Ruben Amorim is poised to experience his first taste of the rivalry between Manchester United and Leeds – and should heed the words of Sir Alex Ferguson to help him prepare for what’s to come
07:00, 03 Jan 2026Updated 09:06, 03 Jan 2026
Ruben Amorim is braced for a trip to Elland Road(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images)
Just when Ruben Amorim needed some comfort and solace, the Manchester United manager has been left reaching for his tin hat instead.
Because Amorim won’t get a warm welcome at Elland Road on Sunday. The Portuguese will get a red hot one instead, filled with the sort of poison and spite Sir Alex Ferguson could never quite understand.
Unless Amorim has been living under a rock, he should be aware of the genuine hatred that exists between United and Leeds. Both might have ‘United’ in their names – but nothing could be further from the truth. This will be Amorim’s first trip to Elland Road since taking charge of United – and nothing can quite prepare him for what lies in wait.
Not least because he travels to Yorkshire at a time when Leeds are full of confidence as well as adrenaline, following a six game unbeaten run which incudes a home thumping of Chelsea and two draws with Liverpool, including a point from their midweek trip to Anfield.
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The game is kicking off at 12.30pm on Sunday for a reason. To limit the amount of time both sets of supporters have to indulge in alcohol. It has become the norm for West Yorkshire Police to cancel all leave and have extra officers patrolling the game. Senior figures from both clubs have been known to meet with police in the past to discuss security measures.
While former United chief executive Ed Woodward once considered not attending a game at Elland Road, because he genuinely feared for his safety. If this isn’t enough to leave Amorim bracing himself for a cauldron of hate, he should consider what Fergie once said about the rivalry between United and Leeds.
Back in 2011, ahead of a Carling Cup game at Elland Road, a large group of Leeds fans congregated outside the United team hotel in the city centre. The atmosphere became so toxic, Fergie was scared to leave the building.
And he reckoned the vitriol between both sets of supporters even exceeded the levels which existed between United and Liverpool. Fergie said: “Historically, it has been there for a long time. I have always said Liverpool-Manchester United games are fierce in many aspects.
Sir Alex Ferguson knows all about the Leeds-Manchester United rivalry(Image: Getty Images)
“Sometimes supporters can play a bad part in that particular game. But it never reaches the levels of Leeds United. Never. It was frightening at our hotel. We had seven police vans round the hotel protecting the team. I don’t know why it is like that. I don’t understand it. But it is there and it is not nice.”
The hatred is historical, due to geography and the envy of supporters of different generations towards the respective clubs’ successes. Leeds, who have no such rivalry with another Yorkshire club, dominated the 1970s while United ruled the roost in the 1990s and 2000s.
Leeds supporters have spent decades taunting United about the 1958 Munich air crash, while in more recent times United fans have goaded Leeds about the two fans who got murdered in Istanbul in 2000. Now Leeds are back in the Premier League, football’s long-standing ‘War of the Roses’ will resume once again.
And Amorim will head across the Pennines to find himself on the frontline of the kind of battle he has never come close to experiencing before.
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