Ten Hag: The Biography

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Everyone knows where to run and be, and when to do so, depending on the location of the ball and the movements of their teammates. To lure the opponent, and create space, Erik ten Hag wish to apply, what he refers to as creating several 10’s. The player tops the chart for the most key passes made (119), most assists (16) and most big chances created (26). If anything, while United have been showcasing progress and pro-active football to excite supporters, Ronaldo has been reduced to posting gym pictures on social media as many of Europe's top clubs indicate they have no interest in him. Yet by the time he left Ajax, Ten Hag had taken them to the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finals, where Meijer compares their pre-season spending (€145m) to fellow semi-finalists Tottenham Hotspur (€440m), Liverpool (€770m) and Barcelona (€940m).

What they will often do is to stack up players on one side – creating overloads and numerical superiority around the ball zone before having a player running into space on the opposite side of the playing area. The opponent could try to make a supporting pass to his central defender, but the forward runs forward to block off that option. Then, Tadic played a hard, but accurate diagonal pass/cross towards the edge of the penalty box where Berghuis arrived to firing away a shot on goal. As former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and Ten Hag’s football director at Ajax noted on his coach’s departure, “What a weird guy you are, Erik”.

However, Ajax were unable to progress, and Ten Hag's team suffered a 3–2 aggregate defeat to Roma, ending any hopes of a possible UEFA Europa League final.

In possession of the ball, Blind makes the most frequent progressive passes, whilst Martinez tops the chart for number of touches. SEGA and the SEGA logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation or its affiliates. What’s important to remark is that when the team is in possession, Gravenberch and Berghuis will often make opposite runs of each other. With a native’s eye for their society’s nuances, fellow rural Hollander Meijer expertly contextualises how upbringing shaped both man and coach. He realised the scale of work meant there was no time to waste, with a dossier drafted on the state of United and the way forward before his contract was signed.How do you undo what David de Gea termed a "disaster" and "embarrassing mess" with United recording their worst-ever points tally in the Premier League as the entire club were drenched in misery? At the same time, by instructing the wingers to provide the width, it will create advantagous 1v1 situations in wide areas as they try to isolate one of the defenders via movements in the half-spaces. Ajax would eventually be knocked out by Benfica in the round of 16, whilst cruising towards their third Eredivisie title in four years, after a 5–0 home victory over Heerenveen on 11 May 2022. His address to the squad was that the most important players are the ones who are in training and on tour. In 2019, he led the team to the semi-finals of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1997, by winning against defending champions Real Madrid 4–1 in the Santiago Bernabéu at the round of 16 stage, [10] and also beating Juventus away 1–2 having drawn the first leg 1–1 at home in the quarter-finals.