Evening Standard
·22 November 2024
Evening Standard
·22 November 2024
Mourinho spoke glowingly about his time at Man United
Amorim became the Red Devils’ first Portuguese head coach since Mourinho this month when it was announced he would be the permanent replacement for Erik ten Hag.
Mourinho won three pieces of silverware with United between 2016 and 2018, and in 2017 Amorim was an intern under Mourinho, visiting his idol at United’s Carrington training base.
Speaking in his first press conference as Red Devils head coach, Amorim said on Friday: “He sent me a message. He told me that it is a lovely club, a big club with lovely people, and that is correct. It still is.
“But a lot of things have changed. We are in a different building now. We are building a new one. I am a different guy. I was learning at the time, and I hope to teach something here, too, to my players. But the club is still big. It is still the best club in England, and we want to win again.”
Amorim was asked what he made of Mourinho, then European champion as manager of Porto, arriving in the Premier League in 2004 as Chelsea head coach.
“Firstly, not just to me but to all the Portuguese coaches, he shows that we can be the best in the world,” Amorim explained. “This is something different in a small country, this can put a stamp on everybody. But I am different from Mourinho. I am a different person.
“I remember that time. You looked at Mourinho and you felt that he can win everywhere. It is not the same thing. He was European champion. I am not European champion. But I am a different guy in a different moment.
“Football nowadays is different, and I think I am the right person for this moment, because I am a young guy, I understand the players, and I try to use that to help my players like Mourinho in that era did at Chelsea.”
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