A former Benfica and Portugal midfielder, Amorim retired as a player in 2018 and for the first time made his mark as a coach in terms of age, when a notable spell in charge of Braga’s reserve team saw him promoted to first-team boss.
Ten wins in 13 games, including a first win at Benfica for 65 years, quickly caught the attention of bigger clubs and, so keen to retain their services and products, they paid €10m (£8.6m ). to appoint him his supervisor in March 2020.
European football expert Guillem Balague told BBC Game: “His coaching career started at Casa Pia, then a third division club, where he almost ended once he started.
“He lost his first two games and, with his atmosphere of joy and doubt, announced that if he lost the third game he would abandon it. In the adjustment then he changed the device and played a back three for the first presentation.
“The system worked and since then he remained undefeated at the club. He also felt that he had found the training that allowed him to produce the football he wanted, always linked to the spectacle for the fans.
“From then on, it was never seen again like it was in Braga and later in Wearing.”
That was the third-highest transfer fee paid by a manager, but it soon proved the money was well spent, as Amorim led the club to a 32-match unbeaten run to win the Portuguese League Cup and end their wait of almost two decades for a league title. A success they repeated last season.
Former Liverpool and Portugal defender Abel Xavier spent time with Amorim as they took their coaching badges and was impressed with what he saw from the start.
“He is very humble, discreet and very enlightened in his mentality,” she told BBC International Service.
“In Braga we saw an instant effect because, with the same team, with the same players, it transformed the team.
“He put his ideas into practice, changed the dynamic, created empathy and, of course, a big club like Sporting Lisbon paid to have him.”
