Rúben Amorim won’t even sit in the Milanello office until July 6. That’s seven months to the day after Manchester United fired him. And honestly? The guy seems fine with taking his time.
The 41-year-old Portuguese coach was officially named Milan’s head coach last week on a contract running through June 2028. But he’s not rushing over. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport and MilanNews, the plan is for Amorim to land in Italy on July 6, spend a day poking around the training facilities and shaking hands with the directors, then fly back to Portugal for a few days to tidy up the move. He’ll be back for real before the players show up.
The schedule so far
Players report for preseason medicals and fitness testing on July 12. First training session is July 13. That gives Amorim exactly one week to settle in before he has to look a squad full of veterans and loanees in the eye and figure out who stays and who goes.
And here’s the thing about that squad: it’s not small. Milan has guys coming back from loan spells all over the place. Yunus Musah. Francesco Camarda. Kevin Zeroli. Samuel Chukwueze. That’s four names right there who might have a shot or might get flipped depending on what Amorim sees in those first few days.
The club’s transfer strategy is reportedly built around patience right now. Amorim wants to evaluate everyone in person before making any decisions. No panic buying. No selling a guy because of a reputation he had two years ago. Just watch them run, watch them pass, watch them deal with the heat of July in Italy, and then decide.
Smart approach, honestly. Especially for a guy whose last job ended with him getting sacked in early January. United was a mess by the time he left, and nobody in Milan seems to think that was his fault. But he still carries that scar. He’ll want to prove he can build something stable.
What Amorim brings
The guy isn’t exactly a secret in European soccer. He won two Primeira Liga titles with Sporting CP before United came calling. His teams play intense, pressing football with a back-three system that can look chaotic when it works and absolutely brutal when it doesn’t. Milan’s roster has some pieces that fit that style — athletic fullbacks, midfielders who can cover ground — but it’s not a perfect match.
That’s probably why he’s not in a rush. You can’t force a system on players you haven’t watched breathe yet.
Starting on July 6 means he’ll have a week alone at Milanello before the first players walk through the door. A week to walk the pitches, meet the staff, maybe rearrange the coaching office furniture. Small stuff. But that kind of prep matters when you’re walking into a club with Milan’s history and expectations.
For a guy who got bounced from Old Trafford in January, July 6 can’t get here soon enough.
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