Lisandro Martinez was Erik ten Hag’s No.1 choice in defence as he replaced Harry Maguire when the Dutchman dumped the England defender – but now he’s fully backing Ruben Amorim’s new style at Manchester United
Lisandro Martinez claims Ruben Amorim is bringing passion back to Manchester United.
Amorim faces Manchester City in his first Manchester derby today – nearly six weeks after he beat the Blues 4-1 in his penultimate game with Sporting Lisbon. The Portuguese has won three and lost two of his first six games and Martinez says he can feel his energy around the club.
“He’s been working really well,” said the Argentina centre-half. “I think he demands what the club demands, which is good. I like his passion, his energy, the way he wants to play in possession and defending. And also the staff, the energy around the team. It’s all good.
“His way is the way I like to play – the passion, the energy you know. If you have that with me, it’s like you connect quickly. So the coach has brought many good things and, yeah, that’s good for everyone.”
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Martinez says he first came across Amorim with his old club Ajax in the Champions League in 2021 and has followed his progress closely because he could see then he was special.
“I remember the games we played for Ajax against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League,” he said.
“I started to get to know about him then, the way he played and his team played so well. Those were the games when I first realised about him and I have been watching him since.”
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