Zinedine Zidane linked as potential replacement for Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is trending right now, such are the chances of the Portuguese coach getting sacked by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Manchester United board. The Red Devils face Sunderland at home in GW7 of the Premier League, and a loss there might be the end for Amorim at United. This article will be looked at a different topic though, as we tend to forget other aspects of an individual when certain aspects overshadow the rest. We are forgetting Ruben Amorim the manager for now, for let us now look back at the career of Ruben Amorim the player.
Ruben Amorim: That time when the Manchester United manager was a player
Ruben Amorim began his football career at Benfica, playing in a youth team that had his fellow Portuguese compatriots Bruno Simao and Pedro Russiano. However, he was soon released by the club, and this led to Amorim going on a trial with Belenenses at the suggestion of Simao. Another interesting fact was that Amorim went to this trial with a broken arm. He eventually made his debut in the Portuguese Primeira Liga on 14th December 2003, playing one minute for Belenenses in a 2–0 home win against Alverc. Amorim was also a part of the 2007 Portuguese Cup final, which they ended up losing 0-1, ironically the same club Amorim later went on to manage and win numerous titles.
In what was a testament to his never-give-up attitude, Amorim later resigned with the very same Benfica that released him in late April 2008. He signed a 4 year deal with the club after his Belenenses contract expired. The current Manchester United manager was a regular starter at Benfica in midfield, and even scored his first goal on 23st November in a 2–0 away victory over Académica de Coimbra.
Amorim had huge competition in the starting lineup during the 2009–10, as he had to compete with new signings Javi García and Ramires. He appeared less but still went on to play in 24 matches with ten starts. Benfica managed to win the league and League Cup that season. As for Amorim, he was regularly picked by manager Jorge Jesus in the 2010–11 season whenever he was healthy. It was on 19th January 2011 however, that things took a drastic turn. Amorim had to undergo surgery on both his knees, and he was then sidelined for several months.
Later in October 2011, Amorim began to have issues with manager Jorge Jesus for not selecting even a single Portuguese player in most of the Benfica games. This led to a series of unfortunate events that ended with Amorim being sent on loan to Braga until June of 2012. He eventually returned to Benfica for the 2013–14 campaign, and he took part in 37 matches across all competitions. Benfica went on to win an unprecedented treble of league, Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga that season. Amorim was an important member of the team once again, but disaster struck again soon. The Portuguese midfielder later suffered from an ACL injury that took him out for several months.
Amorim's final club as a player was Qatar side Al-Wakrah, joining them on loan On 14th August 2015. Almost 2 years later, On 4th April 2017, after more than a year of inactivity due to a complete rupture of the cruciate ligament in his right knee, the 32-year-old terminated his contract with Benfica and retired from the beautiful game. The rest as we know is history, with Amorim becoming a highly successful manager in Portugal and eventually taking over control at Manchester United.
