• Both Portuguese coaches made their names as young managers in their homeland
  • Ruben Amorim can match, if not exceed, Jose Mourinho's domestic achievements
  • The self-appointed 'Special One' lived up to his name in Europe

Hovering behind every move made by the then-Manchester United manager was a freshly retired Portuguese midfielder studying for his coaching badges by the name of Ruben Amorim. The relationship between these compatriots has come full circle following Amorim's appointment as United's latest head coach.

Much like Mourinho, who established himself as Europe's most promising young manager thanks to a trophy-laden spell at Porto in the early 2000s, Amorim wooed United with a staggering array of accolades at Sporting CP.

Mourinho left Portugal for Chelsea in the Premier League, swiftly ending the club's long wait for a Premier League title as the first managerial appointment of the club's new ownership. As Amorim attempts to replicate the same feat for INEOS at United, here's how his Sporting compares to Mourinho's Porto.

Domestic success

There are lots of poets in football," Mourinho once said, "but poets don't win titles." Amorim - who was dubbed "the poet" by Cristiano Ronaldo during their shared time in the Portuguese national team - would disagree.

The latest Portuguese coaching phenom has led Sporting to a pair of top-flight crowns during his four full seasons in Lisbon. Before overseeing last term's title, Amorim steered Sporting to the 2020/21 trophy, ending the club's 19-year wait for national glory. Incidentally, Sporting's previous triumph (2001/02) came during Mourinho's first campaign at the helm of Porto.

Two decades ago, the Portuguese giants were forced to turn to a 39-year-old former translator who had overseen just 34 professional matches after slumping to fifth place at the halfway stage of the season. Mourinho managed to salvage a top-three finish but that still represented the club's lowest league position in 20 years. They would win the league title in each of his two full seasons.

Amorim's Sporting boast remarkably similar statistics to Mourinho's great side, even if they were pipped to the title in 2022 and 2023. Between Amorim's arrival in Lisbon and his appointment at United, Sporting's 77% win rate represented the highest of any team in any of Europe's top ten leagues.