Welcome back! Today we’re going to be answering the question: Who is Erik Ten Hag? And why would he be perfect to replace Ronald Koeman at Barcelona.
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The current manager of Ajax, Erik ten Hag is a modern football manager who deploys a vertical tiki-taka, a style of possession based football but with a purpose. A former centre back, Erik ten Hag spent his entire playing career in the Netherlands, spending the majority of his career at FC Twente across 3 different stints, ultimately winning the Dutch Cup in 2001 before retiring in 2002. With 20 years of coaching experience, Ten Hag has been involved in the FC Twente youth teams, Go Ahead Eagles, FC Utrecht and managed Bayern Munich’s reserves during Pep Guardiola’s tenure in Bavaria before being snapped up by Ajax in 2017.
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Heavily influenced by Johan Cruyff but adapted for the modern game, Erik ten Hag deploys a vertical tiki taka style of play. His preferred system is a variant of the 4-2-3-1 with a more reserved number 10 but more attacking wingers. Ten Hag likes his sides to dominate the ball and recycle possession, creating gaps in the opposition's shape to play through and overloads to play to. Once his side’s reach the final third, there becomes a sense of purpose about their play as they’d rather try a risky pass or get a shot off than recycle the play.
His most successful spell at Ajax, when they reached the latter stages of the Champions League in 2019, switched to a 3-3-1-3 in possession, creating 3 diamonds and giving players plenty of passing options. This is very much Cruyff’s total football, 3-4-3 diamond and like Cruyff’s sides, Ten Hag’s men were all incredibly well rounded footballers. Regardless of the quality, it’s clear that this resembles Ten Hag’s philosophy. He used a very similar structure at Utrecht that incorporated a 3-1 base flanked by wide but deep passing options. Without the ball, Ten Hag’s sides deploy an intense pressing scheme that’s one of the most efficient around Europe, reinforcing the idea that his teams are very well drilled.
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Erik ten Hag is still very young by managerial standards but with a clearly defined philosophy and a willingness to adapt to new trends and the loss of players, he’s clearly very good.
So what’s next for the Dutchman? Whilst I’d love him to stay at Ajax forever and guide the club to their fifth Champions League title, it’d be a shame if he didn’t get a move to a bigger league. With his current contract set to expire in 2023, Ten Hag will have many suitors but I think the best move for him would be going to a club that needs a project. Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester United would all give him time to deliver results but the logical next step for Erik ten Hag is following Johan Cruyff and joining Barcelona.
In need of a MAJOR overhaul, Ten Hag’s vertical tiki taka could be the fresh tactical look the Catalan’s need. He’s shown he doesn’t need big signings to compete in the Champions League, makes great use of youth academies and plays attractive, attacking football, Erik ten Hag wouldn’t just be perfect for Barcelona, but he’d be perfect for a lot of the best clubs in the world.
But anyway guys, what do you think? Would Ten Hag be a good replacement for Koeman at Barcelona? Let me know in the comments below!
#ErikTenHag #Barcelona #Ajax
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