The type of excitement Ruben Amorim is generating is perhaps only rivalled by when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s return was announced in an interim capacity.
Ruben Amorim recently took his first training session as Manchester United manager and the fans watched it just as keenly as they would any game!
Understandably so, since Amorim rose to prominence as one of the most promising coaches in all of Europe due to his tactical setup.
Right off the bat, some learnings were clear to see even in snippets of training under Amorim, and chief among them was a new role for one Man Utd star which nobody saw coming.
How United lined up in Ruben Amorim’s first training session
Just as he promised, Amorim looked like he brought his three-at-the-back system to Old Trafford from the very first day at United.
Despite having a training group full of youngsters, Amorim has made it clear that there is an identity the team will work towards which is non-negotiable.
The setup in training looked similar to what worked for him at Sporting, with three defenders lining up between two wingbacks.
Two defensive midfielders with licence to roam forward were ahead of the defensive trio, while the striker was at the tip of a three-man attack.
Notably, Luke Shaw was on the left side of a back three instead of as a left-wingback, while Leny Yoro and Jonny Evans rounded up the trio.
Malacia and Antony were wingbacks and Kobbie Mainoo was joined by Casemiro in the midfield pivot which was encouraged to be adventurous with their passing and carrying.
Amad and Mount started behind striker Rashford, perhaps indicating where Rashford’s future lies under Amorim.
Antony’s shock new role
It is safe to say that in the current Man Utd squad, there isn’t a more predictable player than Antony, whose one strength is cutting inside from the right and shooting with his left foot.
As soon as the defenders figured that out, the Brazilian has effectively been a non-factor for United which, combined with injury worries has seen him become symptomatic of the club’s failures.
In fact, so bad has he been that it can be argued Erik ten Hag would still be in the job had the winger cost less or if Ten Hag’s commitment to him was not so staunch.
Therefore, for Amorim, finding a role for Antony, still an £85 million investment, would have been priority.
In his first training session, there were building blocks to see that it might have been the case. Due to his left-footedness, the expectation was that he might be fielded as the left-wingback.
However, Amorim shocked one and all as Antony lined up as the right-wingback in training, with Tyrell Malacia covering the left side.
It’s worth mentioning that only 11 senior players took part in training for Amorim’s first session due to the international break.
Still, the attacking slots being occupied by Amad, Marcus Rashford, and Mason Mount say a lot about Antony’s current standing in the squad.
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