Can Amorim unite Man United?

While a decade of bad decisions, bad signings, underperformance and fractured spirit will require plenty of undoing at Old Trafford, sometimes you really do need just one man.

Ruben Amorim, five years younger than Ferguson was in 86-87 and nine to Klopp of 2015, comes with the promise of a future significantly brighter than the present for United fans.  | Photo Credit: AFP

Can one man fix Manchester United?

It’s the question every fan mutters, somewhere between a desperate prayer and a weary joke. Old Trafford feels like a monument to past glories, drenched in a melancholic gloom that only a 13th-place team with a negative goal difference can conjure.

The recent 1-1 draw against Chelsea, United’s fourth in this League campaign, left the club with just 12 points — its lowest tally after the first 10 matches since the 1986-87 season.

That season, however, was significant, as it saw the arrival of Alex Ferguson, an upcoming manager then with three Scottish and a European crown. Over the next 27 years, Ferguson’s presence alone seemed to have rearranged the team’s fortunes as United went on to win 13 Premier League and two Champions League titles.

Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson lifts the Premier League trophy following the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Swansea City at Old Trafford on May 12, 2013 in Manchester, England. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Since he left in 2013, United has stumbled through nine managers (including interim managers), soon to be 10, like someone fumbling for a light switch in a dark room.

Team sport, of course, is meant to rely on the collective, on the way a group of players combine to achieve more than any individual might alone can.

But sometimes, it takes just one person to galvanise the lot of them — a man whose presence fills a stadium, whose character steers others toward success.

Someone who just doesn’t just manage a team but transforms it. It might be the charisma, the authority, or that mysterious knack for inspiring others to play like they’ve got something to prove.

Liverpool — United’s fiercest rival, whom Ferguson was happy to “knock right off their perch” — found that spark with Jurgen Klopp in 2015. With his grizzly warmth and booming laughter, the fun and pleasure flowed through Klopp and onto the Anfield pitch. Four-and-a-half years into his reign, Liverpool was at the top again, champion of England after a 30-year drought.

Jurgen Klopp, Adam Lallana and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool holds the Premier League Trophy celebrate winning the League Title during the presentation ceremony on July 22, 2020 in Liverpool, England. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Its first championship since 1990 placed the German manager alongside other Anfield greats like Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish.

Ruben Amorim, five years younger than Ferguson was in 86-87 and nine to Klopp of 2015, comes with the promise of a future significantly brighter than the present for United fans. Amorim broke the FC Porto-Benfica duopoly to win Portugal’s Primeira Liga twice during his four-year stay with Sporting CP. And he had drawn interest from both Liverpool and Manchester City as possible replacements for Klopp and Pep Guardiola, the two most iconoclastic managers of the era.

While a decade of bad decisions, bad signings, underperformance and fractured spirit will require plenty of undoing at Old Trafford, sometimes you really do need just one man. Not to fix everything, but to remind others that they could.