Just as Arne Slot did over the summer at Liverpool, Ruben Amorim has been putting together his backroom team at Manchester United as he prepares to begin his reign as manager at Old Trafford.
The 39-year-old – who earlier this year had been touted as a strong contender to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield before the job was eventually given to the Dutchman – will take charge of his first match with the Red Devils next weekend, having left Sporting Lisbon to step into the role from which Erik ten Hag was sacked last month.
The Portuguese native has brought several of his lieutenants from the Estadio Jose Alvalade with him to the northwest of England, with one particular appointment set to deliver added satisfaction for his new club.
Man United hire ex-Liverpool physiotherapist
United confirmed on their official website that five individuals have followed Amorim to Manchester as part of his new backroom team at Old Trafford.
One of them is Paulo Barreira, who takes up the role of physical performance coach and previously worked as a physiotherapist at Liverpool from 2011 to 2014, with Arsenal and Sporting also on his CV, along with various clubs in the Middle East.
A coup for United, but Liverpool have moved on
Whilst the former LFC physio joining Amorim’s backroom team at United is nowhere near as galling as a one-time Anfield player pitching up at Old Trafford (cough, Michael Owen, cough), it’s an appointment which could still rankle on Merseyside given the eternal rivalry between the two most successful clubs in England.
As per the official website of Liverpool John Moores University, Dr Mark Robinson (reader in biomechanics in the LJMU Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Science) said that Barreira “was always a very hard worker and fiercely determined to get his PhD despite having a very full-on job over in Anfield”.
Nonetheless, with a decade having elapsed since he was last involved with the Reds, his former club have very much moved on in terms of the medical staff working in L4, with the highly experienced David Breen being confirmed last week as a new first-team rehabilitation physiotherapist at Liverpool.
While that aspect of Amorim’s backroom reshuffle will leave United fans grinning broadly, LFC will simply get on with their own affairs as the team behind Slot will seek to play their part in preserving our proud position at the top of the Premier League table right through to the season’s end.
