After weeks of leaks and reports that monitor the development of negotiations, Manchester United announced the contract with Dutch coach Eric Ten Hag to lead the team until 2025, which raises questions about the coaching career of the Dutch coach, and his ability to restore the glories of the ancient English club.
United appointed Ten Hag as their new coach on Thursday, leaving Ajax Amsterdam, after becoming one of the most successful coaches in the history of the Dutch club.
During 4 and a half seasons with Ajax, Ten Hag won 5 titles to carve his name among the top 5 coaches in the club’s history, but the numbers he achieved are the most impressive.
Ten Hag, 52, led Ajax in 138 matches in the Eredivisie, winning 109 matches and suffering only 16 defeats. During this period, the team scored 409 times, while conceding 109 goals.
But the amazing numbers were overshadowed by the drama of the club’s march to the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2018-2019 season, when the team climbed from the preliminary rounds to defeat Real Madrid and Juventus, before losing in the semi-finals with a last gasp against Tottenham.
This remarkable period played a role in shaping the reputation of Ten Hag, who is known for his adventurous attacking approach with tactical discipline and his great ability to develop young players, some of whom later joined major European clubs.
Ten Hag’s experiences:
Ten Hag began his coaching career after retiring from playing at the age of 32 after 10 years with Dutch club Twente, and other years with clubs such as Wolffick and Ultrecht.
After an experience with youth teams, Ten Hag joined the technical staff of the first team at Twente, and impressed coach Steve McClaren.
McClaren spoke about his experience with the young coach, and said, “A day after I was appointed to coach the team, he arrived at the training headquarters carrying a file containing a detailed plan for training during the first six weeks of the start of the season, and I had never seen anything similar before.”
He pointed out that Ten Hag has impressive abilities to analyze matches, and added, “I thought I knew football, but after that period I lived with him, I realized that I do not know anything about football; he has the ability to see things during matches that others do not notice.”
After returning the Eagles to the first division in his first season as head coach in 2013, Ten Hag surprised everyone by agreeing to coach Bayern Munich’s second team in the German fourth division.
His presence coincided with Pep Guardiola’s leadership of the first team of Bayern Munich, which gave him a two-year opportunity in which the Spanish coach participated in the obsession about tactical plans and the details of the daily work in training.
“100 things can go well, and if one thing fails that’s what people will remember,” Ten Hag said in a previous interview. In reference to the strict care to excel in all details.
