Amorim's nine-year-old Milan prophecy finally comes true
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 16.06.26. | 22:10
The Portuguese coach has officially been unveiled as the new manager of the Rossoneri
Football fans know the drill. A player or coach joins a new club, holds up the shirt and declares: "I've always dreamed of being here."
More often than not, it sounds like a well-rehearsed line rather than a genuine confession.
But Ruben Amorim's arrival at AC Milan is different.
The Portuguese coach has officially been unveiled as the new manager of the Rossoneri, taking on the challenge of reviving one of Europe's most storied clubs after a disappointing campaign. Yet unlike many of football's standard unveiling-day declarations, Amorim's affection for Milan can be traced back nearly a decade.
The seven-time European champions remain one of the biggest names in world football, even if the glory days feel increasingly distant. Aside from the brief resurgence overseen by club legend Paolo Maldini before his controversial departure in 2023, Milan have spent much of the last 15 years searching for a route back to the elite of European football.
Now that responsibility falls to Amorim.
The appointment is not without risk. The 41-year-old becomes the third Portuguese coach in Milan's last four managerial appointments, following Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceicao. Given the mixed legacy left behind by his compatriots and the fact that Amorim was dismissed by Manchester United earlier this year, some supporters remain cautious about the club's latest gamble.
What sets Amorim apart, however, is the connection he has long felt with Milan.
Back in April 2017, as he prepared to bring his playing career to an end with Benfica, Amorim gave an interview to Expresso magazine in which he reflected on some of the biggest decisions of his career.
He recalled turning down far more lucrative offers from Germany in order to join Benfica, a move driven not by financial considerations but by emotion.
"I followed my heart," Amorim explained at the time, recalling how even his own representatives struggled to understand why he had rejected significantly higher wages elsewhere.
The Benfica story was merely the introduction. What came next now reads like a prophecy.
"Back then, it was a decision that made no sense on paper. I listened only to my heart and I'm happy I did," Amorim said.
"When I was a kid, I loved watching Benfica and Milan. I remember watching videotapes of Milan with Maldini, Baresi, Gullit, Rijkaard and Savicevic.
"My childhood dreams were to play for Benfica and Milan. I achieved one of them. Now all that's left is to become a coach at the other one," he added with a laugh.
Nine years later, the joke has become reality.