Erik ten Hag (born February 2, 1970) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who now manages Premier League team Manchester United.
Ten Hag began his career as a center-back with Twente of the Eredivisie. He joined De Graafschap in 1990 and won the Eerste Divisie in his debut season.
He rejoined Twente in 1992 and moved to RKC Waalwijk two years later, where he spent one season before joining Utrecht in 1995.
Ten Hag returned to Twente for the third time in 1996 and won the KNVB Cup in 2001. He retired in 2002, aged 32.
Ten Hag began his managing career in 2012 when he was hired by Go Ahead Eagles and led the team to promotion to the Eredivisie in his first season.
He then joined Bayern Munich II in 2013 and was promoted to the Regionalliga Bayern in 2014.
In 2015, he returned to the Netherlands to serve as Utrecht’s sporting director and head coach.
He joined Ajax in 2017, winning three Eredivisie titles, two KNVB Cups, and leading the club to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 2018-19.
In 2022, he was appointed manager of Manchester United. United won the EFL Cup during his debut season with the club.
Early Life
Erik Ten Hag was born on February 2, 1970, in Haaksbergen, Overijssel.
Playing career
Ten Hag was predominantly a center-back for Twente, De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk, and Utrecht. He spent three seasons with Twente and won the KNVB Cup in 2000-01.
Ten Hag also won the Eerste Divisie with De Graafschap in 1990-91, a decade before winning the cup with Twente.
He retired from active play in 2002, at the age of 32, while playing for Twente after the 2001-02 Eredivisie season.
Managerial Career
Following his retirement, Ten Hag took on a coaching role at Twente’s academy, first directing the U17 team, then the U19 team, until 2006, when he was elevated to assistant manager.
He worked under Fred Rutten and then Steve McClaren until 2009. He then joined PSV as an assistant to Rutten once more.
Ten Hag was appointed manager of Go Ahead Eagles in the Eerste Divisie in 2012 by the club’s proprietor, Marc Overmars.
He guided the Go-Ahead Eagles to their first promotion in 17 years during his one season with the club.
He managed Bayern Munich II from June 6, 2013, until 2015, when he was succeeded by Heiko Vogel.
Ten Hag took his team to the Regionalliga Bayern when he was manager.
Ten Hag then signed on as Utrecht’s sporting director and head coach for a two-year contract in the summer of 2015.
In his debut season, he led the club to the 2016 KNVB Cup final, which they lost 2-1 to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Feyenoord; a fifth-place league finish qualified them for the UEFA Europa League playoffs, where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Heracles Almelo.
The next season, a fourth-place finish advanced Utrecht to the playoffs, where they won a European spot on penalties against AZ Alkmaar.
Ten Hag left Utrecht in the middle of the 2017-18 Eredivisie season when the club was sixth.
Ajax
Ten Hag was named as Ajax’s head coach on December 28, 2017, following the dismissal of Marcel Keizer.
He signed a contract until June 2020. He joined a squad that had already been eliminated from both the domestic cup and the Champions League and Europa League qualification stages.
On January 21, 2018, he made his debut in the De Klassieker against Feyenoord, winning 2-1 at home.
Ten Hag led the team to the semi-finals of the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1997, defeating defending champions Real Madrid 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu in the round of 16, and beating Juventus away 1-2 after drawing the first leg 1-1 at home in the quarter-finals. In the first leg of the semi-final, he led his club to a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the recently finished Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, in the second leg, Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura scored a second-half hat-trick, with the final goal coming in the 96th minute to make it 3-2 (3-3 on aggregate) to win on away goals, eliminating Ajax.
He earned his first management title with Ajax on May 5, 2019, in the 2018-19 KNVB Cup, defeating Willem II in the final.
Ten days later, Ajax won the Eredivisie with a 1-4 away win over De Graafschap, completing the double. At the end of the season, Ten Hag signed a new deal that runs until 2022.
Ajax won their first three games of the 2020-21 season before losing 1-0 at Groningen, one of Ten Hag’s team’s two league setbacks during the season.
On October 24, 2020, Ten Hag led Ajax to a remarkable 13-0 victory over VVV-Venlo, setting the Eredivisie record for the largest recorded victory in the competition.
In the Europa League, the squad lost to Roma 3-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals. Ten Hag led Ajax to a 2-1 victory over Vitesse in the final on April 18, 2021, extending their KNVB Cup record. Two weeks later,
Ten Hag renewed his contract with Ajax until the end of the 2022-23 season.
Ajax began their 2021-22 season with a 4-0 defeat to PSV in the Johan Cruyff Shield, then was unbeaten in the first seven league games before losing 1-0 at home to Utrecht.
This was one of Ajax’s three league losses this season; on October 24, 2021, the team defeated PSV 5-0 at home to win the title.
Ajax won all six group games in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League. Ten Hag became the fastest manager in league history to reach 100 wins with Ajax, doing it in 128 matches, when his side defeated Utrecht 3-0 away on match day 19.
Ajax was eventually eliminated by Benfica in the round of 16 but won their third Eredivisie title in four years with a 5-0 home victory over Heerenveen on May 11, 2022.
Ten Hag’s side also advanced to the 2022 KNVB Cup Final, where they lost 2-1 to PSV.
Manchester United
Ten Hag was appointed manager of Manchester United on April 21, 2022, from the end of the 2021-22 season until June 2025, with the option of an additional year.
Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren were later confirmed to be joining Ten Hag’s coaching team.
On May 16, it was announced that Ten Hag had resigned his Ajax position early to begin his preparations as Manchester United manager for the 2022-23 season.
Ten Hag lost his Premier League debut, 2-1 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on August 7.
Ten Hag became the first Manchester United manager since John Chapman in 1921 to lose his first two Premier League games after losing 4-0 against Brentford on August 13.
Ten Hag won his first competitive game as Manchester United manager on August 22, defeating archrivals Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford. This was United’s first league victory over Liverpool since March 2018.
On January 11, 2023, Ten Hag led Manchester United to a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, becoming the club’s fastest manager to reach 20 competitive wins in 27 games.
Ten Hag’s side won the EFL Cup with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United on February 26, their first trophy since 2017.
However, in their first league game after winning the title, Ten Hag’s side suffered a 7-0 defeat at Anfield, the home of arch-rivals Liverpool.
It was the heaviest defeat in that fixture’s history, as well as United’s joint-heaviest defeat of all time, and the first time they had surrendered seven goals since 1931.
Manchester United began the 2023-24 season with a 1-0 Premier League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 14.
Manchester United were eliminated from the EFL Cup in the fourth round on November 1 after losing 3-0 at home to Newcastle United, whom they had defeated in the final the previous season.
Ten Hag was named the Premier League Manager of the Month for November. Manchester United’s Harry Maguire was also named Player of the Month.
Manchester United exited the Champions League on December 12 after losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich, finishing last in their group with four points and ensuring no European participation for the remainder of the season.
Manchester United lost 2-0 to West Ham on December 23, failing to score for the third game in a row and suffering their thirteenth loss of the season. Regardless of the outcome, Ten Hag believes that the club can improve its performance.
On March 17, 2024, United upset rivals Liverpool 4-3 after extra time at Old Trafford, thanks to Amad Diallo’s late goal in stoppage time, advancing United to the FA Cup semifinals.
Ten Hag said that his team’s season might be about to change as a result of this outcome.
Personal life
Ten Hag is married. The couple has two girls and one boy.
Net Worth
Erik Ten Hag’s net worth is estimated to be $10 million. According to The Sun, the Red Devils manager earns £9 million every year at Manchester United.