“Quite the opposite” – Man Utd striker lifts the lid on Amorim’s ‘obsession’ in ‘honest’ admission

Manchester United forward Matheus Cunha only had positive words to say when discussing his former head coach, Ruben Amorim.The Brazilian joined the Red Devils last June, completing a £62.5 million transfer from Wolves, thus becoming the Portuguese manager’s first summer signing at Man Utd.The two men rapidly formed a solid bond, with the 26-year-old immediately cementing himself as a regular starter, playing either a centre-forward or left attacking midfielder behind fellow new arrival, Benjamin Sesko.However, the collaboration between the two was cut short when Amorim was sacked last month.Matheus Cunha opens up on former Man Utd boss Ruben AmorimAmorim almost invited the hierarchy to wield the axe with a fiery post-match press conference following the away fixture against Leeds United.Sadly for the 41-year-old, he’ll be remembered as the tactician who recorded the lowest win percentage at United in the Premier League era (unless you want to add Darren Fletcher’s one game in charge to the list). Man Utd Managers EPL Matches in Charge Points Average Michael Carrick 7 2.43 Sir Alex Ferguson 810 2.16 Ruud van Nistelrooy (caretaker) 2 2.00 Jose Mourinho 93 1.89 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 109 1.81 Louis van Gaal 76 1.79 Ryan Giggs (caretaker) 4 1.75 Erik ten Hag 85 1.72 David Moyes 34 1.68 Ralf Rangnick 24 1.54 Ruben Amorim 47 1.23 Stats by StatMuseWhile many things were said about the former Sporting CP boss and the reasons that led to his tenure’s unravelling, Cunha was determined to set the record straight.The Brazilian international insisted that many of these were falsehoods and fabrications, as he rose to his former manager’s defence.(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)The former Wolves star believes it is unfair to only highlight the negatives of Amorim’s 14-month tenure, while forgetting the positives he brought to Carrington.“The pressure for that system to deliver results was so big that we forgot how simple the overall context was and focused too much on the negative,” said Cunha in an interview with DAZN Portugal via Sport Witness.“Many new players arrived because of him. So I think there’s a big part of him in the success we are having now.”The Man Utd attacker then addressed the topic that dominated Amorim’s time in charge: His alleged obsession with his 3-4-2-1 tactical system.Cunha argues Amorim isn’t obsessed with tacticsCunha insisted that United attacked in various ways and shapes under the Portuguese boss, so these ‘obsession’ claims were blown out of proportion.“Being very honest, I think the numerology of football is very misleading. We attack in different ways and end up defending in the formation that everyone says is Ruben’s.”The debate over Amorim’s formation was reportedly one of the main reasons behind the irreconcilable rift with Jason Wilcox and the rest of the management.The young manager had switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation against Newcastle, and the team went on to earn a Boxing-Day win over Eddie Howe’s men while displaying a progressive brand of football.However, Amorim surprisingly reverted to his beloved 3-4-2-1 on the final fixture of the year against the free-falling Wolves, who managed to snatch a point at Old Trafford, much to the hierarchy’s dismay.Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly asked Wilcox to intervene by urging the head coach to play with a four-man backline, but the proud Portuguese wasn’t willing to accept orders from the upper management.