Amorim's language barrier

With a delayed flight and queues to get through security at Lisbon airport, I was in a rush and a bit flustered when I arrived at the press conference room for Sporting's pre-match media for their Champions League game against Manchester City.

I didn't realise until I had sat down that I was only one - empty - seat away from Ruben Amorim, who was watching one of his players answering questions.

I said hello and shook Amorim's hand. He said hello back and seemed perfectly civil.

Then, after answering 20 minutes of questions in his native Portuguese, Amorim was asked another five or six by the English media.

Again, the answers were in Portuguese. Asked by an English TV journalist if he could offer an answer in English, he declined. His press officer said English journalists would get a lot of answers in their native tongue when he starts officially at Manchester United on 11 November.

For now, it is Portuguese only.