Erik Ten Hag, sad ending

I exclaimed then Sir Alex Fergusonwhen he lost the inexplicable match of his long time at Manchester United, ‘Football, bloody hell’ (Football, bloody hell), and he felt the same way on Saturday. Erik ten Haagdue to strange circumstances in their final defeat at the London Stadium, which resulted in his dismissal. It was a game that should have been won, because United had two shots on the woodwork, dominated and missed many of their attacks, but ended up losing it, in the end, due to a suspicious, very -questionable penalty. There was disappointment and unhappiness because of that unsatisfactory finish, the two most marked features on Ten Hag’s face during his two-and-a-half-year spell with the Red Devils. He left like this, plagued by many unusual and disturbing mistakes.

The strange match lost against West Ham, amid an atmosphere of sadness during the visit to the East End, served as an epilogue to a very irregular career for the Ten Hag, whose end has already been written. Despite his hopeful start at Carrington, the challenge of building a new club culture, as he did at Ajax, and a positive first season that allowed the club to return to the Champions League, the balloon of hope is soon punctured. In the summer season, the new board is in charge Jim Ratcliffeco-owner of United, discussed his sacking and delayed it only to have time to choose a replacement, thinking about the Portuguese Amorimwith a decision already. That’s why the former player also joined the club. Ruud Van Nistelrooyto act as a helper and bridge in the transition.

On one of his first days at Carrington, Ten Hag was asked how he would go about playing United. ‘Maybe you’ve seen Ajax’? (“Maybe you’ve seen Ajax?”, the coach replied about his intentions and added: “And I want that. But it’s always the players who dictate the way we play.” Despite two titles won, his United He was never fully convinced in his efforts to build a Dutch replica in Manchester, he was too marked by contradictions.

Ten Hags had victories and doses of courage. He sacrificed Cristiano Ronaldofound the emotional key to improve the performance of Marcus Rashfordin his first year, and raised the youth to the elite Grenache and Mainoo. At the same time, he wanted to direct the transfer policy, surrounding himself with former Ajax players, but he quickly lost confidence in some of them, in his efforts to adapt them to the demands of English football, faster, more upright and more physical. than the Dutch. His project did not materialize, and ended up giving up due to the loss of the club’s image.

In the long shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson and his old successes, beating seven other coaches at the time, Ten Hag tried to raise his personal project, ‘Dutch style’. And the final inventory will close at 850 days and 128 games, with a careful balance, combined with the FA Cup and EFL League titles. He has gone from being heralded as Manchester United’s savior to being the dark protagonist of United’s worst start to the Premier League. The club has matured for some time when and how to turn the course, to enter a different path.