Amorim and his stormy United exit: “Journalists receive selective briefings”. Welcome to Italy

AC Milan are banking on Ruben Amorim, and it is not an obvious choice. The Portuguese coach, who signed his contract remotely this morning, is young, promising and coming off an unhappy spell, with a firm and deeply held idea of the football he wants to play - and very little fear of saying things as they are. Or at least as he believes they are, whether to supporters or journalists.

What could possibly go wrong?
Things got ugly in Manchester. His spell at Manchester United, difficult from several points of view, says plenty about Amorim’s character. Accused of refusing to change system despite the Red Devils’ struggles, he repeatedly told the press that he wanted to stay true to his ideas, regardless of everything else. It all built into an escalation of tension in the days leading up to his dismissal, which came after a series of press conferences in which he also took aim at the relationship between the club and the wider media ecosystem.

“I have noticed that you receive selective information about everything.” That was Amorim’s reply to reporters on 4 January, after the draw with Leeds United, when he was irritated by questions over whether the club’s faith in him was time-limited. “Selective information”, in Italian journalistic language, could quite easily be rendered as “briefings”. In the same press conference, for the record, Amorim said he had gone to United to be a manager, not a coach. He then referred to one of England’s most famous pundits: “If people cannot cope with Gary Neville and criticism about everything, then we have to change the club.”

The club decided to change him instead: the following day, he was sacked. Welcome to Italy, one might be tempted to tell him. Granted, in any country the relationship between clubs and the press has its own dynamics - and that is perfectly normal. In Italy, though, criticism can often be fierce, immediate and unforgiving, across several platforms.

As for selective information, he would do well to watch out for selective meetings too.