McNulty, Phil. "Liverpool 7–0 Manchester United: Reds thrash old rivals in Anfield rout". BBC Sport . Retrieved 9 March 2023. a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Ten Hag". Voetbal International. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. He coached Bayern Munich II from 6 June 2013, until 2015, when he was replaced by Heiko Vogel. [6] [7] During his time as manager Ten Hag led his team to the Regionalliga Bayern. [8] This means that regardless of who moves where, there are restrictions. All zones must be occupied by a player, whether we’re talking about the lanes between the lines or the five channels across the pitch. This requires great understanding of each others role and positioning within the framework and what’s makes positional play so difficult to adopt.

For 1997–98 UEFA Cup: Ionescu. The Complete Results & Line-ups of the UEFA Cup 1991–2004. p.192, 197, 201.

Ten Hag might not nominate Sancho as an exemplar of the on-field consistency required, though he still has faith in a forward who could be deployed as a false nine given his ability to drop deep and run in behind, shown by his goal in the tour opener against Arsenal. In two seasons Sancho’s return is 12 goals and six assists from 79 appearances, so it seems fair to ask whether the coming campaign is make-or-break for the 23-year-old. The ascent to perhaps the biggest job in football might feel swift but his progress has been steady, methodically planned to maximise his skill-set. At 52, he has been a youth coach and a head of education, an assistant at home and abroad, and a manager at various levels. The most daunting challenges still lie ahead for the manager. United's positive pre-season does not equate to guaranteed success in the campaign ahead, nor point to a reduction in the gap to City and Liverpool. That thought is a reminder that Manchester United is different. Pahlplatz remembers his conversations with McClaren at Twente. "He used to tell us how it was with the media there. It is 24 hours a day at Manchester United. It is something you have to get used to.

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. He has understood how gruelling a long tour can be on a personal level and constantly offered his gratitude to staff. a b McNulty, Phil (26 February 2023). "Manchester United 2–0 Newcastle United: Erik ten Hag's side win Carabao Cup for first trophy since 2017". BBC Sport . Retrieved 26 February 2023.

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Bushnell, Henry (8 May 2019). "Tottenham stuns Ajax with last-second winner in Champions League semifinal". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved 8 May 2019. The mandatory focus for Erik ten Hag’s Ajax in possession is to exploit overloads, often down the wide channels and through the half spaces. I must say I have a strong belief in myself. This is a big challenge but everywhere I've been, I've got the maximum out of my teams. This is my most difficult project, but I am convinced I can do it." Erik ten Hag kept Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench during Manchester United’s 6-3 defeat out of ‘respect’. Photograph: Peter Powell/EPA Ten Hag began his managerial career in 2012, when he was appointed by Go Ahead Eagles, where he led the club to promotion to the Eredivisie in his debut season. He then joined Bayern Munich II in 2013, winning promotion to the Regionalliga Bayern in 2014. He returned to the Netherlands in 2015 as sporting director and head coach at Utrecht. He joined Ajax in 2017, where he won three Eredivisie titles, two KNVB Cups, and led the team to the semi-finals of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League. In 2022, he was appointed at Manchester United.

A recurring theme of Ten Hag's career has been proving people wrong. That will be a challenge at Manchester United for various reasons. Patience is a virtue but the Premier League is full of sinners. Will he be given the time? Even his admirers doubt that. After the winter break, Erik ten Hag started to use his preferred formation – a modern 4-3-3 formation more often. Here, Edson Alvarez is a single pivot who protects the area in front of the defence. This gives more freedom to Ryan Gravenberch who can hold a higher position and look to overload the left half space together with Dusan Tadic and Danny Blind. Once he told me that, I knew that when he shouted he just wanted more. I had been negative but it turned into a positive. He believed in me but felt I had more to give."

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Haller, Berghuis, Tadic, Antony and even Mazraoui and Blind will push out from their position to chase loose balls, cut off passing options and put pressure on the ball carrier by closing down players much more often. This energy and enthusiasm for the immense challenge ahead was one of the decisive factors in hiring Ten Hag. That was the case when Berghuis scored one of the goals in Ajax’s 5-0 thrashing of PSV in October 2021. 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.

Raphael Varane and Marcus Rashford testified that they haven't felt fitter following the intense sessions. Some of the stories about Ten Hag make him sound like a tough taskmaster, but there was another side to his coaching. He was an innovator intent on raising standards. That meant placing demands on players, but also providing them with a better environment. Bruno Fernandes has welcomed Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag's 'strict' management style and clear philosophy

For 1993–94 UEFA Cup: Ionescu, Romeo (2004). The Complete Results & Line-ups of the UEFA Cup 1991–2004. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books. p.54. ISBN 978-1-86223-115-3. If we combine the overall heat maps of Berghuis, Alvarez and Gravenberch, we see their positions are very asymmetrical. Everyone has different duties and roles within the system. The cohesion between him, Rashford and Jadon Sancho was one of the standout points on tour, with each player looking like the most conditioned, assured, threatening version of themselves. They are enjoying their football again. The interchanging of positions by constantly looking to create triangles and diamonds aims not only to increase the number of passing options for the player with the ball. Also, it aims to disrupt the organization of the opposition’s defensive structure by off-the-ball runs. Manchester United's Victor Lindelof says he's enjoyed adapting to manager Erik Ten Hag's style of training during pre-season adding that the Dutchman demands a lot from the team.