While the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp remain the faces of Manchester City and Liverpool’s coaching team, Manchester United have a new manager in the form of Dutch coach Erik ten Hag.
After Ole Gunnar Solskjær was sacked last year, Man United appointed Ralf Rangnick as interim manager while the hunt for a new permanent replacement was underway.
The likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane were rumoured for the job, but ten Hag was ultimately appointed in April 2022, signing a contract to keep him at the club until 2025.
As the season gets underway and ten Hag seeks to build a legacy for himself at one of the biggest clubs in the world, with much of his pre-season clouded with transfer frustration and questions over Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at the club.
Putting all that drama aside for a second, let’s get to know the new Red Devil’s boss a little better…
How old is Erik ten Hag and where was he born?
Erik ten Hag was born on February 2, 1970, making him 52 years old.
He was born in Haaksbergen, Overijssel a town in the eastern part of the Netherlands.
Is Erik ten Hag married?
Yes – he is married to Bianca ten Hag, and the couple have three children together – two girls and a boy.
They both keep their personal lives very private and have no social media accounts, so not much is known about their marriage or their children.
Who did Erik ten Hag play for?
The new boss at Old Trafford was a footballer himself back in the day, playing as a defender in the centre-back position.
He began his career at Dutch football club FC Twente in 1989 and has also played for De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk and Utrecht.
He had three stints with Twente (1989-1990, 1992-1994, 1996-2002), and won the KNVB Cup with them in the 2000–01 season.
Ten Hag also won the Eerste Divisie – the second highest division of the Dutch football league – with De Graafschap in the 1990–91 season, ten years before winning the cup again with Twente.
He retired from playing in 2002 while at Twente.
What clubs has Erik ten Hag managed?
In 2012, ten Hag started his managerial career when he was appointed as manager of Dutch club Go Ahead Eagles – a great name – in the Eerste Divisie, the second highest division of the Dutch football league.
During his one year at the club, he led the team to their first promotion in 17 years.
He then managed Bayern Munich II from June 2013 until 2015, when he became the sporting director and head coach of FC Utrecht.
He led the club to fifth place during his first season in the Eredivisie – the top Dutch division.
In his second season, they finished fourth and booked a place in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.
In December 2017, he was appointed as the head coach of another top Dutch side, Ajax.
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 Spanish champions Real Madrid 4–1 in the round of 16 stage.
They went on to beat Italian giants Juventus in the quarter-finals, before losing to Tottenham Hotspur in the semis.
He won his first managerial trophy with Ajax in May 2019 – the 2018–19 KNVB Cup – before going on to win the Eredivisie trophy in the same month.
Ten Hag guided Ajax to their record-extending 20th KNVB Cup in April 2021, and in January 2022, he became the fastest manager in the Eredivisie’ss history to reach 100 wins with Ajax.
With such success, it surely was not going to be long until the Premier League came knocking, the Premier League with the announcement coming in April 2022 that he would be taking the vacant job at Old Trafford.
Time will tell if his tenure at Man United will be as successful as his time in the Dutch top flight, with many United fans eager to see a return to the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson – a big ask for any manager.
MORE : Manchester United or Arsenal? Roy Keane and Gary Neville disagree over who will finish higher in the Premier League
MORE : Erik ten Hag to trust current midfielders if Frenkie de Jong snubs Man United
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