Rúben Filipe Marques Amorim is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of Sporting CP. He spent most of his professional career with Belenenses and Benfica, signing with the latter in 2008 and going on to win ten major titles, including three Primeira Liga championships. Over 12 seasons, he amassed totals in the competition of 221 matches and 13 goals. Amorim represented Portugal in two FIFA World Cups, earning a total of 14 caps. After retiring, he worked as a manager.
Playing career
Club
Belenenses
Born in Lisbon, Amorim made his debut in the Primeira Liga on 14 December 2003, playing one minute for hometown club C.F. Os Belenenses in a 2–0 home win against F.C. Alverca. From 2005–06 onwards, he became a regular. In the 2007–08 campaign, Amorim started in 28 of his 29 league appearances and helped his team finish in eighth position.
Benfica
In late April 2008, Amorim signed a four-year deal with Benfica after his Belenenses contract expired. During his first season he was a regular starter, scoring his first goal with Benfica on 23 November in a 2–0 away victory over Académica de Coimbra. Competing with new signings Javi García and Ramires, Amorim appeared less in 2009–10, but still featured prominently as Benfica won the league – and the League Cup – after a five-year drought. When healthy, he was again regularly used by manager Jorge Jesus in the 2010–11 season. On 19 January 2011, however, after undergoing surgery on both knees, he was sidelined for several months. In early October 2011, whilst on duty with the national team, Amorim criticised Jesus' preferences – Benfica played most of their games without a single Portuguese player. Increasingly disgusted with his plight, in December, he refused to train with the bench players – after warming up for several minutes only to not be used – following a game against Rio Ave FC, being subjected to the club's disciplinary proceedings; on 30 January 2012 a loan was arranged with Braga, until June of the following year. In 2013–14, Amorim returned to Benfica and played 37 matches across all competitions, helping the club to win an unprecedent treble of league, Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga. At the beginning of the following campaign, he featured the full 120 minutes to help his team defeat Rio Ave in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, thus winning four titles in 2014. On 24 August, however, he got severely injured while playing on an artificial turf at Boavista FC, with news the next day reporting an anterior cruciate ligament injury; he was sidelined until 11 February 2015, when he featured as a substitute in a 3–0 home defeat of Vitória de Setúbal in the semi-finals of the domestic league cup. On 14 August 2015, Amorim joined Al-Wakrah Sport Club in Qatar on a season-long deal. On 4 April 2017, after more than a year of inactivity, the 32-year-old terminated his contract with Benfica and retired.
International
Amorim appeared for Portugal at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Netherlands, as the national side eventually lost to Italy for the final berth for the following year's Summer Olympic Games. On 10 May 2010, although not part of the senior squad's list of 23 for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he was named in a backup list of six players. On 8 June, he replaced Nani after the Manchester United player sustained a clavicle injury which ruled him out of the finals in South Africa; his senior debut came on the 15th, as he played the last five minutes of the group stage opener against Ivory Coast in the place of Raul Meireles. Amorim was also selected by new manager Paulo Bento for the 2014 World Cup. He made his debut in the tournament on 26 June in the last group phase match against Ghana, featuring the full 90 minutes in the 2–1 win but seeing his team eliminated on goal difference.
Coaching 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. Amorim started working as a manager in 2018–19, with third division team Casa Pia AC. 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 the Estádio da Luz as Benfica's under-23 team's coach. The following month, however, after a meeting at the club, he rejected that possibility. In mid-September 2019, Amorim was appointed at Braga's reserves in the third level. 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. In his first game in charge on 4 January, he led them to a 7–1 away demolition of Belenenses SAD, and three weeks later won the domestic League Cup final against FC Porto with a last-minute goal from Ricardo Horta. 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.
Style of play
Amorim's style was similar to countryman Tiago, with both playing the same position, operating in central midfield, both defensive and offensive.
