Ruben Amorim is an ‘exceptional human’ who deserves his chance at Manchester United, according to a man who worked with him in Saudi Arabia.
O Jogo cover an interview with Mauricio Larriera today, who is full of praise for Amorim as he gets ready to make his Manchester United debut.
Amorim makes his debut against Ipswich Town this weekend after taking charge of Manchester United in the international break.
There is much intrigue about the Portuguese coach, who arrives in English football with a growing reputation following the highly successful job he did at Sporting Club de Portugal.
He moved there in 2020 after spells with Casa Pia and Braga following a playing career that saw him play in Portugal and spend the final year of that career with Al-Wakrah SC in the Qatar Stars League.
He was very impressed by the future Manchester United manager even then and revealed that they had spent hours talking about the game with each other.
“We lived in the same place, drank a few mugs of black coffee and stayed hours talking, sharing a lot of things,” he said on the Bola Branca programme on Rádio Renascença.
“He allowed me to get to know an exceptional human being and a class A footballer. I could see that he was very interested in all our plans, game plans, everything, but I didn’t realise he was thinking of becoming a coach.
‘On the one hand, I think he left football too young. On the other hand, I hope he’s got something out of this modest coach, especially the human side. I really liked what he did as a coach. I was very happy to see that it’s possible.
“I’m very proud to have known him, even more so to have worked with him, and how he helped me as a person and as a footballer. It thrills me to see him now, I imagine it was a goal.
“For this to happen at such a young age and with so many coaches wanting to reach that place of privilege… I’m very happy. He’s a great human being, he was a great footballer, and he’s become a great coach.”
