Erik ten Hag

The Dutchman is the latest coach tasked with resurrecting Manchester United, English soccer's fallen giant that is enduring a near decade-long slump.

United’s slide has been so profound that it may be years before ten Hag can be expected to make United challengers for the biggest titles. United had long targeted him as a possible new coach and had spoken with him on numerous occasions as it looked to plan for the future. That is what needs to happen with us in the next transfer windows.” Manchester United has turned to the Dutchman Erik ten Hag as the latest coach to help revive its fortunes after a near decade-long slump toward mediocrity. “It is a great honor to be appointed manager of Manchester United, and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead,” ten Hag said. Under ten Hag, Ajax has regularly punched above its weight against wealthier European rivals, playing a swashbuckling attacking style, with homegrown talent, something that was once a signature of Manchester United teams built by Ferguson.

Manchester United have ended their search for permanent successor to Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who left in November, by taking Erik ten Hag from Ajax.

Ten Hag said: “It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead. It is understood that Richard Arnold, the chief executive, engaged in the final stages of the process and there was unanimous agreement that Ten Hag was the outstanding candidate. Manchester United have confirmed that Erik ten Hag will be their new manager on contract to June 2025, with the option to extend for a further year.

Manchester United have appointed Ajax boss Erik ten Hag as their new manager, to replace interim Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season.

He told United's website: "It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead. "We wish Erik the best of luck as he focuses on achieving a successful end to the season at Ajax and look forward to welcoming him to Manchester United this summer." "I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve.

The Dutchman, currently employed by Ajax, will also be eighth man in a decade (including interim and caretaker managers) to sit in the Old Trafford hot seat.

“But slowly, you realise you’re getting better as a team. Getting the 25-year-old displaying the form that made him a hot commodity will be just one piece of a large and expensive midfield puzzle for ten Hag to solve. The problem? Sky Sports pundit Graham Souness highlighted the issue in his post-match analysis, providing a damning assessment of why the club has continued to get it so wrong in the middle of the park. But the incoming Dutchman will need to hatch a plan that incorporates the superstar. Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford in 2003 as a youngster that Ferguson tipped to be one of the most exciting players in the world. But first, he must find a way of getting his methods and ideas across to a squad filled with large egos and a fanbase that is desperate to believe in the club again. If Ruiter’s account of what it’s like to play under ten Hag carries across to the training fields at Carrington, Ronaldo could be in for a rude awakening. But then again, it’s Ronaldo, a man who will go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game. There's a myriad of reasons as to why that’s the case, but there’s blame that sits at the feet of Rangnick as well as the players. Whether ten Hag ultimately proves to be the right appointment is a debate to be had further down the line. And in every appointment that has followed Ferguson, from David Moyes having the impossible task of succeeding one of the greatest to Ralf Rangnick stumbling and staggering along as interim manager, there’s been a lingering sense that United must get the next appointment right.

The Dutchman will seek to bring warmth and coherence to an ailing celebrity club – it would be hard work for any manager.

Appointing him is in one sense another Rangnick: a process manager at a club that has no process; another doomed attempt by this hollowed-out robot replicant of a club to ape the human elements of a successful sporting culture. Right now, though, the fear is more what this club might do to him over the next three years. The key task will be to break the cycle of mediocrity, to put a firewall between his own work and the layers of middle management inserted by the ownership. Matt Busby took a club that had been bombed into the dust by the Luftwaffe, Alex Ferguson a booze-addled ship without a league title in 20 years. It isn’t hard to see why Ten Hag looks like an attractive option to the United board. For the first time since Alex Ferguson back in 1986 Manchester United have sourced a manager who is qualified on his record but also still on the rise in his own career. Two years of disciplined management, of stubbornness, of insisting on following his own process could inject even this ghost ship, this gothic mansion, with a little warmth, a sense of sharpened edges. Ten Hag is a talented coach and a man of substance. Players have described him as a father figure and notably sympathetic one-to-one, essential qualities in a squad that appears to be teetering constantly on the verge of some kind of collective personality breakdown. Ten Hag has a reputation for promoting youth, for working to a specific 4-3-3 system, but those who know him say he will build around what he has. This is an appointment process so refined it has, to date, dished up five random, ill-fitting, hilariously oscillating selections in the course of the past decade. David Moyes, who came in a little above his level, was recast by eight months in the job as a total imposter, some hollow-eyed passer-by with an empty briefcase on his desk.

