19 Oct 2026 14:51:27
Amorim has given an interview released over the weekend, with the second part coming on Wednesday. It's in the Portuguese press there are some translations online. The Man United parts are really interesting.
The Manchester United job came, but the rumours said that you wanted to complete the season with Sporting and go to Manchester in the summer?
It's true, it's true.
Yet you found yourself in Manchester? How?
It's really simple, the offer was "we really believe in you, we want you, but come now or we'll find somebody who will".
Wow
Yes, and believe me when I say I wanted Manchester United. It's a huge club, a club with such history, one of the really special teams in football. In a bad moment, sure, but I believed so, so much that I can be the one to help turn it around. When the offer arrives instantly my head was full of ideas: how I can help, a plan for the transfer market, a multi-year idea.
So your mind was made up?
Don't misunderstand me, I was clear that - not just for me, but for the club - that arriving in the summer would be best. On a personal level it's such a big change. You have to change your entire life, your country, your language, your home, your family has to leave their home, their friends, their school, even smaller things like memberships, property, the things you don't think of. And then you get asked to do it overnight with no advanced notice? It's a big step, a huge step. But even more than that I felt, for the club, with the ideas I have, it's going to need a strong preseason, multiple weeks where we can drill the automatisms, the fitness standards, the tactical ideas. To do that mid-season, with a group - a good group, a hard-working group - who aren't used to these ideas? It's tough. Tough for them.
You explained this to Manchester United
Yes. I will be careful with my words but yes I explained it, and the message was "we want you, we want to go with you, to trust you even if it's tough". So hearing that, it's enough for me. I want the club so much, I want Manchester United, I had such pride imagining it. So when I hear this message I said "Yes, I'll do it, I'll change everything overnight". That's how much I wanted it.
And it was tough?
Yes. I felt it would be. Trying to change everything, and I really mean everything in the club, while you're playing matches? It's like changing your tyres while you drive on the motorway. Even with the best intentions it's hard. But week by week I felt like "yes it's happening, we're learning, the fitness is getting better" and then you hit a hard speed-bump and it feels like it's back to square one. But it wasn't back to square one, it was just a process. I felt like the first season gave us a foundation as a group: trust, familiarity, finding out who's right for the team, who wants to be there, wants to work hard for it. I feel like, looking back, arriving early had some positives. Some negatives too of course. The negatives? I could feel, and I understand it completely, that the patience for the ideas had slipped because of the results and setbacks throughout the season. Not from the players but other people.
The formation was a talking point?
Oh yeah! [laughs] I heard a lot that the system was defensive, but in a perfect world it's the opposite. My intention, my dream, was to bring Manchester United back to the top and to do it with tradition - attacking, fast, entertaining, high pressure football.
Can you explain that more? The system I mean, for Manchester United specifically.
Well, the characteristics of our centre-backs. In the centre, De Ligt or Harry [Maguire]. Two strong guys, great in duels, good organisation. Wide centre-backs, I want them to break the lines with passing or dribbles, to push aggressively for turnovers. Guys like Leny [Yoro], Licha [Lisandro Martinez], Luke [Shaw] and Nous [Noussair Mazraoui]. Wing-backs, this is where I say it's an attacking formation. In my perfect world, wing-backs are wingers who will defend, not defenders who can attack. Amad [Diallo], excellent. Pat [Patrick Dorgu] always improving, a really good guy, hard-worker. My idea was that we needed one or two more in this position. Characteristics? 1 on 1 killers, dribblers, physical capacity to cover the flank. Central midfield my idea is a line-breaker paired with a physically dominant player. For me it was Bruno and Casemiro. In an perfect situation, maybe more athleticism, but I was so happy with these guys.
Sorry to interrupt, but Bruno playing central midfield caused issues?
Not for Bruno. Not for me. I loved how he played the position. I know that he enjoyed it. It's natural for playmakers, as they age, to move further back. I feel like Bruno was so underrated playing this position. Physical capacity, fighting spirit, intelligence. He became a high volume passer, high percentage passer, while still influencing the game so much. Maybe he didn't always play the final pass, but he played so many important passes every game that aren't so recognised by people.
So back to the system?
