Ruben Amorim is set to meet Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City again in December, but this time as Manchester United’s new manager.
Following Sporting CP’s 4-1 Champions League victory over City on Tuesday, Amorim received a memorable farewell from his home crowd. The 39-year-old led Sporting to the emphatic win, featuring a hat-trick from Viktor Gyokeres and a missed penalty from City’s Erling Haaland. Phil Foden initially put City ahead, but Gyokeres equalized before halftime. Sporting’s second-half surge saw Maximiliano Araujo and two Gyokeres penalties widen the scoreline against Guardiola’s side.
Guardiola spoke highly of Amorim, who officially joins United next week, but he expressed some doubt about United’s future success. “Yes, we’ll have to face him,” Guardiola said. “We learn from every coach we meet, and Ruben has been doing well. Let’s see if he can get United back to what they once were. I don’t know if it’ll make them better than us, but we’ll have to wait. Only United can answer that in the coming years.”
Amorim, in turn, acknowledged Guardiola’s experience, saying, “He’s ahead in every way right now and much better than me. We met two years ago, and it was 5-1 to City.” Still, Amorim remains optimistic about United’s potential, adding, “I believe in my new club. We might start from a lower point, but we’ll work hard to improve both the team and the club. Let’s see what happens.”
