"We cannot take today's example and apply it to another situation. Man United do not play the way Sporting play. I will work in a different environment. Therefore, everything needs to be done from scratch" - Ruben Amorim answered in an interview after Sporting Lisbon's devastating win over Man City.
Against Man City, Sporting and many other teams took the initiative to play defensive counter-attacks. However, the way Amorim and his team did it was more direct, faster and more effective than other teams.
Since starting to play with the 3-4-3 formation, Ruben Amorim has become a rarity in European football. In the Premier League, the closest person to remember this formation is Antonio Conte when he operated it and helped Chelsea win the championship in 2017. However, before that, when working in Serie A, Conte did not really apply 3-4-3 in the early days, it was more inclined towards 4-2-4.
It was not until he had the three famous central defenders of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli at Juventus that the current Napoli manager applied 3-4-3 in all matches. Later, when working for the Italian national team, Conte also applied this way of playing and replaced the Juventus trio with others depending on the match.
When he arrived at Chelsea, Conte initially played the team in a 4-3-3 formation. In the match against Arsenal, when Chelsea were 3 goals behind, Conte immediately switched to 3-4-3 and applied it throughout the rest of his time in the Premier League. The most obvious proof is the contract of Marcos Alonso. The Spanish defender has shown very good qualities in both defense and attack, very suitable for Conte to play 3-4-3 in a high-speed environment like the Premier League.
Back to Ruben Amorim, the first time the Portuguese tactician used 3-4-3 was when he was in charge of Casa Pia in the 2018-2019 season. As the captain of that third-tier team, Amorim lost his first two matches. At that time, he promised to quit if he lost another match, but the negative results did not come.
"We won with a 4-4-2 formation in the third match. After that match, Amorim said that he would change the formation. I asked him why he had to change it after just winning. However, Amorim insisted on changing it and said that the 3-4-3 formation would bring a 5-man defense when needed, and the team would become more stable. Since then, Amorim has never changed it again, from Braga B, Braga to Sporting" - Casa Pia's sporting director, Carlos Pires, recalled.
Amorim's success with 3-4-3 before joining Man United does not mean he will apply this style of play in the future. In fact, outstanding coaches like Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola also have to change based on reality. Previously at Dortmund, Klopp used 4-2-3-1, then at Liverpool he changed to 4-3-3. Meanwhile, Pep used 4-3-3 at Barcelona but later at Bayern Munich and Man City, he continuously changed the way of playing.
Coaches can easily rotate between 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2, but 3-4-3 is a different matter as it reduces the defence to three. In his four and a half years at Sporting, Amorim has never used a four-man defence, so when pressure comes to change to suit the Premier League, it will be a huge challenge for Amorim.
Looking back at Man United's current squad, the wing duo Diogo Dalot - Noussair Mazraoui are both right-footed and play purely on the wing, often switching positions. The only one who can play Amorim's style is Luke Shaw, who is currently not scheduled to return from injury. Shaw has previously played in a three-man defense under Ole Solskjaer but his attacking role is not as clear as the way Amorim is deploying it.
Besides, there are many other factors in the current "Red Devils" squad that are not suitable for 3-4-3. Mason Mount played very well in Thomas Tuchel's 3-4-2-1 formation at Chelsea. Rasmus Hojlund can only play as a "hammock" striker. The person who can play regularly and is most familiar with this style of play is Manuel Ugarte because he used to play for Sporting under Amorim's direction.
