Portuguese Coach Ruben Amorim has tagged as the new Messiah to bring back Manchester United to it former glory after the dismissal of Eric Ten Hag in October.

Amorim enjoyed the dream Estadio Jose Alvalade farewell, as he thrashed his soon-to-be Premier League rivals Manchester City 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. It was his penultimate game in charge of the Portuguese club before moving to Manchester United.

Amorim is highly rated across Europe for his tactical mind and system. Liverpool were in the hunt for his services in the summer before settling for Arne Slot but now the 39-year-old will be heading to the Premier League as one of the division's youngest managers alongside Brighton's Fabian Hurzeler.

Many of the plaudits being offered to Amorim were also offered to Ten Hag. It didn’t help because ultimately the Dutchman failed to even make United contenders for major honours, just as Ralf Rangnick, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and David Moyes did before him.

Erik ten Hag joined Manchester United being hailed as “the next big thing,” in coaching. His Ajax teams played beautiful attacking football. Rúben Amorim is being hailed as “the next big thing,” in coaching. His Sporting are defensively solid and have a firm identity with their 3-4-3 formation.

Whatever the result of Amorim’s time at Manchester United, it’s fair to wonder if there is an actual surefire way to hire a great manager, or if it’s dumb luck.

His last Sporting home game, after four and a half years helping transform the club, pitted against a Manchester City side which cast a decade-long shadow over his new Manchester United team by virtue of the total domination that was once theirs.

If Rúben Amorim can devise different tactical approaches, oversee a squad restructuring, and get the best out of average players, then he will succeed at Manchester United. Good luck.

Most managers get sacked. Most football managers are lucky if they’re at a club for five years. It is more likely than not that Amorim will be considered a failure by the time he’s done at Manchester United. 

They are the most successful English side and have expectations that go through their broken roof. If Amorim succeeds at Manchester United, he will be remembered as one of the all-time great managers. That is the duality of coaching Manchester United.

He join until June 2027 with a club option of an additional year, once he has fulfilled his obligations to his current club. He will join Manchester United on Monday 11 November.

In the meantime, interim boss Ruud Van Nistelrooy will oversee two more games before the international break, with a Europa League clash with PAOK on Thursday followed by another home fixture with Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday.