Luis Miguel Echegaray, ESPNNov 20, 2024, 09:40 AM ET
On Sunday, Rúben Amorim begins his highly anticipated tenure as Manchester United manager away to Ipswich Town in the Premier League. The 39-year-old Portuguese manager will introduce himself to a fanbase anxiously hoping for a change of fortune after a dismal start to the campaign.
We’ll have to wait and see what kind of football we get, but it’s safe to say that to coach in the Premier League is one thing, but to do it as United’s manager is an entirely bigger mountain to climb. Why? Because this isn’t just about being 13th in the table, aching to enter the top four again. It’s not even about the shadows of Sir Alex Ferguson’s era continuously clouding the present. This is about a club with a prodigious history and a colossal global brand.
Amorim has 11 matches for the remainder of the calendar year to make an immediate impact, so why not predict their outcomes and compare them to previous Man United managers, including his mentor Jose Mourinho?
Before we begin, I am not using a statistical, data-driven, analytical formula here. This is driven by the ultimate guide that every analyst relies on: gut.
Ipswich Town, Nov. 24 (Premier League, Away)
This is the beginning of Amorim’s era and funnily enough it comes against Kieran McKenna, who was part of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff at Carrington. Due to the international break, Amorim will only have two days of full training sessions with the whole squad, meaning many players will have a limited understanding of his ideas and those on national team duty might not be at 100% fitness.
That’s why Amorim’s main task is to be defensively strong. Don’t concede and everything else will follow. United fans see fragments of his 3-4-3 vision, but it won’t be complete, and that’s okay. The 39-year-old wants to see character that he can build into an identity.
At halftime, it’s a stalemate, but as the game passes the hour mark, Amorim’s tactics come through. Marcus Rashford needs to make an impact for club and country, and Amorim challenges the English attacker, using him more centrally in this matchup.
It’s also an important game for Rasmus Højlund. With only one league goal all season, the Dane knows he needs to impress. Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes pulls all the strings, setting up a goal and scoring another. The new manager bounce pays off and Amorim’s United take the three points back to Manchester.