Erik ten Hag will match up against his former mentor when he takes charger of his first heated Manchester derby, facing off against Pep Guardiola, ...

"In terms of qualities, just look at his teams. In many, many games, not just the year they got to the Champions League semi-final." You cannot say that David Moyes is not a good manager or Louis van Gaal or Jose Mourinho. I think all the managers that have been at United have been excellent." He then earned a promotion to the senior side as an assistant manager under Fred Rutten and Steven McClaren. Consequently, while three of those six wins against City came by just one goal, City have managed multiple beatdowns to the tune of 4-1, 3-0 and 3-1 in that span. Now, the old student will look to build United back into a true rival for City.

Ten Hag is tasked with awakening a fallen superpower in European football that is enduring its longest trophy drought in nearly 40 years.

I want to finish my time here on a positive note, by winning the league.” But I only have one interest now and that’s these last five games. The three-time European champion might not even return to the Champions League next season. As such, he is untested in the Premier League and in handling the egos of some of the biggest players in world football — and United has some of them in Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes. Pogba is, however, out of contract at the end of the season and is set to leave as part of what could be a major shake-up of a playing squad that needs rebuilding and strengthening in key areas like central midfield and up front. Adopting the attacking philosophy of the great Johan Cruyff, ten Hag succeeded in bringing the good times back to Ajax, leading the biggest team in the Netherlands to two Eredivisie titles — it could be three in a few weeks — as well as the Champions League semifinals in entertaining style in 2019.

The Ajax boss will take charge of the Red Devils at the end of the season.

“It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead. “We wish Erik the best of luck as he focuses on achieving a successful end to the season at Ajax and look forward to welcoming him to Manchester United this summer.” The Ajax boss will arrive at Old Trafford at the end of the season with a deal which will end in June 2025 with the option to extend for a further year.

Erik Ten Hag contributed an 88-word statement as Manchester United announced him as their new manager on Thursday. There were some key words among those ...

"I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve. Ten Hag's message to fans of United and Ajax read as follows: "It is a great honor to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead. Erik ten Hag contributed an 88-word statement as Manchester United announced him as their new manager on Thursday.

The Dutch coach will head to Old Trafford on a three-year contract.

“Four and a half years is a good amount of time, but we would have liked to have kept Erik at Ajax for longer,” said Edwin van der Sar, Ajax CEO and former Manchester United goalkeeper. He will stay on as manager of Ajax until the end of the season. “It is a great honor to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead,” ten Hag said in a statement.

Manchester United has hired Erik ten Hag as its fifth manager in nine years, with the Dutchman leaving his role at Ajax at the end of the season.

“I’m happy that it has been finalised and that it has been officially announced," he said. United hasn’t endured such a trophy drought since the early 1980s and has slipped way behind rivals Manchester City and Liverpool despite continuing to spend heavily on players. The three-time European champion might not even return to the Champions League next season. As such, he is untested in the Premier League and in handling the egos of some of the biggest players in world football – and United has some of them in Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes. “I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead,” ten Hag said. Returning United to its former heights is set to be an even bigger job, given the team won the last of its record 20 English titles in 2013 – Ferguson’s final season of his 26-year reign – and hasn’t won a trophy since beating Ajax in the Europa League final in 2017.

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The winger was bought from Southampton in 2018 for £12m and has since become a staple in ten Hag’s Ajax formation. Just 10 days after this win, ten Hag won the Eredivisie, earning the club the double. Ryan Babel is one of ten Hag’s most successful loan players. Ten Hag then secured a loan figure of £1.5m from Galatasaray for their winger and he has gone on to score three goals in his 25 appearances for the team sitting top of the Eredivisie. He moved to Ajax in 2017 and two years later led the side to the semi-finals of the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League for the first time in 17 years. Ralf Rangnick was brought in back in November to take on an interim role after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sent on his way, and the intervening months have seen several names linked with a move to Old Trafford, but the board has now confirmed that the Ajax manager will take on the permanent position.

At Utrecht he transformed me and had the skill to make his vision a reality, even if his method was annoying at the start.

