Neville & Scholes proven right as Amorim finally admits making glaring mistake at Man Utd

Ruben Amorim acknowledged the fact that he was a bit too stubborn during his time at Manchester United.

The 41-year-old spent 14 tumultuous months at Carrington. He arrived at the club in November 2024 following Erik ten Hag’s sacking.

The Portuguese ended up suffering a similar fate when the management relieved him of his duties in January this year.

Ruben Amorim explains what he did wrong at Man Utd

When Amorim joined the Red Devils, he decided to immediately implement the 3-4-2-1 system that brought him great success at Sporting Club.

At the time, the fanbase, as well as MUFC legends like Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, tried to talk him out of this formation, insisting it didn’t suit the characteristics of the players at his disposal.

However, the Portuguese boss didn’t budge. Not even a 15th-place finish or a Europa League final defeat was enough to convince him otherwise.

(Amorim’s stats at Man Utd)

The final straw came when Jason Wilcox urged him to switch to a four-man backline, which created a rift between the then-Man Utd head coach and the Director of Sport. Amorim was sacked a few days later.

In the summer, the young tactician was appointed at AC Milan, and he’s determined to avoid the mistakes that hindered his time at Old Trafford.

“Today the players had more freedom; in recent games we were a bit too static, stuck,” said Amorim in his interview after Sunday’s win over Lecce (via Metro).

“I can’t repeat my mistakes from Manchester. If we don’t have the characteristics to play a certain way, we have to adapt.

“We’ll go back to building with three [at the back], but we’ll see. Here in Italy, the coaches are very good, especially at going after other teams one-on-one.”

Amorim learned his lesson, but at what cost?

Despite the poor results he produced during his reign, Amorim was a somewhat popular figure at Old Trafford, and even in the dressing room, as evidenced by the warm embrace he received from his former players during the summer friendly against Milan.

Sadly, this learning experience came at Man Utd’s expense.

At times, it felt as if the young manager was trying to make a point against pundits like Scholes and Neville by neglecting every piece of advice and insisting on trying to win with his own methods.

Nowadays, United don’t have to worry about a similar issue with Michael Carrick, who has yet to display signs of rigidity or ego. However, it remains to be seen if the 45-year-old can steer the team back in the right direction now that he’s facing his first real crisis since taking over the club eight months ago.