Coach is the first at Sporting to do so
Despite the several Portuguese coaches who have trained, or still train, on British soil, only three national football figures have left Portugal directly for England. This Friday, Ruben Amorim officially became third.
The first to make the journey was José Mourinho. In 2004, the 41-year-old coach at the time arrived at Chelsea after being crowned champion of the Portuguese championship (2x), the Portuguese Cup, the Super Cup, the UEFA Cup and, obviously, the Champions League. In England, he made history as the “Special One”.
Back in 2011, André Villas-Boas followed in Mourinho’s footsteps by taking exactly the same Porto-London route. At 33 years old, the now president of FC Porto arrived at the Blues after a dream season as coach of the Dragons, where he won the Super Cup, the championship, the Portuguese Cup and the Europa League. In London he ended up not having the same success as the previous one and stayed in the position for just one season, later moving to Tottenham.
Now, on November 1, 2024, Ruben Amorim is announced as the new coach of Manchester United. That said, the 39-year-old is the third to go directly from Portugal to England, the first coming from Lisbon and Sporting. Amorim arrives at the Red Devils after winning three League Cups, a Super Cup and, most importantly, two championships in Portugal. This is how the story of Ruben Amorim begins on British soil.
Carlos Carvalhal (Swansea), Bruno Lage (Wolverhampton) have already trained in the Premier League. Marco Silva (Hull City, Everton, Watford and currently Fulham) and Nuno Espírito Santo (Wolverhampton, Tottenham and currently Nottingham Forest) still appear in the English championship.
