- Ruben Amorim and Roderick Miranda played alongside each other at Benfica
- Miranda said of Amorim this week: ‘I never thought he’d become a coach!’
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He’s been hailed as one of football’s brightest young coaches and handed the keys to Manchester United but Ruben Amorim was once better known for jokes than tactics.
That’s according to former Benfica team-mate Roderick Miranda, who says he was stunned to see Amorim make the leap from locker room prankster to Premier League boss.
Miranda told Flashscore Australia this week: ‘I never thought he’d become a coach! Not because of his football skills or his intelligence, but because he was the changing room clown.
‘He had a really fun personality and was always doing something to make people laugh.
‘When I heard he started as a coach I was a little bit surprised and wondered how the guy I played with could become so serious!
‘But he was a very intelligent player. He could play in many different positions, so maybe that’s why he’s a brilliant coach, because he has such a great understanding of the game.’
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim apparently used to be a joker in the dressing room
Melbourne Victory defender Roderick Miranda previously played alongside Amorim at Benfica
Miranda and Amorim both came through the academy at Benfica and played together in the early 2000s.
Amorim, now 40, enjoyed a respectable career as a midfielder – playing senior football for Belenenses, Benfica, Braga and Qatari side Al-Wakrah, as well as representing Portugal 14 times between 2010 and 2014.
However, it is his rise as a manager that has really turned heads across Europe.
After breaking Sporting Lisbon’s 19-year title drought and scooping multiple domestic trophies, Amorim was handed the reins at Old Trafford in November 2024.
But despite the buzz, things have not yet gone to plan in Manchester.
United currently sit 13th in the Premier League, a massive 17 points behind third-placed Nottingham Forest, who are enjoying a sensational campaign under Nuno Espirito Santo.
Roderick, who played under Espirito Santo at both Rio Ave and Wolves, said: ‘I’m not really surprised about that because I always knew he was really good.
‘If he finds the right players and the right atmosphere, he’s a coach who can produce this kind of stuff.’
Amorim pictured laughing during a training session in 2022 when he was in charge of Sporting
Miranda (second right) was part of the Wolves team that won the EFL Championship in 2018
Nuno’s Forest are arguably the story of the Premier League season so far, having defied the odds to sit in the Champions League places with just nine rounds of fixtures remaining.
Roderick, now club captain at Melbourne Victory, believes the Portuguese tactician is finally getting the credit he deserves.
‘At Wolves we had a couple of seasons where I think we finished sixth or seventh and got a Europa League spot, so he’s already shown what he can do.
‘It’s therefore not really a big surprise for me. Maybe it is for other people, especially a club like Nottingham that hasn’t been a top club in the past, but not for me.’
