We have seen impatience for results for a new coach in club management before, but rarely as at Bayer Leverkusen. Two league games into the season, the club has sacked the long-term solution after Alonso, Erik ten Hag. A coach they have followed in their job as Manchester United coach and had long conversations with before signing. Now Leverkusen’s sporting director is trying to defend the sudden change of course by sacking Ten Hag.
“Based on the impressions we got in the pre-season and in the first games, we had the feeling that we had to act now,” sporting director Simon Rolfes begins to Kicker.
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“I don’t want to go into all the details, but the crucial thing is that we have a lot of new players, and therefore clarity and a clear direction are important. We missed that, and that was crucial,” Rolfes continues.
Who understands that from the outside it may seem like a panicked and hasty decision.
“We are not naïve and believe that everything will work out immediately after many changes. It’s a process where good players have to become a team. They have to work together both on and off the pitch and thus become a strong unit. It takes a lot of work, but that’s exactly why clarity and direction are important,” says the Levekusen director, before explaining why he is following Jim Ratcliffe at United, where the new boss gave Ten Hag confidence as a long-term coaching solution, only to sack the Dutchman three months later.
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“When you make decisions and have responsibility, you also make mistakes. However, if one comes to the conclusion that it will not work in the future, it is an even bigger mistake to allow it to continue. Then we – and I myself – have to admit that it is not what we had imagined. Sometimes it’s difficult, but fairer, to draw a line early,” Rolfes concludes.