Yes, so Bruno I've explained. Casemiro is, again, such an intelligent footballer, such a hard worker, a spirit for the team. Together with Bruno it was a good base. Of course, I don't hide that you don't have the athleticism, so you have to adapt the system a little bit for that, but two excellent footballers. Both fantastic picture of the game: when Casemiro arrives in the box, Bruno holds the position, when Bruno is pressing further up the pitch, arriving in the box, Casemiro holds the position. Wide 10's we had Bryan [Mbeumo] and Cunha. In the striker position Ben [Benjamin Sesko]. He's such a good kid, always working, improving, listening to advice, a phenomenal athlete.
And so where do you see the improvements, the changes that can be made to the squad?
I don't want to go over that. I don't think it's helpful.
I'll rephrase, you talked about a multi-year plan. What was the goal? Would the system change?
A midfielder with athleticism. The biggest goal was 1 on 1 dribblers with speed and acceleration, it's something we lacked, it's something I feel we - sorry, they [laughs], it's still habit - lacked for many years. A chaos creator. Either in the wing-back position or as one of the 10's. In the longer term, athleticism in defence. Truly, I don't feel like we were so far away from something special. I know it's easy to say that, I know many people don't see it, but I felt it, and I know many of the players did too.
You never thought of changing the formation when the results were bad?
I thought of it. Believe me I thought of it! [laughs] Like I said, I wanted this so much, I stayed up at nights watching replays of matches, looking at the tiny details, thinking about what I did wrong, how I could do better, how to explain the ideas in a better way. But there's a saying "If you're going through hell, keep going". It doesn't make sense to make the players go through the pain of the adaptation, learning, figuring things out, working so hard to change and then because of some bad results I decide - because I want to make it better for myself - I say to the boys "No, we're playing back-four next week, no pressing, hit on the break". No. That would be a selfish decision, a decision that takes away all the players hard work. Why? To remove pressure from myself? No I'll take the pressure.
My goal was to build a team that can win trophies, who can be at the top for a long, long time, not to have a team that can win some matches in certain fixtures, and then next season we're back where we started. And to build a team like that you start by having tactical principles, enforcing and building standards of fitness, behaviour, mentality. And I felt like we were doing that, even though the results just weren't coming.
19 Oct 2026 16:39:46
Rewz, RedDouglas has an opinion on Amorim: "For me, this is such a pointless topic because at the end of the day it was Amarim who got himself sacked.".
19 Oct 2026 18:20:21
He wanted athleticism and pace, yet had Bruno and Cass in Midfield and McGuire Delight and Yoro CBs which I would say not one of them got both .and bought Cunha who got zero pace
Then says Sesko super fit kid, how's that turn out.
The football was awful under RA I don't know where this romantic notion of it was so great come from
He had no plan B and so fixed in his ways
We can all say we want to get United back to the top, but of course it's a pipe dream.
19 Oct 2026 18:20:32
Interesting to hear it from his perspective. As you know fizz i was very much all in on amorim.
I believed in what he was doing and that's it would improve. With his window i think we would be a lot neutered odf now if we had stick with him.
But we never did and it's history now.
I think Carrick did a brilliant job as interim results wise.
I didn't want him to be appointed as manager but once he was i backed him despite my personal reservations.
But at the moment he has lost any trust or faith i had in him.
I think he was backed into a corner with rashford being kept but imo he should not have been in a matchday squad until we needed him to be.
The players were poorly prepared for the season.
His interviews and expressions don't give me confidence they remind me of ole.
Our play and creatovity is poor.
Playing unfit players is counter productive.
So at the moment i'd rather we change our manager i don't see us winning 6 on the bounce like we need to unless something changes quickly.
He could do with sesko being available and deligt but even allowing for that we should be playing better.
I look at teilimens santos and baleba when they get the ball they are used to runners and players moving for them but we are static and slow. No generating give and go 2 v1s no pass and move with quick acceleration no players bombing past the man on the ball from deep.
No movement is painful to watch.
19 Oct 2026 19:02:45
Well summed up Ken ?.
19 Oct 2026 20:04:23
Don't worry it's a Fresh Start that's how deluded his press conferences are!
19 Oct 2026 21:10:32
Ken spot on we are generally way too static especially when playing teams with a low block. The old Shankly mantra of "pass and move" is as relevant today as ever. The best teams do it. It's drilled into them so that it becomes second nature.