Apr 21, 2022

  • Tom HamiltonSenior Writer

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      • Joined ESPN in 2011
      • Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby Globe Cups and ii British & Irish gaelic Lions tours
      • Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018

Erik ten Hag volition be Manchester United'south 5th permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired after winning the lodge'southward most contempo Premier League title in 2013. He arrives with the pressure of returning the social club to the top of European football game after a nearly-decade of mediocrity, and in hiring him, United have opted for someone who has a runway record of developing youth, playing attractive football and winning titles at Ajax. Despite the apparent fit, there'due south nonetheless is an chemical element of the unknown about him.

Ten Hag comes to United as a much-admired managing director -- someone who has worked under Pep Guardiola (at Bayern Munich), has helped nurture some of Europe's best young players, and has a philosophy influenced as much by the Dutch "Total Football" school of thought as it is by Guardiola's mode of playing, with a dab of Deutschland's "Gegenpressing" philosophy.

I last spoke to Ten Hag dorsum in December. Back then he was masterminding a Champions League campaign with Ajax, but was also hinting at his growing hunger to try something unlike. At the time, he was being linked with all manner of height jobs, and was asked about whether he pays any attention to it.

"Don't look in Google... I live by the day, and I'm very satisfied at Ajax," he said. Merely then he paused; when asked whether he'd eventually be tempted by one of the European giants linked with him, he answered: "It would be slap-up. Nosotros will see if it comes, if they want to sign me. I am looking forward for a plan, and I feel comfortable to do a job like this."

Six months on, he's landed at Old Trafford, by far the biggest job of his career. But how did he get here?

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Erik ten Hag's journey to Old Trafford

Back in Dec, 10 Hag said he was satisfied with Ajax's season at that stage: They were winning the league, and were nevertheless in Europe and in the KNVB Beker (Dutch Cup). But this came with a qualification. "Satisfaction is likewise a danger, as the moment you go satisfied, you become lazy," he said. "Laziness is a big threat, for me as a bus -- when I have that feeling, information technology'll come to my players and if my players get lazy, and then we're killed."

Behind Ten Hag on the walls of his office are three black-and-white photos of ex-Ajax managers and legends Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff and Louis van Gaal. Between them, the trio built the red-and-white castle where Ten Hag planted his flag in 2017. They are equally much inspiration as they are reminders of the expectation that comes with being a Dutch double-decker schooled at Ajax.

Ten Hag's playing career was as a typical, run-of-the-manufacturing plant Eredivisie central midfielder. He had iii spells at FC Twente, while also playing for De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk and Utrecht. He played alongside Hans Kraay Jr. at De Graafschap and the two have remained shut friends. "When nosotros played together, Erik's dream was to become the manager of FC Twente," Kraay said. "Just I saw already that he was tactically bright. If we were playing against 1 striker, or two strikers, our manager always told u.s. we had to sort it out between us. He had such an eye for detail."

Ten Hag retired from playing football at historic period 32 and went into coaching, working his way through the FC Twente historic period-course sides before condign assistant to Fred Rutten and Steve McClaren. In July 2009 he was reunited with Rutten at PSV, where his reputation grew, and he took charge of Dutch 2nd-division side Become Ahead Eagles in 2012. In his sole flavour in that location, he got them promoted to the Eredivisie for the first time in 17 years. Then came the movement to Bayern Munich, where he managed the reserves from 2013-15 -- a spell that coincided with Guardiola's tenure at the High german giants. It was a determinative experience for X Hag. He learned what it takes to manage and work for one of the European powerhouses, and he also witnessed Guardiola's methods first-paw: noting how Guardiola's team would defend and press from the front end, and the intensity at which Bayern trained.

10 Hag was snapped upward by his former club side FC Utrecht in 2015. There he held a dual role as sporting director and manager and steered the club into the Europa League. One of his final matches in charge was a 2-1 victory at Ajax in November 2022 and only 6 weeks later on, Ajax sacked Marcel Keizer after his ill-blighted v-month spell, appointing Ten Hag as his successor.

Ajax were going through a tough spell. In July 2017, their promising attacking midfielder Abdelhak Nouri collapsed in a preseason match, having suffered a cardiac arrhythmia attack, which left him with brain damage. Nouri grew up playing in the same academy side equally Matthijs de Ligt and Donny van de Beek. That had a long-lasting impact on the players and club.

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1:14

Why Manchester United have picked Ten Hag over Pochettino

Marking Ogden explains why Manchester United have called Erik ten Hag equally their next manager.

On the pitch, the players were underperforming. Though they were second in the league when X Hag took the chore, they'd already been knocked out of the Dutch Cup and Europe. It took time for Ten Hag to be accepted equally he was a different sort of manager to what they were used to: he was an outsider.

"[Then-director of football Marc] Overmars gave him fourth dimension," Kraay says. "He's got a different accent from people in Amsterdam, they were laughing at him a little bit -- asking how a manager from the pocket-sized town in the due east of Netherlands called Haaksbergen would change Ajax. Everyone, though -- even those who were confronting him -- started to run into what he was doing. He'due south the boss. He doesn't want to make friends, but wants good, entertaining football and then all all of a sudden, they were playing ameliorate football game."

