Twenty years ago it was Jose Mourinho. Now it is Ruben Amorim who is set to make the move from Portugal to the Premier League with a reputation as Europe’s next coaching superstar. Mourinho was 41 when he left Porto and took charge of a Chelsea team set to dominate English football following Roman Abramovich’s takeover. Now aged 39, Amorim is the favorite to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Other coaches have come from Portugal with great reputations. Andre Villas-Boas failed to live up to expectations after following Mourinho from Porto to Chelsea in 2011.

But everything about Amorim suggests he could be something really special, as Mourinho famously claimed himself in 2004.

Amorim confirmed his plans to go into coaching to Tribuna Expresso in 2017, saying, “I don’t know if I’m going to be good or bad, but that’s what I’m going to be.”

He retired from playing at the age of 32 after his promising career was cut short by injuries.

Amorim made his name as a coach at Sporting, but he also starred as a player for rivals Benfica, the club he always supported and of which he was ‘social’ (member) by birth.

He said in the same interview, “I can see myself coaching Benfica or one of the biggest clubs in the world. Obviously only time will tell and you need a lot of luck.”

Amorim began playing at Belenenses, a modest outfit from the Lisbon suburb of Belém known for its custard tarts.

He worked under Jorge Jesus there, helping them finish fifth and reach the Portuguese Cup final in 2007.

In 2008 he joined Benfica, and a year later he was reunited with Jesús. Amorim played mainly at right-back and David Luiz and Angel Di Maria’s team won the title.

The following season, Villas-Boas’s Porto were relegated to Benfica and Amorim was struggling with a knee injury.

He needed a long loan at Braga to restart his career, and in 2013/14 he moved back to Benfica and Jesús.

Playing regularly in midfield, Amorim performed brilliantly as they won the domestic treble and lost the Europa League final to Sevilla on penalties.

Due to injury, his career could never reach such heights again and his playing days in Qatar were over.

– Influenced by George Jesus –

Amorim has described Mourinho as his reference, but he admits that Jesus – who is now managing Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia – has done more for him than any other coach after spending seven years under his leadership. Affected them more.

“It’s funny, because as a player I had a lot of problems with Jesus, although other players had too, because Jesus is a coach who tires you out,” Amorim recalled.

“He’s a real perfectionist. I’ve worked with him for a long time and it’s clear that what I demand from players is very similar to him, but I wouldn’t be a coach like Jorge Jesus, because our styles are very different. Are.”

Amorim, who appeared for Portugal at two World Cups, started coaching at Lisbon club Casa Pia in 2018 at the age of just 33 and his progress since then has been extremely slow.

He won the third tier title there, but did not yet have the necessary coaching qualifications and left in early 2019.

Amorim actually began his rapid progression when he joined Braga, managing their B team before being handed the reins of the first team in December 2019.

– Huge release section –

When Braga took over they were in mid-table, but he performed so well that, barely two months later, Sporting paid a 10 million-euro release clause, a huge sum for a coach in any country. .

Sporting had not been Portuguese champions since 2002 and their supporters had some concerns about this Benfica fan.

“I’m a professional and I’m fanatic about winning. I know how big this club is. I’ve played against them. I’m not hiding my past,” he said at his unveiling.

In his first full season, Sporting won the title, losing just one game, with a team featuring Pedro Porro, João Palinha and Matías Nunes.

Amorim, who favors playing with three centre-backs and an intense pressing game, took Sporting to the last 16 of the Champions League.

Now he has taken them closer to another title – the second in four seasons for a club that had won two of the previous 38 – as well as a place in the Portuguese Cup final.

Players like English forward Marcus Edwards and Swedish striker Victor Gyöckeres are flourishing under his leadership.

“I chose Sporting for Victor when he was interested in eight other clubs who offered more money,” Gyöckeres agent Hasan Cetinkaya recently told A Bola.

“I chose Sporting because of Ruben Amorim.”

The former Coventry City striker has scored 38 goals for Sporting this season, one of many examples of Amorim’s successful management at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)