A former member of the Liverpool team has been sharing his experiences playing under Ruben Amorim at Sporting CP.

Ruben Amorim appears to be the leading contender to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. The 39-year-old manager from Portugal has shown great success in his five years as a manager up to now.

Amorim’s accomplishments include securing a cup victory with Braga, breaking a 19-year league title drought at Sporting CP, and currently aiming for a repeat success this season, highlighted by a remarkable win against Benfica last weekend.

Given these achievements, Amorim certainly merits consideration for the job, especially considering his relatively short five-year tenure in management and ongoing learning curve.

However, despite his positive reputation in Portugal, there was a former Liverpool player who faced challenges under his leadership in recent years.

What Tiago Ilori has said about his time at Sporting CP under Ruben Amorim

When Ruben Amorim took over at Sporting CP in 2020, Tiago Ilori, who was already a squad player, found himself struggling for playing time.

Despite being a former Liverpool defender, Ilori only managed two appearances under Amorim before being loaned out. Throughout Amorim’s first full season in charge, Ilori was completely sidelined from the team and eventually loaned out to French side Lorient in January.

Interestingly, it was during this season that Sporting CP clinched their first league title in 19 years.

Last summer, Ilori permanently departed Sporting CP and spent six months without a club before joining Belenenses in January of this year. In an interview with Record upon joining Belenenses, Ilori indirectly expressed his desire to have stayed at Sporting CP and helped lift the league title during the 2020–21 season.

“I don’t dwell on it because ultimately, it’s the coach’s decision,” Ilori remarked. “I’d rather not dwell on it. Sporting will always be my favorite club.

There’s no regret, but I would have loved to have been a champion with Sporting and played more games. Right now, my focus is on getting back on the pitch as soon as possible.”

What happened to Tiago Ilori?

Ilori initially caught Liverpool’s eye as a promising talent from Sporting CP’s academy in 2013. He even made three appearances for Liverpool’s first team under Jurgen Klopp.

During his four-year stint at Liverpool, Ilori went on loan to three different clubs before departing for Reading in 2017.

At Reading, competing in the Championship, Ilori had some success and eventually secured a move back to Sporting CP in 2019. However, his time at Sporting CP mostly involved loan spells elsewhere.

Presently, Ilori is playing for Belenenses in Portugal’s second-tier league.