Early career Shortly after retiring, Amorim joined the
Lisbon Football Association in order to earn a coaching licence. Additionally, he attended a
postgraduation course in
psychomotor education and spent a week-long internship under Manchester United manager
José Mourinho. Amorim started working as a manager in
2018–19, with
third division team
Casa Pia. After losing his first two games and, with his pride hurt and doubts setting in, he announced if he lost the third game he would quit. In the next match, he changed his system and played a back three for the first time. With the new system working, Casa Pia embarked on an unbeaten run. He also felt he had found the formation that allowed him to produce the football he wanted. In January 2019, the team were deducted six points and he was suspended from all activity for one year after giving instructions during a match without having the required coaching level to do so; even though the bans were suspended shortly after, he presented his resignation in the aftermath. On 20 May 2019, Amorim initially agreed to return to Benfica as their under-23 coach. The following month, however, after a meeting at the club, he rejected that possibility.
Braga In mid-September 2019, Amorim was appointed at
Braga's reserves in the third tier, winning seven of his eight games, managing them. Three months later, he replaced the dismissed
Ricardo Sá Pinto at the helm of the first team on a two-and-a-half-year contract, with the
Minhotos being eighth place in the league at the time of his appointment. In his first game in charge on 4 January, he led them to a 7–1 away demolition of
B SAD, and three weeks later won the
domestic league cup final against
Porto with a
last-minute goal from
Ricardo Horta, Braga's first trophy in four years. In the
Primeira Liga, on 15 February, Amorim recorded Braga's first win away to
Benfica in 65 years, with
João Palhinha scoring the game's only goal. He lost his first point in the league, after Braga drew 2–2 at home to
Gil Vicente. During this time, he picked up ten wins in 13 games, with Braga being placed third in the
league, he only lost two games for the club, in the
round of 16 of the
2019–20 UEFA Europa League against
Rangers, 3–2 away in the first leg on 20 February, and 1–0 on the return leg at home, a week later.
Sporting CP 2019–20: Debut season Amorim became
Sporting CP's manager on 4 March 2020 after the sacking of
Silas, signing a deal until 30 June 2023 with a
€20 million
buyout clause. Despite only having two years of top-flight experience, Sporting paid €10 million for his services, the third-highest transfer fee for a manager in history. In his first game in charge on 8 March, he led them to a 2–0 home win against
Desportivo das Aves. In the rest of the games he took over, Amorim won six and drew three, but lost to Benfica in the
Lisbon derby and
rivals Porto at the end of the season, guiding Sporting to a fourth-place finish and qualification to the
Europa League third qualifying round. Despite their league finish, Amorim managed to bring a recognisable identity that the club had previously been lacking, despite a toxic atmosphere that had grown around the club since May 2018, after a mob of about 50 club supporters brutally attacked players and staff on the premises of
Sporting's training facility.
2020–21: Sporting's first league title in 19 years squad in April 2021. In the summer transfer window,
Jérémy Mathieu retired after suffering a knee injury in training, and was replaced by
Zouhair Feddal.
Rodrigo Battaglia,
Miguel Luís,
Luciano Vietto,
Wendel and
Marcos Acuña departed from the club. Experienced goalkeeper
Antonio Adán was brought in as the new first-choice goalkeeper, with other signings including
Nuno Santos,
Bruno Tabata,
Pedro Porro,
João Mário and
João Palhinha, the last returning from his loan at Braga. At the end of the transfer window, Sporting signed
Pedro Gonçalves, who had impressed in the previous season at
Famalicão. Along with the new signings, Amorim promoted
Daniel Bragança,
Gonçalo Inácio,
Matheus Nunes,
Nuno Mendes and
Tiago Tomás to the first-team squad. On 4 March, he renewed his contract for one more year, with an improved release clause of €30 million. Following a national record of a 32-match unbeaten-streak, including on 11 May, a 1–0 home win against
Boavista, he guided the club to their first league title triumph in
19 years, with Pedro Gonçalves finishing as the top scorer of the league with 23 goals and six Sporting players being named in the
Primeira Liga Team of the Year. Sporting only had one loss, during the season, being defeated by rivals Benfica 4–3 away in the Lisbon derby on 15 May. At the end of the season, Amorim was named
Primeira Liga's Manager of the Month in April and the
Primeira Liga's Manager of the Year.
