Ruben Amorim’s replacement ‘not recognised as Sporting manager’ and must ‘pretend not to be the boss’

RUBEN AMORIM’S replacement Joao Pereira has been caught up in red tape after NOT being “recognised” as the new Sporting manager.

Pereira must reportedly therefore PRETEND not to be boss for now and cannot give instructions during matches.

Pereira doesn’t hold the necessary Uefa Pro licence to manager in the top-flight, according to the Portuguese Football Coaches Association (ANTF).

ANTF president pointed to a complaint made about his lack of “necessary qualifications” for the mandated role.

The 40-year-old has completed his Level III coaching course and is awaiting certification.

However, he still lacks the Uefa Pro licence, which would enable him to manage top-flight teams.

While Pereira cannot be sacked from his new role, he will be listed as an assistant coach, as he was with Sporting’s B team competing in Liga 3.

His staff member Tiago Teixeira, who has a Pro licence, will be formally recognised as the first team head coach for now, according to Portuguese outlet A Bola.

Pereira was recently denied official recognition as a coach by the ANTF and must “pretend” not to be manager in front of TV cameras.

According to the Association’s statement: “The formal certification process for Liga Portugal coaches has specific requirements which, in this instance, were not fully met by Mr Pereira.

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“There is a legal discrepancy; he is not qualified as he lacks the required certification for the role. As has been customary in such cases, we will report this situation to the relevant authorities.”

New Manchester United boss Amorim, 39, was caught up in the same predicament several years ago.

He was given a suspended one-year ban from management in the early days of his coaching career at Portuguese third-tier side Casa Pia in 2018.

Amorim was punished for giving instructions during a match without the required coaching qualifications and the club were threatened with a points’ deduction.

The now-Red Devils man was forced to hand in his notice before the end of the campaign as they faced further punishment for his mishap.

The strict coaching criteria and prolonged process has been criticised by many in Portuguese football.

The ANTF even blocked Amorim from joining Sporting in 2020.

Portuguese journalist Vitor Pinto told Record: “If club chief Antonio Salvador had let himself be intimidated by the ANTF, Amorim wouldn’t have be able to bring success back to Sporting.

“Amorim would not have had that path and wouldn’t be at Manchester United now.

“This is one of the most serious situations, most incomprehensible and most stupid in Portuguese football. “

Pereira could only step into coaching once he retired from playing in 2021 while Amorim was his manager.

Players are not permitted to enter coaching courses while still playing professional football in Portugal.

Rival club Arouca’s captain David Simao considered the complaint a “sad” moment as he stepped in to defend Pereira.

The Liga Portugal midfielder wrote on Instagram: “How long will they say that players should prepare for their post-career careers and then not give them access to that same preparation?

“It is impossible these days for a player in Portugal to be ready to be a coach straight after finishing his career.

“It is time to stop with the nice words and move on to good deeds, let the players take the courses, don’t make it difficult and HELP THEM.”

Pereira was announced as Amorim’s permanent successor on Monday, after maintaining a 100 per cent record with Sporting’s B team this term.

Despite no formal recognition as boss, Pereria has been spotting working with players at the club’s Academia Cristiano Ronaldo training base.

The move has ignited debate within Portuguese football circles, with many arguing for clearer, more accessible certification processes.

Ruben Amorim leaves Sporting on a high

By Charlie Wyett

RUBEN AMORIM would have preferred to leave Lisbon in a blaze of glory after winning a third Primeira Liga title.

Yet football does not work like that. And in what was surely his final game before taking charge of Manchester United, Amorim prepared to say his goodbyes at a half-empty Estadio Jose Alvalade in a League Cup quarter-final against Nacional.

Sporting won 3-1 thanks to  second-half goals by captain  Morten Hjulmand and Viktor Gyokeres, who scored two.

Luis Esteves pulled back for Madeira-based Nacional.

The stadium  will be a good deal more lively on Tuesday when Manchester City are here for  a Champions League match — although Amorim should by then have his feet firmly under his desk at Old Trafford.

Liverpool and Aston Villa were both interested in Europe’s most sought-after coach. Even City could have been a possible destination post-Pep Guardiola.

Yet the United job is one Amorim, 39,  could not turn  down — even if not everyone saw it that way at Sporting last night.

There is clearly a huge split in the Portuguese club’s fan base over their coach leaving at this stage of the season with many believing he should have seen the job through.

Yet Amorim, along with the three-man coaching team who are expected to follow him, leaves a club in a much better state than when he arrived here in 2020.

Inside the stadium, there was applause — albeit muted — when his name was read out before the game along with the line-ups.

And there did not appear to be any jeers when Amorim shuffled out from the tunnel awkwardly towards the dugout.

So, while his departure is hard to take for some, none of the fans will forget his legacy.

This is a club which is back as the dominant force in Portugal. Even this term, Sporting have won their first nine league games, scoring 30 goals and conceding just two.

They are also eighth in the Champions League table, which is one hell of an effort.

In contrast, Lisbon was not exactly hit by League Cup fever last night.

Amorim made lots of changes, which saw Sporting’s star man Gyokeres, the former Coventry striker, start on the bench.

There was, however, a first appearance in six weeks for former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards.

He is certainly one player who has been transformed by Amorim since arriving at the club from Vitoria in 2022 and will be sorry to see the coach leave.

While he changed his team, Amorim stuck with his tried and trusted formation of a back three.

It will certainly be something Manchester United’s fans will have to get used to over the  coming months.

But looking at the Premier League table, none of them will be complaining about the change.