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Manchester United’s new head coach Ruben Amorim touched down in Manchester yesterday as he immediately got to work at Carrington.
The Portuguese coach cannot start training on the pitch due to the delay in his work permit but he can hold meetings and make plans for his imminent debut in English football.
There were numerous pictures snapped yesterday of the new boss meeting the top brass at the football club such as Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth as he was shown around his new home.
However, Amorim was not alone on the private jet that arrived at the city’s airport, he was also joined by five other men who will play an integral part in whether Amorim is finally the man to lift the gloom around Old Trafford.
The Telegraph have outlined some of the key information behind his lesser known coaches and starts off with his number two, Carlos Fernandes.
Fernandes is just 29 years old, making him younger than a lot of key United stars such as Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro and is a “trusted lieutenant” who has been with Amorim since his start at Casa Pia.
Interestingly Amorim considers him a “much better coach” than he is and once said, “I often say if I become Bobby Robson, then he’ll be my José Mourinho.”
Next up is Emanuel Ferro who at 45 brings a blend of freshness and experience and he has worked with two current United players Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte while they were at Sporting Lisbon.
He has collected experience working in places like Tunisia and Malaysia but made his name at Sporting’s youth level and becoming a key ally of Amorim.
At just 28, the third member and fellow assistant is Adelio Candido, who has a sports degree and first worked with Amorim at Casa Pia where he was a youth coach.
“He often analyses play from the stands and will funnel messages through to Amorim and his staff. Considered to be one of the ‘good cops’ on the staff.”
He also assists with set piece work which will be of great interest to United fans who often feel the club is far too open at defending them and incredibly blunt when it comes to scoring from them.
Jorge Vital is the next member of staff to join the Red Devils and he is by far the most experienced member of Amorim’s team at 63 years old.
He is the goalkeeping coach and first came onto Amorim’s radar when they worked together at Braga.
Fans will be curious to see how his work will influence the vastly improving Andre Onana and if it will lead to the club building out from the back better than they were able to under Erik ten Hag.
The final member of Amorim’s fabulous five is Paulo Barreira who is a sports scientist. Interestingly he did his degree in Liverpool and has worked for both the Anfield side and Arsenal, so is the only member of the team with Premier League experience.
He “is well regarded in sports medicine circles” and has an expertise in “rehabilitation, injury prevention and physical conditioning”, which is something United desperately need after their injury hell of last season.
In a day of whirlwind change yesterday, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rene Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar, and Pieter Morel all left the club as the Amorim revolution has gone into overdrive. Alongside him United fans will be dreaming these five will fulfill their clear potential at Old Trafford to finally bring United back to where they feel they belong.
Featured image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
