between players and supporters. The likes of Rui Patricio, William Carvalho, and Rafael Leao all left the club following the attack. Two years on, and the relationship between the boardroom and the grandstands was considered to be at an all-time low.
When Amorim arrived, he tackled the issue head-on with strong man-management and clear communication between himself, the board, the players, and the fans. The results spoke for themselves. Sporting lost just twice – to heavyweights Benfica and Porto, no less – throughout Amorim’s first few months in charge, ending the 2019/20 on a high. The real work would begin in his first summer in charge of the club.
Attempting to bridge a 22-point gap to champions Porto, Amorim set about the task at hand. Global events meant that finances were tighter than ever, but the Lisbon-based outfit still began an almighty rebuild. Amorim managed to bring in hungry Portuguese-based players from lower down the Primeira Liga, signing striker Paulinho from former club Braga and young, talented winger Pedro Gonçalves from unheralded Famalicão.
The rest, as they say, is history.
History Maker
Like this season at Old Trafford, Amorim’s first full campaign in charge suffered a disappointing start. Despite being heavily favoured to progress, Sporting were stunned in the playoff round of the Europa League, suffering a disastrous 4-1 drubbing at home to Austrian outfit LASK, and ending their European adventure without even making it to the group stage. The lack of continental commitments, however, spurred The Lions on domestically, and Amorim was about to lead his side on a season for the ages.
Sporting came charging out of the blocks, winning all but three of their games throughout the first half of the season, with the other three being draws. Their dazzling form saw them top the Portuguese league from the sixth week of the season onwards, and it was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Throughout the second half of the campaign, many thought that Sporting simply had to slow down. Ruben Amorim had other ideas. His side kept mounting up the wins, and a 1-0 victory away at Boavista secured the club’s first title in 19 years with two games to spare. They would lose a 4-3 thriller away at rivals Benfica in their penultimate game – their only league loss of the season – but that didn’t take the shine off of the greatest season in the club’s history.
Much of the success was down to Amorim’s signings. Gonçalves shone in his debut campaign, netting 23 goals in the league alone en route to the title and enhancing his stock no end in the process. New full-backs Pedro Porro and Nuno Santos also chipped in with a bucketload of goals and assists, while captain and stalwart Sebastian Coates anchored the strongest defence in the league, conceding just 20 goals all season.
Back to Manchester
There are plenty of similarities between that first full season in Lisbon to United’s ongoing 25/26 campaign. Neither team had European commitments to distract them from their pressing league concerns, while both saw exciting new attackers arrive – Goncalves with Sporting, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo at Old Trafford. While the Red Devils’ early-season form is concerning, the blueprint for success is there, and Ruben Amorim needs to find a way to integrate it quickly in order to stem the tide once again.
