Pedro Porro spent three years being coached by Ruben Amorim at Sporting Lisbon with Manchester United head coach once describing relationship with Spurs defender as “more than a professional one”
Pedro Porro has hailed “magnificent” Ruben Amorim for his human touch after crediting the Manchester United boss’ role in helping his career “explode.”
Spurs full-back Porro is hoping to heap more misery on his former coach in Wednesday’s Europa League showdown – but he will never forget the care and attention shown to him at Sporting Lisbon.
Amorim spent three years developing Porro at the Portuguese club and has previously said his relationship with the Spain international was “more than a professional one.”
And while Amorim has struggled to get to grips with life at Old Trafford, Porro still thinks the father-like figure is among the best around.
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“He’s a magnificent coach,” Porro said. “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’m the happy one.
“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. I’m really grateful to him for that.”
Gratitude may be in short supply should United deny Spurs a first trophy in 17 years. Both teams travel to northern Spain approaching the end of diabolical domestic campaigns. Spurs’ defeat at Aston Villa on Friday was their 21st in the league, leaving head coach Ange Postecoglou on the brink irrespective of this week’s outcome.
But Porro has no issue separating their travails at home with their steady, professional approach in Europe. “The truth is we have very good feelings,” he said.
“Ignoring the Premier League, we are feeling good. The job the team has done in Europe has been enormous and I think we feel we’re in a good place. Those feelings have to carry over to the day of the final now.
“We have to forget everything else because we’ve worked very hard to get to this final. It’s very difficult to get to where we are in this Europa League and it’s where we want to be.”
United are in a similar state, though with one fewer win and three fewer defeats in the league. And Porro added: “Well, I don’t think they’ve lost in the Europa League. They’re a very good team, with a very good coach no? 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.”
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