That summer before the 2018-xix campaign, Ajax recruited experience in Dusan Tadic and Daley Blind, and combined that with their brilliant young group of players in De Ligt, Frenkie de Jong and Van de Beek. They stormed to the league title -- winning it by three points and ending a v-year drought -- completed the Dutch double with the KNVB Beker and reached the semifinals of the Champions League. The following campaign was curtailed past COVID-xix, merely in 2020-21 they won the league again, by 16 points, though they struggled in the Champions League grouping stage and were knocked out of the Europa League by Roma in the quarterfinals.

This term, Ten Hag has them at the top of the Eredivisie with an incredible goal difference of plus-70, while they also reached the Champions League round of sixteen and the KNVB Beker final, which they lost 3-2 to rivals PSV Eindhoven. Only the club take had some turbulent moments too. When we spoke in December, Overmars had recently signed a new iv-year-deal. Merely a month later, he had resigned post-obit multiple complaints from female colleagues over inappropriate messages. The order has been dealing with the fallout in the boardroom and in the media, but Ten Hag has managed to keep the ship steering in the right direction on the pitch.

He leaves Ajax having won two Eredivisie titles -- with another potentially to come up -- and a tape of 2.36 points per game (73.81%), the highest of whatsoever permanent manager since Stefan Kovacs' tenure in the 1970s. When we spoke in December about legacy, X Hag identified three key aspects of being a successful order charabanc at the Dutch giants, which he'll take with him to United.

"Information technology would be great if yous exit something here, only I work in the Ajax DNA," he said. "Yous have to win here, and win in an attractive way, and practice information technology with young players. All the iii we are doing that in this moment. If you call it a legacy, it'south not about me -- it's about other people and that's non what I'm running after. My task is to get the maximum corporeality out of the squad nosotros have these days, and I have to piece of work for a better hereafter, then you volition see what it'll bring."

What it'south like to be coached by X Hag

10 Hag is a particular-oriented effigy who is immersed in his club and leaves niggling to chance. "He one time told me, 'When I slumber, I recall about football and tactics,'" Kraay says.

AZ Alkmaar centre-dorsum Timo Letschert played under Ten Hag at Utrecht in the 2015-16 season.

"We didn't know him that well when he joined but when he came, immediately we felt a different kind of approach," Letschert said. "Nosotros weren't used to staying on the pitch that long -- well-nigh ii hours on the pitch. We weren't used to making days last from nine a.m. to 5 p.m. He introduced that to Utrecht. Maybe in the beginning at that place was a little scrap of doubt as we didn't accept the results, but he managed to get the younger talents going. Similar me, they were sometimes difficult to motorcoach, only he has a way of reaching out, talking to players and getting them to understand him.

"Information technology may non happen on the starting time twenty-four hour period, or the 2nd day, just after a while the players understand his way of thinking and will fight for him and believe in him."

Letschert experienced Ten Hag's eye for item outset-paw when they went through some of his match footage. "We looked at some clips, and I recall him being very, very critical, but also noticing the positive things in my game," Letschert says. "He's constantly watching footage and talking well-nigh how I tin make steps. The most of import thing is private attention -- sitting together with players, one-on-ane, having a plan for every player." And if he needs to get angry at half-time to go his team going, he will. "Only fifty-fifty if he is angry, he never lost his sense or concentration."

Despite his steely outside, there's another side to 10 Hag, as Letschert remembers: "I call up when I was chosen up by Netherlands in March 2016. Ten Hag phoned me before information technology was announced and called me to his role. He wanted to tell me one-to-ane at his desk before I read it on the internet. After he told me, he asked me to stand upwards and gave me a big, fat hug. Usually he'due south very professional person, not and so appreciating, only I will always recollect that."

X Hag is also known to strut his stuff on the trip the light fantastic flooring at team socials. "I didn't expect to see that! But the players loved it," Letschert says.

At Ajax, Ten Hag has also managed to transform the careers of older players like Tadic, who has flourished after an underwhelming spell in the Premier League. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph in December, the Serbian midfielder painted a picture of a homo who is a football obsessive, only very solution-oriented.

"He identifies their strengths and how to end them, whatever the opposition practice, he has a response," Tadic said. "He gives us such an advantage, nosotros ever feel like we are one stride ahead of the other team. I think, tactically, he is the master. Simply he is also very good in the manner he talks to the players. When you have that combination, it is why he is then skilful."

When Ten Hag was asked past ESPN how his approach to man-direction has altered, he said it is ever-changing: "In leadership, leadership qualities are based on the demand of the situation you are in. When I coached a young team, my approach was dissimilar to a more experienced squad. When you are in a successful catamenia, you lot are coaching differently to when you are in an unsuccessful period. And so you lot always have to adapt to the situation, as a managing director. You larn a lot and get more experience and you larn meliorate how to manage situations, so I have improved as a manager."

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1:31

Why Tchouameni would be perfect for Erik 10 Hag at Human being United

Julien Laurens explains why Monaco's Aurelien Tchouameni would be a proficient fit at Manchester United.

