In the summer of 2022, Erik ten Hag left his job as head coach of Ajax. The Manchester United management was dazzled by the manager’s success with three league titles, two cup titles and a Champions League semi-final in the 2019/20 season. The problem after the transfer surfaced at both clubs. Ajax sank straight to the bottom in sporting slump and changes of manager, while Manchester United won two cup titles, but that was it. On Thursday, the opportunity opened up for Ten Hag he just has to take to save his career.
Sacked by United boss Ratcliffe four months after contract extension, sacked by Bayer Leverksen after three games. All this within a ten-month period. Ten Hag is left ribbed for coaching star status. Then we think the Dutchman has to use one of the best strategies when the going gets tough: Go back and do what you’ve been successful at.
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Coincidentally, the coaching job opened up at Ajax on Thursday this week. Galatasaray traveled to Amsterdam on Tuesday for the Champions League, took a tour of the city and then played Ajax to a 0-3 victory. At the helm at Ajax was John Heitinga. The former Ajax player got 5 months+ in the job, on Thursday he was fired.
“It’s a painful decision, but when we look back on the last few months, we have to admit that things have developed quite differently than we had imagined. We have seen too little progress and have lost points unnecessarily. We know that it can take time for a new coach to work with a squad that has undergone changes. We have given John that time, but we believe it is best for the club to appoint someone else to lead the team,” Ajax technical director Alex Kroes told the club’s website.
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When Erik ten Hag was fired at United, the former success coach was again linked to Ajax. We suspect that Ten Hag’s rise “back” to Ajax was beneath his dignity as a former coach of one of the world’s biggest clubs – and the two cup titles he boasted of all along. After a total blunder at Bayer Leverkusen, we think Ten Hag should see this as an opportunity to return to Ajax and the Dutch league.
And save his career.
