the German League, during the Pep Guardiola reign with the senior side. He stayed there for two seasons clearly intent on learning how a big side is run and coached, and also to widen his knowledge on the game and tactics. He returned to Holland to coach FC Utrecht in 2015. He helped them finish 5th in the League in his first season and then 4th in the next campaign. He also brought them qualification to the Europa League. In December 2017, he was appointed head coach at Ajax Amsterdam. In 2019, he was very close to leading them to the UEFA Champions League Final after a run which included victories over Real Madrid and Juventus, until they got knocked out in injury time in the semi-final by Tottenham Hotspur. Under Ten Hag, Ajax won the double in 2019 and 2021 by lifting the Dutch Cup as well as the Eredivisie title. He was appointed as manager of Manchester United last April but he stayed on with Ajax for a few more weeks to be able to complete his third Eredivisie league title victory. Apart from McClaren as assistant, Ten Hag has also chosen Mitchell van der Gaag, his former no. 2 at Ajax, to form part of his backroom team as assistant coaches at United.
Erik Ten Hag
In 10 years, he has never been sacked and it is expected that Manchester United will be patient and give him the required time for rebuilding and to put his ideas across and see them implemented.
Can he bring the glory days back? by Ray Calleja
T
hese have been a terrible few years for Manchester United and so the appointment of Dutchman Erik Ten Hag brings with it much hope for better results and ultimately a return to the glory days when Sir Alex Ferguson was still leading the team before he retired in 2013. United are currently suffering their worst trophy drought in 40 years, with the Europa League won in 2017 under Jose Mourinho being the last trophy they won. On 21 April 2022 Ten Hag signed a 3-year contract at Manchester United, which ends in June 2025 with the option of extending for a further year. However, most fans and critics agree that a complete overhaul is now required at United. Not only a clear identity and style of how the team should play but also how players are recruited. We start by taking a look at Ten Hag as a player, where he played as a centre back. His was an undistinguished senior career, which spanned 13 years and included 3 different spells at his local club FC Twente. He retired at age 32 in 2002 and decided to take up coaching. His first experiences were with the youth teams at FC Twente. He later became Academy Director until the 2008/09 season, where he eventually became assistant to the Englishman Steve
McClaren, who was Twente’s head coach. McClaren commented about how Ten Hag was always so very meticulous in his preparations of the team and that he is a perfectionist. As we all know, those roles have now been reversed at Manchester United, where McLaren is back at Old Trafford after an absence of over 20 years, ready for life as assistant to the Dutchman. McClaren had been part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s backroom staff during the club’s iconic treble-winning season in 1999. Ten Hag has been head coach for the last 10 years, where he has been with four different sides. He started out with Dutch Div 2 side Go Ahead Eagles in 2012, where he led the team to its first promotion in 17 years. He moved to Germany with the second-string side of Bayern Munich who played in the 4th tier of
In terms of tactics, Ten Hag showed improved tactics and strategies with his teams on his return from Germany. In fact, in 2015 when he returned to the Netherlands with FC Utrecht, he was the first coach to introduce the system of three at the back. At the time all clubs in the top tier in the country were using an old-fashioned 4-3-3 and the only change coaches adopted was to switch to 4-4-2 when the side lost possession. He later also introduced a 4-4‑2 diamond shape, which was also innovative in Holland at the time. Utrecht, under Ten Hag, would often switch from 4-4-2 flat to 4-4-2 diamond and also to 5-2-3 or 5-3-2 reflecting a very flexible approach to a game. He also
Erik Ten Hag as an FC Twente player.
VOL 49 - ISSUE 4 - JULY 2022
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