‘It’s the way he treats you’ – Tottenham star loves ‘magnificent’ Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim
PEDRO PORRO gives the credit to “magnificent” Ruben Amorim as the man who helped his football “explode”.
Now the Spanish defender will hope to fire one of his trademark rockets to win Tottenham their first trophy in 17 years — and blow his old gaffer’s season to smithereens.
Porro’s Spurs take on Amorim’s Manchester United in Wednesday’s Europa League final in Bilbao.
It represents the last chance for both sides to save their dismal campaigns after failing to ignite in the league all season long.
United chief Amorim and his opposite number Ange Postecoglou have been lambasted after plummeting to 16th and 17th in the Prem respectively.
Yet Porro is sure of Amorim’s quality, having had his game transformed by the Portuguese manager while playing under him for Sporting prior to his £37.3million switch to Spurs.
The right-back, 25, said: “I worked with him for three years and he’s a magnificent coach.
“I know him very well. It’s the way he treats the players, he always spoke to me as a person, it’s not just how he treated me from a football perspective.
“The way he works on the pitch is also very good but in this case, I hope I come out as the happy one.”
Amorim signed Porro from Manchester City for Sporting in 2020, initially on loan, before making the switch permanent for £7.2m in May 2022.
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The former Girona ace was initially brought in as a winger and struggled at the start with a high number of muscle injuries.
But Amorim converted him into an explosive right wing-back in his 3-4-3 system which had so much success in Portugal in contrast to how it has fared in England so far.
Porro ended up with 12 goals in 98 Sporting games — including a howitzer from distance in a 2-0 win at Boavista in 2021 — before his switch to North London in January 2023.
Porro added: “When I arrived at Sporting, it was a little bit difficult for me. But like everything in football, sometimes it’s hard at first, right?
“Things in life don’t always go the way you want them to but when I got there, the truth is I had a lot of help from him and at that moment my football exploded.
“To be honest, I’m really grateful to him for that.”
Porro had a tricky start in N17 too but has developed into a key player for Spurs boss Postecoglou.
His 11 goals in 103 games have also included some long-range scorchers, such as last season’s belter against Burnley in the FA Cup.
Postecoglou has overseen a nightmare league campaign including a record 21 defeats which means there is a strong chance he leaves the club even if he wins the Europa League.
Yet the Aussie boasts an amazing record when playing final opponents Man Utd, winning four and drawing the other of his five matches against them.
That includes a hat-trick of victories this term already.
Man Utd vs Spurs – Europa League final: Kick-off time, TV channel and live stream info for Bilbao clash
Though United, on the other hand, have far more experience in major finals, even during their recent years in the doldrums.
Just last year, the Red Devils won the FA Cup and the season before that, then-boss Erik ten Hag clinched the Carabao Cup, too.
Porro certainly will not be underestimating United and pointed to their unbeaten record in Europe this term as a reason why Tottenham must be fearful of Amorim’s men.
The eight-cap Spain star said: “I don’t think they’ve lost in the Europa League.
“They’re a very good team, with a very good coach. In the end, they haven’t had the luck in the Premier League, it’s like us, isn’t it?
“But we’re two teams that know how to deliver and it’s going to be a very beautiful final.
“I hope we’re the happy ones at the end.
“We know every game is different, especially a final, where anything can happen.
“It would be a dream to win it because, as we already know when I arrived here, we knew it had been a long time since we had won a trophy here.
“And for me personally it would be a story of faith, something I dreamt of ever since I was little.
“It’s my first European final and everyone in the world would have motivation for that.”
Man Utd vs Spurs – Europa League final: Kick-off time, TV channel and live stream info for Bilbao clash