Banned for threatening ref & not eating when he loses – fiery new Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim will bring ‘hairdryer’ back
WHEN Ruben Amorim arrives at Manchester United on Monday, the Premier League had better be ready for some hairdryer treatment.
The Portuguese manager has gained a reputation for struggling to contain his temper both on and off the pitch during his career.
It is the kind of rage that fans and players at Old Trafford got used to when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge.
Amorim, 39, who impressed United supporters by beating their rivals Man City 4-1 in his penultimate game in charge of Sporting Lisbon this week, is charged with bringing back the glory days achieved by Fergie in the 1990s and 2000s.
The former midfielder has admitted letting anger get the better of him as a player, and he was banned from the touchline as a manager for three months after allegedly telling a referee: “I’ll smash your face in.”
Amorim, who played 14 times for his country, also conceded that he struggled to hide his frustration when his team wasn’t doing well and got “impatient” with young stars.
He has gained inspiration by reading about great leaders such as Barack Obama and the late Apple boss Steve Jobs.
Different atmosphere
He is also said to be a fan of Peaky Blinders and has seen every episode of the BBC gangster drama starring Cillian Murphy, reportedly telling pals he was “addicted” to the show, which was mainly shot in Birmingham, but also in Manchester.
And thanks to some anger management therapy, he is said to be calmer now.
But Amorim, who gives few interviews, once admitted: “One problem I have is I can’t control my body language when something is, in my opinion, incredibly wrong.
“Because there are things that should be known at a certain level and when I see players making certain mistakes I quickly get frustrated and can’t hide it.”
Amorim is set to earn around £8million a year as boss at Manchester United.
It is a huge change of fortunes for the man who was raised on the breadline in a household in Lisbon.
His parents split up when he was a year old, and money was tight as he and older brother Mauro were raised by their mother Anabela.
When Amorim was 13 they moved to the Corroios area of Almada, across the river Tagus from Lisbon, and matters got worse.
Amorim’s father Virgilio said: “We were separated and it was an important change for our sons.
“Ruben was used to a quiet school and I remember he was attacked once or twice in Corroios, it was a different atmosphere.”
Amorim, who has a half-sister, Catia, is said to have been teased at his new school for preferring water to Coke.
His friend Daniel Oliveira said: “We teased him a lot because at meals we nearly had to force him to drink something else.”
But that healthy approach proved wise, as Amorim’s footballing talent was noticed by local side Belenenses, which signed him in 2003.
In 2008 he joined Benfica, one of Portugal’s top sides, and for him, winning was everything.
He said: “In my first derby, Sporting v Benfica, I lost, and I didn’t eat all weekend.
“My week, if Benfica lost, I was depressed.”
Unfortunately his career was blighted by injuries, such as a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee and tendonitis.
Sitting on the sidelines deeply frustrated Amorim, who grew so annoyed he is said to have hurled his boots across the physio room.
He said: “An injured player gets stressed and in a bad mood, and contrary to what one might think, you spend more time at the club recovering.”
But Amorim was fit to play for his country in the 2014 World Cup.
He said: “It was the only year I didn’t have injuries. I was so happy.”
A year later he accepted that his physical state meant he could no longer play at the highest level, and he decided to sign for Al-Wakrah in Qatar on loan.
It didn’t go well.
He recalled: “I knew I wouldn’t have much success there.
“Things went against me a lot.
“I was sent off twice when I’d never been sent off before.
“It must have been the frustration and it turned to anger.
“I was stupid.”
After just 14 games in the Middle East he decided he would rather quit than accept a losing mentality, even though he could have earned a fortune at the wealthy side.
Amorim said: “People said I could stay there five years and earn a lot of money, and that’s what I thought.
“But when you go on the pitch I couldn’t think that way — you want to perform well.
“I couldn’t stand players greeting me and chatting during the game when we were losing.”
In 2017 he decided to retire from playing football at the age of 32.
Four years earlier, in 2013, he had married interior designer Maria Joao Diogo in an impressive ceremony at a historic palace in the city of Coimbra.
Unlike many footballing partnerships, the couple, who have sons Miguel and Manuel, do not advertise their romance on social media and prefer to keep a low profile.
But Amorim did dance with Maria on the pitch when he won his first league title as manager of Sporting Lisbon in 2021.
He had had some doubts about going into coaching because the demand of the job means you do not get to see much of your family.
He revealed: “At first I wanted to look at doing other things because it’s not very easy for family life.
“As I finished playing early, it’s a way of filling the gap.
“I’ll try it. I don’t know if I’ll be good or bad.”
His rise to the top has been meteoric, having started as a manager in 2018 with lowly third- division side Casa Pia in Lisbon.
Amorim’s hot-headed nature got him into trouble the following year.
During a match against Amora he put his head against that of referee Hugo Silva and was reported to have told him: “I’ll smash your face in.”
Having been restrained by colleagues, he then took the dispute into the changing room, continuing to berate the ref.
Amorim was banned for 90 days and fined 408 euros.
According to Espresso, a Portuguese daily newspaper, he went to a psychologist for anger management sessions.
Much of his success is down to a strict work ethic, which includes starting his day at 6am.
And he has a reputation for looking after his players — including paying the rent for his Casa Pia central defender Deritson Lopes for a year after after he heard that the player was having to work nights at a fast food joint to support his three children.
Lopes said: “He was an angel in my life.”
Amorim left Casa Pia because he had been banned for coaching without the right level of qualifications and he went to Braga instead.
His friend Tiago Ribeiro said: “When he went to Braga B, there were some months without work during which his assistants didn’t get paid, and he took it upon himself to make sure they weren’t lacking anything.”
At Braga’s first team he won the league cup and took the unfashionable side into Europe.
In 2020 Sporting Lisbon, the bitter rivals of the Benfica side he had supported as a child, paid a record fee to secure his services.
It proved to be money well spent because he won the club’s first league title in 19 years.
That is what Manchester United hope to be buying, having not finished top of the Premier League since 2013. He is a young coach who should be given the time to succeed, like Ferguson was.
Amorim said: “I’ve grown with experience in every respect.
“It’s normal to improve with experience.
“I’ve made mistakes.
“I’ve learnt, I keep learning.
“I’ve come through difficulties, I have had great support and I’ve been lucky.”
- Additional reporting: VICTOR VAGO