On Sunday morning he was there and he did the meeting. For example, at Utrecht he brought in Zakaria Labyad, who was not fit and had been written off by many, and a year later Zakaria was the Eredivisie’s best attacker. It was the weekend we qualified for the Europa League through the playoffs. He is not the romantic that we like in the Netherlands; he wants to win. And in a completely different way than with us. He also struck the right chord with me mentally. But I was soon enthusiastic, because he is so good in terms of content and details. He also has an eye for the person behind the footballer. He uses a coach looking after the mental side of things, Joost Leenders, but also looks for causes himself if you underperform. His great class is that he knows exactly how he wants it, and how to make it work. You were enjoying the game and then the whistle was blown again and Erik would say you were positioned wrong. He immediately demanded an extra training pitch, which the youth department was not thrilled with.

During his playing days, FC Twente defender Erik marked Ruud van Nistelrooy in the striker's final match for PSV Eindhoven before completing his delayed move to ...

Aside from these direct deals with United, Ajax have done plenty of business with the Premier League during Ten Hag’s period as head coach. As Ajax boss, Erik ten Hag had plenty of official dealings with Manchester United, having both sold to and bought from the club. Blind has gone on to become the player Ten Hag has selected more often than any other player, apart from Dusan Tadic, in his managerial career. When Ten Hag was named head coach of Ajax in December 2017, it was a former Manchester United player who authorised the appointment – giving Erik another strong Reds connection. In an incredible first full season in charge of Ajax, 2018/19, while winning the Dutch league-and-cup double, Ten Hag also took his team on an electric run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they faced Tottenham Hotspur, managed by Mauricio Pochettino at the time. The following campaign, Ten Hag locked horns with Chelsea, coached by Frank Lampard, in the group stages.

Erik ten Hag will join Man Utd on a three-year deal - with option of a further year - in the summer; Dutchman replaces Ralf Rangnick, with interim boss set ...

"It's on the tip of Rangnick's tongue in every single interview he does and you feel like he's going to go rogue at some point and start calling players out. They've got Arsenal Saturday, Chelsea next Thursday where all the eyes are still going to be on them and they're going to have to try to turn up. I wouldn't be putting pressure on Ten Hag in the first two or three years to win a Premier League title. "But honestly, I wouldn't be putting too much pressure on Ten Hag in the first one or two years to win a trophy at the club. "The players have completely lost their confidence and belief," said Neville. "They don't want to play football for Manchester United at this moment in time. "It took Jurgen Klopp four or five years to win a Premier League title, as great a job as he's done.

A look at who could be part of Erik ten Hag's backroom staff following his appointment as Manchester United manager.

He scored a stunning goal on the final day of 1996/97 to help his side avoid relegation. During his time at Old Trafford, McClaren helped the club to enjoy much success as they won the treble in the 1998-99 season before further Premier League titles in 2000 and 2001. During his time at Middlesbrough, McClaren won the League Cup in 2004. Erik is the same in that respect." The Telegraph also claim Ten Hag wants Mitchell van der Gaag to come with him to United. Van der Gaag, 50, has been Ten Hag's assistant at Ajax since June 1, 2021. The Telegraph state that Ten Hag wants Steve McClaren to be part of his coaching staff at United. The pair previously worked together at FC Twente when Ten Hag was an assistant to McClaren.

Ralf Rangnick has backed Erik Ten Hag to improve Manchester United on the pitch following confirmation of the Dutchman's appointment.

United are three points behind fifth-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table. "He will have his own ideas. "It will be a significant change and rebuild necessary, that's clear. "I knew that Erik was one of the candidates the board spoke to and obviously I told them, at least from what I had seen and knew from people who had worked with Erik, that I think he would be a good choice and I still believe he will be a very good choice." "There might be a few others who, although they still have contracts, are on loan might still want to be on loan or leave the club. "From what I've seen him do at Bayern Munich when he was the Under-23 coach and Ajax now, I like his football and I'm pretty positive that with a full pre-season, with having the chance to build and mould his own staff, also a new team, which is obvious, we will have a new team.

Erik ten Hag comes to Man United with a record of success, quality football and developing youth, but still there's an air of the unknown about him.

