Jose Mourinho has offered an optimistic prediction for Ruben Amorim’s future as Old Trafford by drawing a comparison with his compatriot to his time with Porto.
The former Manchester United manager, who won the Carabao Cup and Europa League during his two-and-half-year spell at the Theatre of Dreams, first made his name in European football in Liga Portugal.
Mourinho took over Porto in January 2002 and “struggled” in his first six months, guiding the Dragons to a third-place finish and missing out on Champions League football.
However, the legendary coach vowed to “make Porto champions next year” – a promise he duly delivered upon the next season.
Mourinho would go on to win two league titles, the Taca de Portugal, the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League), and the Champions League with Porto.
It constituted the most successful period in the club’s history and a selection of achievements which made Mourinho one of the “world’s most exciting coaching prospects,” according to the Manchester Evening News.
The Portuguese manager would be headhunted by Roman Abramovich to over at Chelsea in the summer of 2004 and the rest is, as they say, history.
Amorim, who had enjoyed a similar rise in Portugal with Sporting CP, is currently in the “struggle” phase that Mourinho referenced he experienced in a similar situation with Porto.
The loss in the Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur – another of Mourinho’s former teams – was particularly devastating in terms of the loss in revenue from no Champions League qualification; something Mourinho believes is vital for Spurs.
“The impact is obvious,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “Tottenham play Champions League and of course for Mr Levy, the millions the Champions League gives, for him it’s the best news. For the fans, the players and Ange, it’s a title. Yes, the game was not amazing, but they made history for Tottenham because Tottenham didn’t have a trophy for so many years.”
But the 62-year-old coach believes it is “huge” for United to have missed out as well but stresses that the experience of this season can prove beneficial for Amorim, despite the pain.
“From what I read – just what I read – the impact on United of course is huge in the sense of for how many years United are not involved in any European competition.
“But at the same time it looks like they are supporting Ruben, they are giving him time and conditions to go forward. I read some quotes from him saying he’s happy he came and already had these six months. When I went to Porto the same thing happened.
“I went in January and we had a difficult six months, we struggled even to qualify for UEFA Cup. And then we saw what happened.”
‘What happened’ translating to successive league titles, a cup win, and back-to-back European trophies.
Amorim would likely be over the moon with just Champions League qualification next season given the state of the United team at present but it is an important point to consider when assessing the 40-year-old coach’s performances so far.
In his own words, “the good times are coming” after a storm this year.
Featured image Ahmad Mora via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
