Erik ten Hag (Dutch: [̍ˈeːrɪk tən ɦɑx] (listen), born 2 February 1970) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Premier League club Manchester United. As a player, Ten Hag played as a centre-back in the Dutch league for 13 years, making appearances for Twente (three spells), De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk and Utrecht. He won the 1990–91 Eerste Divisie with De Graafschap and the 2000–01 KNVB Cup with Twente.
![]() Ten Hag managing Utrecht in 2017 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Erik ten Hag[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1970-02-02) 2 February 1970 (age 52)[1] | ||
Place of birth | Haaksbergen, Netherlands | ||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back[3] | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Manchester United (manager) | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1989–1990 | Twente | 14 | (0) |
1990–1992 | De Graafschap | 54 | (6) |
1992–1994 | Twente | 45 | (2) |
1994–1995 | RKC Waalwijk | 31 | (2) |
1995–1996 | Utrecht | 30 | (2) |
1996–2002 | Twente | 162 | (3) |
Total | 336 | (15) | |
Teams managed | |||
2012–2013 | Go Ahead Eagles | ||
2013–2015 | Bayern Munich II | ||
2015–2017 | Utrecht | ||
2017–2022 | Ajax | ||
2022– | Manchester United | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
In 2012, Ten Hag was appointed as manager of Go Ahead Eagles in the Eerste Divisie. He went on to coach Bayern Munich II from June 2013 until 2015;[4] during his time as manager Ten Hag led his team to the Regionalliga Bayern.[5] Ten Hag then became the sporting director and head coach of Utrecht in the summer of 2015.[6] In December 2017, he was appointed as the manager of Ajax, and in 2019 he led his Ajax team to the semi-finals of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1997.[7] He won his first managerial trophy with Ajax with the 2018–19 KNVB Cup,[8] followed by the Eredivisie title which brought a double for the club.[9] In 2021, Ten Hag guided Ajax to their record extending 20th KNVB Cup,[10] and in January 2022 he became the fastest manager in league history to reach 100 wins with Ajax, achieving the feat in 128 matches,[11] before transferring to Manchester United in May that year.
Ten Hag was born in Haaksbergen, Overijssel.[1]
Ten Hag played primarily as a centre-back for Twente, De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk and Utrecht. He had three stints with Twente, with whom he won the KNVB Cup in the 2000–01 season.[citation needed]
Ten Hag also won the Eerste Divisie with De Graafschap in the 1990–91 season, ten years before winning the cup with Twente. He retired from active playing in 2002 at the age of 32 while playing for Twente, after the end of the 2001–02 Eredivisie season.[citation needed]
In 2012, Ten Hag was appointed as manager of Go Ahead Eagles in the Eerste Divisie by Marc Overmars, who was a shareholder of the club.[1][12] During his only season at Go Ahead Eagles, he led the team to its first promotion in 17 years.[citation needed]
He coached Bayern Munich II from 6 June 2013 until 2015 when he was replaced by Heiko Vogel.[4][13] During his time as manager Ten Hag led his team to the Regionalliga Bayern.[5]
Ten Hag then became the sporting director and head coach of Utrecht in summer 2015, where he led the club to fifth place during his first season.[6] In the 2016–17 season, he improved FC Utrecht's final position to fourth, booking a place in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.[citation needed]
On 21 December 2017, he was appointed as the head coach of Ajax after the club dismissed Marcel Keizer. In 2019, he led his Ajax team to the semi-finals of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1997, by winning against defending champions Real Madrid 4–1 in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium at the round of 16 stage,[14] and also beating Juventus away 1–2 having drawn the first leg 1–1 at home in the quarterfinals. In the first leg of the semi-final, he led his team to take a 1–0 lead against Tottenham Hotspur in the recently completed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.[7] However in the second leg, a second half hat-trick by Lucas Moura for Tottenham Hotspur, with the last goal being scored in the 96th minute to make it 3–2 (3–3 on aggregate) to win on away goals, ended Ajax's hopes of playing in the final.[15]
He won his first managerial trophy with Ajax on 5 May 2019, the 2018–19 KNVB Cup, beating Willem II in the final.[8] Only 10 days after winning the cup, Ajax, led by Ten Hag won the Eredivisie as well after a 1–4 away victory over De Graafschap and brought the double back to the club.[9]
On 18 April 2021, Ten Hag guided Ajax to their record extending 20th KNVB Cup with a 2–1 win over Vitesse in the final.[10] Two weeks later, Ten Hag extended his contract with Ajax through to the end of the 2022–23 season.[16] On 16 January 2022, Ten Hag became the fastest manager in league history to reach 100 wins with Ajax, achieving the feat in 128 matches, when his side beat Utrecht 3–0 away on match day 19.[11]
On 21 April 2022, Ten Hag was appointed as manager of Manchester United starting from end of the 2021–22 season until June 2025, with the option of extending for a further year.[17] Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren were later revealed to be joining Ten Hag as part of his coaching staff.[18] On 16 May 2022, it was confirmed that Ten Hag had left his Ajax role early in order to begin his preparations as Manchester United manager for the 2022–23 season.[19] Ten Hag lost his first Premier League match, 1–2 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on 7 August 2022.[20] Following a 4–0 defeat away to Brentford on 13 August 2022[21] in his second Premier League match, Ten Hag became the first Manchester United manager since John Chapman in 1921 to lose his first two games in charge.[22] On 22 August 2022, Ten Hag won his first competitive game as Manchester United manager when his side recorded a 2–1 victory against arch-rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. This was United's first league win against Liverpool since March 2018.[23]
Ten Hag is married to wife Bianca. The couple have two daughters and a son.[24]
Club | Season | League | KNVB Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Twente | 1989–90[25][26] | Eredivisie | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
De Graafschap | 1990–91[25] | Eerste Divisie | 37 | 5 | — | — | 37 | 5 | ||||
1991–92[25] | Eredivisie | 17 | 1 | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||||
Total | 54 | 6 | — | — | 54 | 6 | ||||||
Twente | 1992–93[25] | Eredivisie | 24 | 1 | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||||
1993–94[25][27] | Eredivisie | 21 | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||||
Total | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 46 | 2 | |||||
RKC Waalwijk | 1994–95[25] | Eredivisie | 31 | 2 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||||
Utrecht | 1995–96[25] | Eredivisie | 30 | 2 | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||||
Twente | 1996–97[25] | Eredivisie | 26 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||||
1997–98[25][28] | Eredivisie | 33 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||||
1998–99[25][29] | Eredivisie | 29 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | ||||
1999–2000[25] | Eredivisie | 30 | 2 | — | — | 30 | 2 | |||||
2000–01[25] | Eredivisie | 28 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | |||||
2001–02[25][30] | Eredivisie | 16 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
Total | 162 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 174 | 3 | ||||
Career total | 336 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 349 | 15 |
Team | From | To | Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
Go Ahead Eagles | 1 July 2012 | 6 June 2013[4] | 39 | 18 | 11 | 10 | 046.2 |
Bayern Munich II | 6 June 2013[4] | 22 May 2015[5] | 72 | 48 | 10 | 14 | 066.7 |
Utrecht | 23 May 2015[6][31] | 27 December 2017 | 111 | 56 | 26 | 29 | 050.5 |
Ajax | 28 December 2017 | 15 May 2022 | 215 | 158 | 28 | 29 | 073.5 |
Manchester United[32] | 23 May 2022 | Present | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 062.5 |
Total | 445 | 285 | 75 | 85 | 064.0 |
De Graafschap
Twente
Bayern Munich II
Ajax[19]
Individual
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