Ruben Amorim’s new-look coaching team has been confirmed by Manchester United.
Amorim officially began his stint as United’s manager on Monday and has wasted little time in securing his set-up behind the scenes.
United’s new assistant Carlos Fernandes, Emanuel Ferro, Adelio Candido, Jorge Vital and Paulo Barreira all worked with Amorim at Sporting but have now made the switch to United.
Speaking after becoming United’s new manager, Amorim said: ‘I’m going to take my [Sporting] staff. It was always one of the conditions.’
Amorim’s arrival at Old Trafford is regarded a major coup, with the 39-year-old widely considered as one of the best active managers in world football at the moment.
As Amorim gets ready to pack his bags and swap Portugal for England, attentions have turned to the coaches who’ll work under him. Here’s all you need to know…
Carlos Fernandes – assistant manager
Fernandes, just 29-years-old, is one of three assistant coaches who looks set to work under Amorim at Old Trafford. He has always been Amorim’s No.2, with the duo first meeting at Benfica when the United manager was still a player. Fernandes joined Amorim for his first managerial job at Casa Pia and has been with him ever since.
Amorim has previously compared Fernandes to Portuguese managerial legend Jose Mourinho, a former boss of the Red Devils.
‘My number two is Carlos Fernandes, he’s been my right-hand man right from day one,’ Amorim said. ‘He’ll be a much better coach than me.
‘I often say if I become Bobby Robson, then he’ll be my Jose Mourinho! But there’s plenty of time, we’ve signed a 15-year deal!’
Adelio Candido – first-team coach
Candido, even younger than Fernandes at 28-years-old, is another assistant coach who will likely feature as part of Amorim’s team.
He first crossed paths with Amorim and Fernandes at Casa Pia and has worked with them ever since.
Candido was already working as a youth coach at Casa Pia when Amorim and Fernandes became manager and assistant coach in 2018.
Amorim and Fernandes decided to take Candido when they moved to Braga in 2019 and he again teamed up with them at Sporting.
Emanuel Ferro – first-team coach
Ferro is the third assistant coach who is set to work under Amorim at United in the Premier League.
Amorim trusts Ferro highly and has even put him up for Sporting media duties in the past when he has been unable to attend press conferences.
Ferro, 45, is older than fellow assistants Fernandes and Candido, offering United something a little bit different.
Jorge Vital – goalkeeping coach
United’s new manager Amorim is seemingly bringing in Vital as his goalkeeping coach at Old Trafford.
The 63-year-old started working with Amorim when he took the Braga job in 2019 and followed him to Sporting.
Vital, believed to be a specialist in distribution, had a professional playing career in the 1980s and 1990s and featured for a number of clubs, including Gil Vicente.
Paulo Barreira – physical performance coach
In the sports science department, Amorim will once again turn to Barreira, who he appointed at Sporting shortly after taking the manager’s job in 2020.
The physiotherapist previously worked behind the scenes at Arsenal and is known as an injury prevention and conditioning expert.
Speaking to Portuguese outlet Record about his role a few years ago, Barreira said: ‘The physio is the bridge for the coach, who takes the information we are providing them with to decide on the management of the players.
‘This way, we can help ensure that the players are in a suitable physical shape for the coach’s game model.
‘We monitor their work on the pitch by using a GPS tracking advice a lot, we ask players a lot of questions daily to understand if they are ready to train, if they feel well and if they slept well.
‘This information is then passed on to the technical team where they can deal with player management and contribute to having the team better physically adapted to what they want to do. That also helps to prevent an injury and reduce its frequency.’
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