Pep Guardiola believes Manchester United will be getting a high-level coach in Ruben Amorim but warned success depends on much more than the credentials of one individual.
After sacking Erik ten Hag on Monday, United have quickly settled on 39-year-old Sporting Lisbon boss Amorim as their favoured successor.
Guardiola came up against Amorim in the Champions League last 16 in early 2022, held to a goalless draw in Manchester before Bernardo Silva scored twice in a convincing 5-0 win in Portugal.
When asked if Amorim has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League, Guardiola said: “All I can talk about is the experience of playing twice against Ruben’s Sporting Lisbon team, one or two seasons ago, and the pressure was really, really good.
“I spoke with Matheus Nunes, and he was his player, and he speaks highly about him. And look this season, he is unbeaten and winning all the games in the Portuguese League and the Champions League, (they have) the same points as us.
“So a high manager. I have the feeling that Man United, what I hear, that they are thinking about him, it’s because he’s a good manager. Man United don’t appoint managers who aren’t at that level so we cannot say they are not able to lead Man United.”
Of course United have appointed managers with outstanding CVs before – Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho among them – without sustained success in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
“What’s going to happen I don’t know, because what happened here in my experience, doesn’t mean it works for the other ones,” Guardiola added.
“The manager, the team, the club, the structures, the physios, the doctors, the players, it’s many things. What happened here doesn’t mean it’s going to happen in another place.”
I have the feeling that Man United, what I hear, that they are thinking about him, it’s because he’s a good manager
Amorim has recently been suggested as a possible successor to Guardiola given his ties with City’s incoming director of football Hugo Viana, although the club have downplayed those links as mere speculation.
Amorim took over at Sporting in early 2020. The former Portugal international began his coaching career at third division Casa Pia in 2018 before moving to Braga. Guardiola dismissed any suggestion he does not have enough experience.
“Why is it a problem?” he said. “I started at Barcelona, 37-years-old, coming into (from) fourth division. So knowledge is knowledge. If you are able, it doesn’t matter.
“For that reason, Lamine Yamal could not play football at 17-years-old, right? So you have to wait until he’s 24. What’s important is talent. If you are good, it doesn’t matter the age.”
Guardiola said he felt sorry for the outgoing Ten Hag, who he knew from their time together at Bayern Munich, when Guardiola was the head coach and Ten Hag was in charge of the club’s reserves.
Asked if he would offer the Dutchman support, Guardiola said his door at City would be open to Ten Hag, but that he did not expect the 54-year-old to need it.
“Ten Hag can come to see us any time, seriously,” he said.
“We are always open but I think he knows exactly what we do and it’s not going to happen but I know his agent a little bit, there is a relationship and it’s no problem for us.
“Managers don’t need advice because they know exactly what they have to do. The reality in every team is exactly what they have to do. But the reality is every club is different, players are different. To copy and paste this one for this one doesn’t work.”
