For the first time since joining Manchester United, Ruben Amorim seems under genuine pressure but his former player at Sporting Maxi Araujo has made an incredible claim about what he’s set to do at Man Utd.
Everyone knows there are big changes coming at the club, even though some, like Luke Shaw, struggle with how to say it in a non-conspiratorial way.
Since he came to Old Trafford, Ruben Amorim has been adamant about how one pre-season with the team can change the fortunes.
Now that this season has been a bona fide disaster, the burden of expectations is entirely on the next one, and if Sporting star Maxi Araujo is to be believed, Man Utd fans can forget this nightmare and be excited for the next one.
Photo by Alex Pantling - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Alex Pantling – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Maxi Araujo makes incredible Ruben Amorim claim
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Amorim was (is) extremely loved at Sporting for what he did at the club, restoring a fallen giant to glory.
Their fate since he left is also an indicator of how far above their weight he had them punching, something that has been absent at Old Trafford.
However, Maxi Araujo, in an interview with A Bola in Portugal, said that Amorim’s Sporting almost “played with their eyes closed” after a while.
He said Amorim is one of the best coaches he’s ever worked with, saying he’s ‘intense’, predicting that he’ll repeat his Sporting heroics at Man Utd after one pre-season.
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He said: “I’ve never seen a coach capable of reaching out to a player so much. For me, he was one of the best coaches I’ve worked with, without a doubt.
“Actually, yes [he felt like Sporting played with their eyes closed]. I arrived on matchday 5 or 6. And it was incredible to see how the team worked, how the players understood each other.
“I watch almost every Manchester United game and I believe that now, with much more time, they’ll have a great pre-season to get off to the best possible start next year.”
Man Utd need to break the cycle
It was never a concrete possibility that Amorim would leave Man Utd or be sacked before having a proper go at the job and Araujo’s comments only reinforce that thought.
While it is a logical argument that even the current team shouldn’t be as bad as the results suggest, there’s no way he can be judged seriously when one senior player has been signed under him and he hasn’t had a single pre-season.
Ever since he arrived, there has been a game almost every three days, and injury worries cast a cloud.
It is notable that within six months, injuries have seen a marked downturn, players are returning to action quicker, staying fit, and remaining available.
The basketball style is also completely gone now, replaced with a methodical, albeit slow style of football that controls games.
Obviously, the attacking edge is missing but that is often the hardest part to crack, and Amorim hasn’t been helped by his players missing clear-cut chances.
It would be a massive blunder to send him packing in six months when they’ve committed to a long-term project. All eyes are on the pre-season now.