2021–22: European improvement and title challenge training session in 2021 In his second summer transfer window, Amorim identified the defensive areas which required improvement for the squad, with his options being shorter than Sporting's domestic rivals, leading
Ricardo Esgaio to return to the club, midfielder
Manuel Ugarte and defender
Rúben Vinagre also being signed. After remaining as a back-up to Antonio Adán,
Luís Maximiano was sold to Spanish
La Liga side
Granada, which in turn led to Sporting signing
João Virgínia. At the end of the transfer window, starting left-back Nuno Mendes was loaned to
Paris Saint-Germain, with
Pablo Sarabia moving in the other direction. Amorim began his
second season at Sporting by winning the
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, on 31 July 2021, in the 2–1 defeat of his former club Braga. After losing their first two Champions League group games, Sporting won their next three matches, culminating on 24 November when they defeated
Borussia Dortmund 3–1 at home in the penultimate fixture to ensure the club's qualification to the
round of 16, for the first time since the
2008–09 season. On 28 November, Amorim became the fastest manager to win 50 games in the
Primeira Liga, following a 2–0 home win against
Tondela. On 3 December, he led his squad to their first victory at the
Estádio da Luz in six years, following a 3–1 away defeat of rivals Benfica in the Lisbon derby. On 29 January 2022, Amorim won his
third consecutive league cup final, in a 2–1 victory against Benfica. Sporting were eliminated in the last 16 of the Champions League by
Manchester City, 5–0 on aggregate, knocked out of the Taça de Portugal in the semi-finals by Porto, and finished the league season on 85 points as the year before, but six points behind aforementioned rival.
2022–23: European and domestic disappointment Sporting's success inevitably attracted richer clubs in Europe to their players, and the summer transfer window saw an exodus of key players:
João Palhinha and
Matheus Nunes to
Premier League sides
Fulham and
Wolverhampton Wanderers, respectively, and Nuno Mendes completing a permanent move to Paris Saint-Germain, after a one-year loan spell. However, Amorim successfully adapted his side, despite a difficult start to the new season, including a 3–3 away draw to Braga and two consecutive losses to Porto (3–0) and
Chaves (2–0), with the side being placed 13th in the league table. Referring to the departures of both Nunes and Palhinha, claimed he "failed to plan [summer transfer window] and had to pay attention to now, in this end of the market, is to be sure where [Sporting] are going, not to think that [Sporting] have to save now everything that was changed in a one-year planning". Despite their league form, on 7 September, Sporting won in Germany for the first time in their history, beating
Europa League champions
Eintracht Frankfurt 3–0 in their first group stage match of the
2022–23 UEFA Champions League, followed by surprising victory at home over
Tottenham Hotspur in their next fixture. The following group stages matches, were marked by two individual errors from Antonio Adán and
Ricardo Esgaio, which saw them lose twice to
Marseille 4–1 and 2–0, respectively, with Esgaio coming through to a lot of scrutiny, from the club supporters, which led to Amorim defend him, saying: "He's not one of the fans' favorite players, but he's one of mine. As long as I am here, I will protect him as much as possible. He will never be abandoned by the manager and as long as I'm here there's nothing you can do to Esgaio". Both losses, were followed by a surprise elimination from the
third round of the
Taça de Portugal to
Liga 3 side
Varzim, after a narrow 1–0 loss. After losing 2–1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on 1 November, Sporting finished third in the
group stage, which put them in the
Europa League knockout round play-offs. Despite a difficult league season, Amorim guided Sporting to their third and Amorim's
fourth consecutive league cup final, where they lost 2–0 to Porto in
Leiria, who won tournament for the first time. Shortly after, the club also featured the departure of Pedro Porro to Tottenham Hotspur on 31 January 2023, the deadline day of the winter transfer window. In the
Europa League, Amorim led Sporting to the
quarter-finals, following a surprise victory over favourites
Arsenal on penalties, after drawing 3–3 on aggregate in
London. They were eliminated in the following round, after losing to
Juventus 2–1 on aggregate at home. Following a 2–2 home draw with Benfica in the Primeira Liga, despite leading 2–0 at half-time, Sporting missed out on Champions League qualification and qualified to the Europa League, after a 4th-place finish in the league. After failing to qualify for the Champions League, he admitted that he put his position at risk, despite having the trust of the club's president, who labelled him as 'one of the best coaches in the world', citing the poor planning of the season, especially the departure of Matheus Nunes to Wolverhampton Wanderers as one of the factors for the failure of the objectives.
