Ruben Amorim Reignites Feud With Man Utd Legends

Ruben Amorim had to catch himself mid-sentence on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, when explaining how his AC Milan side learns from setbacks. "I think we should improve in every training session. I expect that my players understand, it's like when you have an accident with an airplane, you learn something from," he said, before adding quickly: "It's not a good comparison, you understand what I mean. If something wrong happens, we take a lot of information and we put it in training sessions."

The 41-year-old Portuguese,, was also asked about life under the shadow of club legends. He gave a pointed answer, one that reopened old wounds from his time at Old Trafford.

"I was in a club [Manchester United] in the past with a lot of legends, and they have big opinions, and they talk a lot about things. They lived in a time that was completely different," Amorim said.

That era at United was dominated by pundits who played under Sir Alex Ferguson — Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes among them — and their running commentary shadowed Amorim throughout a difficult spell in Manchester. He presided over the club's worst-ever Premier League finish, 15th, winning just 24 of his 63 games in charge, a 38.1 per cent success rate that was the lowest of any United manager.

Milan carries a comparable weight of history, with former greats of their own quick to offer opinions on the current side, Amorim's remarks echo the frustration he showed last January, when he called that United team "the worst team in the history of Manchester United" after a defeat to Brighton, a comment he later apologised for,

Whether the pundits respond in kind will likely shape how this row develops. For now, Amorim has made clear he intends to manage on his own terms, without deferring to voices from United's past.