Hope might be a hard sell for Manchester United fans after the 2024/25 season, especially after the release of the fixture list for the 2025/26 season, but 32 is the magic number.
Man Utd’s Premier League fixtures for 2025/26 paint the picture of an unforgiving start, severely testing Ruben Amorim’s promise made on the last day of the 2024/25 season.
Man United play three of the conventional “top-six” in the first five games, and the lot is swept within the first 10, making it a brutal start.
However, if history is any indication and repeats itself, then the Man Utd fans can strap in for a wild ride because Ruben Amorim has been here before.
Manager Rúben Amorim of Sporting reacts during the Liga Portugal Bwin match between Sporting CP and Sporting Braga
Photo by Zed Jameson/MB Media/Getty Images
The memorable 32-game unbeaten streak of Ruben Amorim
The story of this magic number begins all the way back in 2020, when Ruben Amorim joined Sporting in March of that year.
Like at United, Amorim took over in the middle of the season and guided Sporting to a respectable, if a bit underwhelming, fourth position.
Then came the famous Amorim’s summer transfer window, where almost 25 players were sent packing, and a new core of young players plus a few signings emerged.
Sporting hadn’t won a title since the 2001/02 season, and all eyes were on the pre-season with Amorim, Sporting’s first one under the new manager.
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Before the season began, nobody gave Sporting a chance for the title, but what followed was the first big chapter in the legend of Ruben Amorim.
Sporting started off the season with two away wins before drawing at home to FC Porto. They won another five games on the spin before dropping points again.
After 10 games, they had won eight and drawn two, firmly establishing themselves as title contenders.
However, what Sporting managed to do over the next 22 games is what nobody saw coming. Amorim led Sporting to a 32-game unbeaten streak in his first full season with the club.
Only a penultimate day loss away at Benfica, by when the title was already secured, prevented them from going the whole season unbeaten.
After a single pre-season and a ruthless transfer window, Ruben Amorim had turned the outsiders into league champions with remarkable clinical ability.
(Note: Enjoy a compilation of the story of that iconic season below to get in the mood for a United revival!)
That 32-game winning streak remains Sporting’s longest in the league in the 21st century, and United fans are about to witness their team in a similar situation to the one that team was in.
Amorim can cement his credentials at Man Utd next season
Between Amorim’s promise for next season, his history of doing the same at Sporting, and the circumstances surrounding Man Utd, it’s hard not to be excited.
The “pre-season under Amorim” narrative has gained almost a mythical status after his exploits with Sporting, especially at the start of his first season there.
Expecting a similar streak in a vastly more competitive Premier League would be a fool’s errand, but the time for Amorim to cement his credentials at Man Utd is arriving soon.
The fixture list to begin with is tough, but it offers the team a chance to set the tone and remind the rest of England that United are on their way back.
After all, it’s something Amorim has already done elsewhere, albeit at a smaller scale.