Monday 6 July was the day of the arrival in Italy. Ruben Amorim lands in Milan. The Portuguese coach arrived in the early afternoon at Linate Prime and then went to ‘Via Aldo Rossi’ to meet the club’s management in person. As for Milanello? Tuesday was the day of the first introduction.
A long search with a clear choice
From 25 May to 16 June, Milan went through weeks of reflection and video calls. Many names were linked with the club, mostly foreign coaches, in a process that fuelled daily rumours and gave the impression of a club still searching for its technical identity. In the end, however, the decision was made. And this time, the person who made it directly was Gerry Cardinale.
The choice fell on Ruben Amorim. A decision that reflects the desire to place faith in a young coach who is already accustomed to building projects. At Sporting, he demonstrated ideas, personality and an ability to develop players, taking the club back to the top of Portuguese football. His experience at Manchester United, on the other hand, did not live up to expectations, but it cannot erase all the positive work he had done in the years before. Milan represents an opportunity for redemption, while Milan the club represents a chance to start again with a coach who still has much to prove.
For Milan fans, they will surely be looking forward to the first official match with Amorim in charge, and platforms like Bettingtop10 Zimbabwe might see a surge in its users taking advantage of its features especially if the Portuguese coach starts to deliver dominant football right from the opening Serie A fixture, which will be against Torino, away from home.
The hope for Amorim: support and an end to prejudice
The hope is that this time Milan will truly support their coach. The memory of what happened with Paulo Fonseca is still too recent to ignore. Also Portuguese, he arrived in the summer of 2024 with clear ideas and a reputation built abroad at Lille and in Italy at Roma, but he too often found himself without a strong club figure capable of acting as a bridge between the team and the wider environment. Today, the risk is the same: a management structure still lacking a strong personality in the day-to-day relationship with the squad could leave Amorim exposed to the inevitable pressure of a demanding fanbase.
There is also another hope, one that concerns those who cover football as well. That coaches stop being judged before they have even had the chance to work. From his very first days, Fonseca was surrounded by a backdrop of irony, scepticism and often unfair jokes, fuelled in part by sections of the media and football circles. It is a very Italian habit: looking with suspicion at those who arrive from abroad, as if they must prove twice as much as others to be considered credible.
Amorim deserves to be judged on what he does on the pitch, not on the passport he carries. Milan will have to protect him, but the narrative surrounding him must also be more balanced. Because pre-emptive trials have never helped anyone.
What did Ruben Amorim say about his new adventure with Milan?
“I feel the responsibility of being here. This is a league where it's very difficult to win. We're here not to avoid losing, but to win. It's a wonderful challenge.”
And what did Gerry Cardinale say about Ruben Amorim’s arrival and the new Milan era?
“The starting point for us in our rebuild is going to be the relationship between onwership, management, and the head coach. What we try to accomplish, fundamentally, is to bring AC Milan back to its heritage. It is very important to us, players, and fans to bring the winning mentality back. We're going to play to win, not to (avoid) lose, which means we're going to look at a football style that meets that objective."