2023–24: Second league title During the summer transfer window of 2023, Sporting broke the club's transfer record by signing
Coventry City striker
Viktor Gyökeres for €20 million. On 12 August, Sporting opened their
2023–24 campaign with a 3–2 league victory at home to
Vizela, with Sporting's record signing Gyökeres scoring a brace. Amorim's team lost the Lisbon derby against Benfica away by two late goals at
stoppage time on 12 November after Sporting's one-goal halftime lead from a Viktor Gyökeres goal, despite the visitors being reduced to 10 men for practically the whole of the second half. But on 18 December, Amorim's Sporting defeated Porto at the
Estádio José Alvalade by 2–0, with goals from Gyökeres and
Pedro Gonçalves, to end Sporting's eight-game straight winless run against Porto in the Primeira Liga. The win also resulted in Sporting overtaking their rivals Benfica at the top of the table. Amorim led Sporting to their biggest Primeira Liga margin of victory since 2018, following of an 8–0 thrashing of
Casa Pia, their second of the season, following a similar score against Dumiense at
Taça de Portugal, early in the season. Over the following months, Amorim was heavily linked to take over as the new manager of English
Premier League club
Liverpool, following the departure of long-serving manager
Jürgen Klopp and when previous favourite
Xabi Alonso publicly announced he was staying at
Bayer Leverkusen amid interest before the role ultimately went to then
Feyenoord coach
Arne Slot. On 2 April 2024, Amorim led Sporting to the Taça de Portugal final by drawing 2–2 away at Benfica, resulting in a 4–3 aggregate win, and secured Sporting a stoppage time 2–1 home win in the league four days later, to increase their lead at the top of the table. Shortly after, Amorim went on a trip to London to negotiate with
West Ham United to take over as their new manager for next season, with then manager
David Moyes being set to leave. However, Amorim refused the offer, and ahead of an important league match with Porto, he publicly apologised for the trip, deeming it a mistake and that the timing was wrong. The match against Porto on 29 April ended in a 2–2, with Sporting being two goals down at halftime and Viktor Gyökeres scoring goals in the 87th and 88th minutes. On 5 May, Sporting mathematically secured their 20th Primeira Liga title, and second title under Amorim, following Benfica's defeat to
Famalicão. Afterwards, during the club's title celebration, Amorim confirmed he would continue as manager of Sporting for the next season.
2024–25: Final season in Lisbon Amorim adopted a small change to his tactics for the
new season, with his team being more dominant in possession and with a big emphasis on high pressing, compared to his pragmatic approach used in his previous seasons managing the club. The summer transfer window, saw the departure of
club captain Sebastián Coates, with Sporting signed ball playing centre-back
Zeno Debast to replace him, Amorim also promoted
Geovany Quenda to the first-team squad, playing him as a
right wing-back, despite being a natural
right winger and
Morten Hjulmand was also promoted as the new club captain. Sporting also brought in
Conrad Harder as a signing for the future to develop under Amorim and to serve as back-up striker for Viktor Gyökeres. In his first match of the new season, on 3 August, Sporting suffered a 4–3 loss to rivals Porto in the
2024 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, despite leading the game by three goals. The following months, he was mentioned as a possible successor to
Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, when Sporting's
director of football Hugo Viana replaced
Txiki Begiristain as City's director of football. On 29 October, following the dismissal of Manchester United manager
Erik ten Hag, Sporting confirmed that the English club were set to trigger Amorim's €10 million release clause. After guiding Sporting to a 3–1 victory over
Nacional in the
quarter-finals of the
Taça da Liga, he addressed United's interest saying, "It's a negotiation between two clubs. It's never easy, even with the [release] clauses. They have to talk. We will have clarification after the game [against
Estrela da Amadora], it will be clear. So it's one more day and after the game tomorrow, we will have a decision made". After the two clubs agreed on a fee for Amorim's departure, in his last home match for the club, on 5 November, he led Sporting to a 4–1 home win against Manchester City, marking the third time that a team managed by Pep Guardiola conceded four goals in a
UEFA Champions League match. In the
2024–25 Primeira Liga, Amorim's Sporting won their first ten matches to move three points clear at the top of the table, his side also led the league for most goals scored and least goals conceded. Amorim was named Primeira Liga Manager of the Month for three consecutive months in August, September and October. On 10 November, he managed his final match for Sporting, leading his team to a 4–2 victory against his former club Braga, after being two goals down at halftime. This win allowed Amorim to match the best league start in the club's history, with 11 consecutive victories. The achievement equalled the record set by
Marinho Peres during the 1990–91 season. Amorim was succeeded by
João Pereira, whom he met in Benfica's youth teams and later managed in Sporting during the latter's final season as a player.
Manchester United 2024–25: Europa League final amidst domestic struggles On 1 November 2024,
Premier League club
Manchester United announced they had appointed Amorim as new head coach on a contract running until 2027, and that he would begin his tenure at the club on 11 November. Amorim's debut was a 1–1 away draw with
Ipswich Town on 24 November. Four days later, he secured his first win as Manchester United head coach against
Bodø/Glimt in the
UEFA Europa League league stage. On 1 December, Amorim won his first game in the Premier League against
Everton, beating them 4–0 at
Old Trafford. On 15 December, Amorim became the first Manchester United manager to win his first
Manchester derby since
Alex Ferguson in a 2–1 away win against
Manchester City. On 19 January 2025, Amorim labelled his team as "probably the worst team in the history" of the club after their 3–1 defeat to
Brighton in the
Premier League. The defeat was the club's fourth in its past five games at
Old Trafford. Later that year, on 20 October, Amorim coached United's first away win at
Anfield against arch-rivals
Liverpool since 2016, emerging victorious 2–1. With United also winning against
Brighton and
Sunderland in October, Amorim won his first
Premier League Manager of the Month award. His final game as United manager was a 1–1 away draw at
Elland Road against rivals
Leeds United on 4 January 2026. The next day, the club announced that Amorim had departed with immediate effect. He left the club in sixth place in the league. His record at United was 24 wins, 18 draws and 21 losses. ==Manager profile==