Erik ten Hag: Ajax’s risk, the legacy he leaves, and the trend Manchester United wants him to continue.
It’s easy to dismiss Erik ten Hag’s achievements as manager of Holland’s greatest club.
After all, Ajax are accustomed to winning trophies. Success comes with the territory, and under Ten Hag, that is absolutely the case.
It’s easy to forget that, prior to his arrival in the middle of the 2017/18 season, they had gone three years without a trophy and had waited two decades to reach a Champions League semi-final.
Those bleak days seem a distant memory as beer flows outside the Johan Cruyff ArenA following a comfortable win against PEC Zwolle as Sweet Caroline blasts from the Febo bar. Ajax is coming to an end.
Few people who have watched Ten Hag’s work at Ajax would argue that he hasn’t done more than enough to be considered for the Manchester United job. Now he’s in charge of doing the same thing: bringing trophies back to a club that hasn’t won in a long time.
“Everyone believes it’s well-deserved,” says Mike Verweij of the De Telegraph. “In terms of average points and trophies, he’s one of the best Ajax managers ever.”
He has not only won trophies, but he has instilled hope in people all over the Netherlands as a result of his team’s exploits in the Champions League before being stunned by a late Tottenham winner.
“Erik ten Hag gave the Netherlands hope that they can still compete with Europe’s greatest teams,” Verweij said.
“Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, all these big teams have a lot more money, but he demonstrated you can still compete with the Dutch concept of nurturing young players and making smart deals.”
“You’re not going to be in the knockout stage every year; it’s just not going to happen,” Ten Hag said, “but he made everyone believe it’s still possible.”
Ten Hag’s employment was viewed as a significant risk, but it reflected Marc Overmars’ approach to appointing managers. He hired Ten Hag as a manager at Go Ahead Eagles and, after seeing his success in Utrecht, thought he was ready for the next step.
Despite spending the most of his career in the Netherlands, Ten Hag carried with him a mindset that was not entirely in line with the traditional Dutch or Ajax manner of doing things. Whether they like it or not, he has done things his way.
“They had to adjust to his style of play, which wasn’t the normal Dutch manner of playing,” explains Ellery Cairo, a former FC Twente teammate.
“Normally, the wingers are on the outside, staying wide and throwing in crosses, but when he came in, he altered the game for Ajax.”
He moved the wingers inside, leaving only the full back or the right or left winger on the outside. He’d gone through a lot of changes, and anything like that takes time.”
Ten Hag had been in a similar situation before, attempting extensive reforms at Utrecht and eventually succeeding.
“He did really well in Utrecht,” says Mario Been, a former Dutch international and Feyenoord manager who is now an ESPN analyst. “As a result of that, he deserved the transfer to Ajax, and I believe he’s gotten everything out of Ajax so far.” He’s a peculiar kind, as he seems to be above the fray, meticulously analyzing each game. He’s a workaholic who enjoys watching everything and learning everything there is to know about his opponent. He has a clear vision, but he has been able to tailor it to the players he has. He played one system at Utrecht, but he could buy more with Ajax.