But he is also very good in the way he talks to the players. Ten Hag will 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-do list will be to improve the squad's fitness. "It's the same with his two central defenders at Ajax -- Lisandro Martinez and Juurien Timber. He'll need two central defenders who are good on the ball, but also they need pace. You learn a lot and get more experience and you learn better how to manage situations, so I have improved as a manager." The club 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. Ten Hag is a detail-oriented figure who is immersed in his club and leaves little to chance. And if he needs to get angry at half-time to get his team going, he will. It was a formative experience for Ten Hag. He learned what it takes to manage and work for one of the European powerhouses, and he also witnessed Guardiola's methods first-hand: noting how Guardiola's team would defend and press from the front, and the intensity at which Bayern trained. When we spoke in December about legacy, Ten Hag identified three key aspects of being a successful club coach at the Dutch giants, which he'll take with him to United. "Laziness is a big threat, for me as a coach -- when I have that feeling, it'll come to my players and if my players get lazy, then we're killed." "Satisfaction is also a danger, as the moment you get satisfied, you get lazy," he said. At the time, he was being linked with all manner of top jobs, and was asked about whether he pays any attention to it.

Erik ten Hag will join Man Utd on a three-year deal - with option of a further year - in the summer; Dutchman replaces Ralf Rangnick, with interim boss set ...

"It's on the tip of Rangnick's tongue in every single interview he does and you feel like he's going to go rogue at some point and start calling players out. They've got Arsenal Saturday, Chelsea next Thursday where all the eyes are still going to be on them and they're going to have to try to turn up. I wouldn't be putting pressure on Ten Hag in the first two or three years to win a Premier League title. "But honestly, I wouldn't be putting too much pressure on Ten Hag in the first one or two years to win a trophy at the club. "The players have completely lost their confidence and belief," said Neville. "They don't want to play football for Manchester United at this moment in time. "It took Jurgen Klopp four or five years to win a Premier League title, as great a job as he's done.

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick is confident new appointment Erik ten Hag will spark an improvement at Old Trafford next season.

“I still believe that he is a very good choice and, all the other things, we so far haven't had time to speak about,” the German concluded, referring to his role at the club beyond this season. “I'm pretty positive with a full pre-season, with having the chance to build and mould his own staff, also a new team, which is obvious, we will have a new team, with a full pre-season, I am pretty sure that we will see a different team and improvement on the pitch.” Ralf is yet to speak to Erik on a one-to-one basis but he has been impressed with the job the 52-year-old has done at Ajax, with the Amsterdam club closing in on a third Eredivisie title in four years under Ten Hag, with the other campaign curtailed due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

Erik ten Hag will join Man Utd on a three-year deal - with option of a further year - in the summer; Dutchman replaces Ralf Rangnick, with interim boss set ...

"Two domestic doubles and one kick away from a Champions League final later and there is an acceptance Ten Hag has brought some of the best football that Ajax have seen in years. "Man Utd are still a massive, massive club - one of the biggest clubs in the world. He does not just want to be a head coach - he wants to have control over the transfer strategy and recruitment as well. There is clarity now - all the players who are thinking of leaving, or who Man Utd want to sign, know Ten Hag is going to be the new manager. They want something that's completely different that they've not had before, and that's probably gone against Pochettino in some ways." He told United's website: "It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead. But let's not forget, less than 12 months ago, Man Utd finished second in the Premier League, they finished above Liverpool and over the past decade, six of the last 10 seasons they have finished above Liverpool. He's got more experience than I think most people think at the age of 52. I did a poll the other week and I was absolutely stunned - 220,000 people voted and 82 per cent were in favour of bringing him in over [Mauricio] Pochettino. He's won a couple of titles and cups in Holland. His style of play is good. "It's a massive jump but he's got a good coaching pedigree. Ten Hag will be United's fifth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Bruno Fernandes: The heart of the midfield and the creator in attack, this is a move the Portuguese midfielder will absolutely adore. · Jadon Sancho: · Donny van ...

Paul Pogba: His contract is expiring this summer, and he's expected to leave, but this slams the door shut on any possibility of him staying. He has the ability and vision to need just one touch to play a smart ball forward, and his ability to play the ball wide will be utilized all of the time. What seems clear is that somebody has the opportunity to make the left wing their own, and if it's not Rashford, he might need to move elsewhere for his career to continue developing. But for Rashford, his future could be away from the city of Manchester. The Mirror has hinted at 12 players who could leave in the summer, and Rashford is one of them. A lot of the attack is generated from the wings in this system, and there is no denying the talent that Sancho has. When a new manager is coming, it is only natural for players to wonder how the move can impact them.

