Amorim started as a trainee coach at Casa Pia before taking full charge and guiding them to promotion on a shoestring budget.

“As a coach, the most important thing for Rubén is to have a close relationship with his players,” adds Simao, who played for his friend at Casa Pía after recovering from a traffic accident in 2018 that left him in a coma.

“The accident occurred almost at the same time that he was appointed coach at Casa Pia.

“A while later I texted him and said, ‘Look, what do you think about having me on your team?’ He said: “Please, we cannot mix our relationship. You were in a coma four months ago, you are 33 years old and you are an expensive player for Casa Pia.”

“Then after a week he texted me to say, ‘Look, I want you on my team. Let’s make it happen.'”

However, not everything was easy and Simao remembers Amorim’s reaction when things didn’t go as planned.

“I’ve seen him get angry many times because he wants to play well and win.”

One of those occasions came after a loss to Amora, coached at the time by Russiano, Amorim’s friend since childhood.

“It was very good to see a good friend again,” says Russiano. “We talk and remember things from when we were young. My team won 1-0!

“At Casa Pia he decided to play with a different system and went to 3-4-3. They made a run that put them in first position. He is the second ‘Special One’.”

Victor Seabra Franco, president of Casa Pia, says Amorim was paid an “insignificant” amount of money due to a tight budget and limited resources.

“I won’t mention the figures, because they are so small that they are not worth mentioning,” he adds.

“For the matches, which were at 3 p.m. in Alentejo or Algarve, we left early in the morning, we trained at night. Rubén changed things and we started training in the morning.

“Sometimes there was no water, for example, but despite all the difficulties there was a group and Rubén, and those players liked Rubén.

“They did everything possible so that Casa Pia and Rubén could win.”

There were tears among the players when Amorim announced he was leaving Casa Pia after just one season.

“That is the saddest memory of Rubén’s presence: the day he left Casa Pia,” says Seabra Franco.