Since Jurgen Klopp announced that he would be stepping down at the end of the season, there has been a daily flurry of news surrounding potential successors. Among several candidates, Xabi Alonso, who was seen as the big favourite, has decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, with Sporting’s Ruben Amorim emerging as the first choice.
The 39-year-old coach of Sporting, who are top of the domestic league, has a lot of coaching experience in European competitions, including the Champions League. Discussions have already taken place with the Portuguese manager’s agent to finalise details, as he is excellent at developing youngsters and fits in well with the Fenway Sports Group’s management philosophy.
According to recent reports, it is looking increasingly likely that he will take charge at Anfield next season.
He will have the heavy responsibility of replacing the German manager, but former Liverpool defender Abel Xavier, who is also Portuguese and completed his coaching licence with him, has been tipped as the right man for the job.
“I know him very well. We finished the UEFA coaching badges course together and Ruben really impressed me. He is very humble and has a clear mentality.”
“He’s destined to leave Sporting and when you have three or four possibilities to join big clubs like this, his name will always be at one of the top clubs, that’s for sure. He’s under contract at Sporting and doesn’t want to get distracted by things that are going on elsewhere.”
“For the first time in years, Sporting can win the ‘dobradinha’ [league and cup double]. But I believe and I think almost everyone believes that Amorim’s tenure at Sporting will end very soon. With great respect to Sporting, I would like to see Rúben Amorim at Liverpool and I think he will be the right person to replace Jürgen Klopp.”
BBC World Service