Ruben Amorim promised a new identity at AC Milan. Three games into his tenure, what he’s actually delivered is a familiar sense of déjà vu. The Portuguese coach, appointed in June after his turbulent exit from Manchester United, has failed to win any of his opening three matches in charge of the Rossoneri — and with a reunion against his old club looming this weekend, the pressure is mounting fast.
A Winless Start That’s Raising Eyebrows in Milan
Amorim’s pre-season resume so far reads: a draw against Celtic, a draw against Serie A rivals Inter, and a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea. None of those results would normally trigger panic in August, but Italian football is not known for its patience, and the tone from the local press has already turned sharp. Il Corriere dello Sport ran a back-page spread this week suggesting Amorim could become one of the first managerial casualties in Serie A this season — a striking headline for a coach barely two months into the job.
It’s a script that will feel painfully familiar to anyone who watched Amorim’s time at Old Trafford unravel. He won just 24 of his 63 matches in charge of Manchester United before being sacked in January, with critics pointing to his rigid commitment to a 3-4-3 system and increasingly tense press conferences as key factors in his downfall. Milan hired him anyway, betting that his tactical philosophy simply needed the right squad and environment to click — and after missing out on Champions League football last season under Massimiliano Allegri, the Rossoneri hierarchy clearly felt urgency was warranted.
The Reunion Nobody Saw Coming This Soon
Fittingly, Amorim’s chance to break his duck arrives against the very club that let him go. Milan face Manchester United in a pre-season friendly in Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday, August 15 — Amorim’s first meeting with his old side since his departure. United, now managed by Michael Carrick after guiding the club back into the Champions League with a third-place finish last season, will head into the match as the form side by comparison, even if pre-season results rarely tell the full story.
Reports out of Italy suggest Amorim is treating this fixture as a genuine dress rehearsal rather than a token exhibition. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the lineup he fields against United is expected to closely mirror the one he sends out for his competitive Serie A debut against Torino on August 23, though key names like Mike Maignan and Adrien Rabiot are expected to remain unavailable in Wroclaw.
Why This Result Actually Matters
Pre-season form is traditionally dismissed as meaningless, but for Amorim, the optics of a winless start have real consequences. He arrived at Milan on a three-year deal with a mandate to restore Champions League football and re-energize a fanbase that has cycled through four managerial changes in under two years. A winless record heading into a reunion with the club that sacked him only intensifies scrutiny that was already building before a ball had been kicked.
Whatever happens in Wroclaw, one thing is clear: Ruben Amorim’s honeymoon period in Serie A never really started. If Milan want European football back at the San Siro this season, results need to turn, and fast — because Italian patience, much like the January window that ended his United tenure, has a habit of running out quickly.