The Ajax manager is walking into a difficult situation at Old Trafford, where his immediate predecessors have all struggled to build a consistent winner.

To doubt ten Hag’s capacity to thrive in that environment is not to doubt his abilities as a coach. It has a coherent structure rather than tier upon tier of middle-management of debatable purpose or value. Ronaldo not merely ate into the budget that could more usefully have been spent on players like Rice, but also because of his lack of pace and movement, he stymied the one aspect of Solskjaer’s play that had worked: the lightning counterattacks. It may be noted that ten Hag has almost nothing in common with his four predecessors in the unenviable role of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson—nothing other than the fact that, at the right moment, he was highly thought of enough by the right people to attract the attention of the Manchester United board. Finally, most inexplicably of all, came Ralf Rangnick, the godfather of gegenpressing, a supreme sporting director and a man who had pioneered the development of the Red Bull family of clubs. But he was essentially somebody whose only notable tactical accomplishment was setting up a team to sit deep against high-level opposition and strike on the break.

English Premier League giants Manchester United has named Erik Ten Hag as the new head coach. The 52-year-old Dutchman will join on a three-year deal and ...

They reached the semi-final of the 2019 Champions League where they were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur. I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve." "I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans.

The Dutchman has signed a three-year contract with Manchester United with the task of rebuilding the squad.

But for the young players to thrive Ten Hag needs to imprint his style of play – something Ralf Rangnick has struggled to do. With a rumoured £200m to spend ten Hag will need to prioritise a defensive midfielder – Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips have both been linked to United. Is the Arteta way the right way? As Arsenal have found to their benefit, clearing out the big-earners not only creates financial freedom to revamp the squad, it also frees up minutes for academy products to filter into the first team. Offloading some of that burden would create more flexibility in the transfer market. He is approaching the same number of games in charge as Jose Mourinho’s entire reign at Old Trafford. Stability has given him confidence to make bold choices that are starting to pay off.

Erik ten Hag says that if he had not been granted "control" over transfers at Manchester United he would not have taken the job.

I make no concessions in that regard." I don't want to be the sole ruler, I stand for cooperation, but control in transfers is a condition for me." I am ultimately responsible and accounted for the results.

Ten Hag has built the Amsterdam club into a Champions League competitor during his tenure, while picking up two Eredivisie league titles, and a third looks on ...

“I think that’s the biggest compliment that we could have got. “I think that with me in charge.. I worked at PSV and the cup-final didn’t get any attention there for years. I don’t want to be a ruler, I will work together, but having a say in transfers is a condition for me. If Ajax lacked a winning mentality before I arrived? If the club doesn’t grant them I won’t take the job.

Erik ten Hag will join Man Utd on a three-year deal - with option of a further year - in the summer; Dutchman replaces Ralf Rangnick, with interim boss set ...

"It's on the tip of Rangnick's tongue in every single interview he does and you feel like he's going to go rogue at some point and start calling players out. They've got Arsenal Saturday, Chelsea next Thursday where all the eyes are still going to be on them and they're going to have to try to turn up. I wouldn't be putting pressure on Ten Hag in the first two or three years to win a Premier League title. "But honestly, I wouldn't be putting too much pressure on Ten Hag in the first one or two years to win a trophy at the club. "The players have completely lost their confidence and belief," said Neville. "They don't want to play football for Manchester United at this moment in time. "It took Jurgen Klopp four or five years to win a Premier League title, as great a job as he's done.

Erik ten Hag is currently the talk of football following the announcement that he will become the next permanent Manchester United manager from the end of ...

And obviously I told them, from what I had seen and known from people who had worked with Erik, that I think he would be a good choice. And obviously I told them, from what I had seen and known from people who had worked with Erik, that I think he would be a good choice. During his press conference at Carrington on Friday,Ralf praised the appointment of Erik: “We don't know each other in person, we haven't met in person yet. In ourclub statement, Ten Hag looked forward to taking charge at the Theatre of Dreams: “It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead. By doing so, we'll qualify directly for the Champions League. Ajax belongs there.” By doing so, we'll qualify directly for the Champions League. Ajax belongs there.”