At the beginning of November, it is still good to walk the streets of Lisbon. A softness, sometimes wet, but a softness nonetheless. It’s a safe bet that Manchester City supporters who will make the Portuguese trip for the Champions League match against Sporting this evening (9 p.m.) will have no trouble discovering themselves.
Ruben Amorim must take advantage. The one who is still the coach of the Portuguese champion has around ten days ahead of him before heading in the opposite direction to coach the Citizens’ neighbor, Manchester United.
It’s a farewell tour for the 39-year-old technician. After Manchester City, Ruben Amorim will face Braga again in the league on Sunday, then he will fly to the Premier League. He will take the reins of the Red Devils during the international break and then will immediately be at the front. He will also meet Manchester City in a month, this time at the Etihad Stadium.
There is everything that surprises in this trajectory. How did Ruben Amorim end up leaving the leader of the Portuguese championship during the season? He is not leaving for free: Manchester United has activated his departure clause, of around ten million euros. Difficult to refuse for the Portuguese club.
But all this was done with respect: with thirty days’ notice in his contract, the Portuguese coach was able to reduce this wait to two weeks. He will leave Lisbon like a king, especially if he gets a convincing result against Manchester City this evening. All he will have to do is take a good coat in his suitcases.
He put Sporting back on the map
Ruben Amorim will leave Sporting as he joined at the start of 2020. At the time, he coached Braga and had only spent thirteen matches on a first division bench. Enough to attract the attention of Sporting, who did not hesitate to pay 10 million euros to poach him. Quite a bet. But the technician was worth all the stakes: Amorim won the Portuguese Championship twice (2021, 2024) with a club which had not been crowned since 2002.
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