Ten Hag's philosophy

X Hag's Ajax have been playing predominantly in a fluid 4-2-3-i system this flavour, which tin shift to three at the back, or can morph into a front iv or even half-dozen at times in a 4-two-4. "Attack is the best defence and information technology's hard to score confronting us equally, first of all, we assault with 11 and defend with 11," Ten Hag told ESPN. "All the players in our style of playing have a job, and have to do that job with 100% discipline. Attain that, and it'due south difficult to score against your team."

Ten Hag doesn't rotate his players for the sake of it, either. He oft keeps the faith with a familiar-looking first XI for the big matches, but the nature of the Eredivisie -- and Ajax's strength relative to much of the league -- means he has the luxury of being able to shift key personnel out for matches against the smaller teams.

Information technology is a attestation to Ten Hag that he has managed to pin Ajax away from the traditional 4-3-3 -- a idea that previously would be sacrilegious -- and more than toward a four-2-3-1. The two primal midfielders are expected to get through an almighty amount of work, and he'due south turned to rising stars Ryan Gravenberch and Edson Alvarez to do that this term. Their part is equally much playmaking equally it is going from box to box. The wingers are aggressive and the team is expected to win the ball back immediately after losing information technology: await to see United relentlessly pressing and counter-pressing loftier upwards the pitch once he'south settled in adjacent flavor.

"Some at United will worry nigh how he plays. He likes to play with both total-backs high on the pitch," Kraay says. "It's the aforementioned with his two central defenders at Ajax -- Lisandro Martinez and Juurien Timber. He'll need 2 central defenders who are good on the brawl, only also they need stride. I don't know if Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof have the pace."

Whatever striker playing for X Hag will be expected to hustle the opposing defenders, but also be an aerial threat in the box, while his goalkeeper volition need to be good with his feet. Like Cruyff's philosophy, the keeper plays out from the box with his ii centre-backs coming brusque to receive the ball.

Letschert as well knows what information technology'south like to play against a X Hag side, having faced Ajax with Alkmaar. "His teams play with discipline; he wants them to play with loftier intensity," he says. "Yous must be able to put pressure on for 90 minutes. You have to be fit, as you tin can just exist disciplined if you are fit enough. They are very well prepared, beingness able to switch formations within the game."

Ten Hag at Manchester United

This is by far the biggest job of Ten Hag'southward career, only he volition have done his due diligence. He has worked with an ex-Human United player (Blind) and a current United actor (Donny Van de Beek) while his boss at Ajax, chief executive Edwin van der Sar, knows United within out having won 10 trophies in his six years as a player at Old Trafford.

"In every organisation it's important to take good cooperation. It's always based on good communication," Ten Hag told ESPN at the plow of the year. Until Overmars' departure, Ajax had an effective machine which allowed Ten Hag to focus on training the team, leaving all the politics and transfer machinations to Overmars and Van der Sar.

At United, it volition be unlike. They are a social club still playing catch-upward to their rivals when it comes to effectiveness in the transfer market. Later on years of turbulence, this is seen as a fresh kickoff. "There's but yes, or no, with Erik, aught in between," Kraay says.

He'll desire the club to target immature, hungry players, with Timber and Antony expected to be high on his transfer wish listing. Kraay too feels his appointment is good news for Cristiano Ronaldo: "I call back he'll make Ronaldo shine for some other year," he says. "At the moment he gets the brawl 65 yards abroad from the opponent -- he doesn't accept the step anymore. Only if Ronaldo trains 1 week under Ten Hag, he'll recollect 'Wow. Information technology'south even so nice to play equally a striker.' He'll play high pressure. Ronaldo won't get the ball 65 yards out, but 18 or 20 yards out."

10 Hag volition likely bring some familiar faces with him to his backroom staff, including Mitchell van der Gaag and Robin van Persie (if the former United striker is able to obtain a work permit), and top of his to-practice list will be to amend the squad'due south fitness. 10 Hag says he's not i who gets nervous, simply having worked at Ajax he knows total well the expectations that come up with such a big job and how he'll be judged. ("You lot accept to catch titles. It's all near that.")

At Ajax, there's an virtually almanac upheaval as the club loses their best players. Ten Hag won't have that trouble at United, and so he'll exist looking to build a dynasty. "What y'all promise as a manager to fulfil ambitions is to keep your team for a long period, for more years and get stronger players in to build a stronger squad who fulfil their competences," Ten Hag said. "Merely yous besides need collective experiences, that tin can assist a team a huge amount to be successful."

Dorsum in December when we were talking near Ten Hag'due south next pace, I asked him how he'd changed at Ajax. "I can better predict the future," he said. "I tin better read how everyone is moving inside the club and around the club." United is an unpredictable animate being and an almighty challenge. But Ten Hag will back himself to bring silverware to the lodge -- he wouldn't take taken the job otherwise.

"I really disagree with many people today who ask why he should become to United as 'they're down the bleed,'" Kraay says. "He must go now; this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The closer they are to rock bottom, the ameliorate information technology is to commencement. If they allow him get his players and exercise his work then I'm sure, after one season, he will come up quite close to the football Alex Ferguson wanted."