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Coach Erik ten Hag gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Bremen. (PHOTO: dpa via AP)
Former Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag has been sacked as the manager of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen after just three games. He was appointed as Xabi Alonso’s successor in May on a two-year contract. Leverkusen was Ten Hag’s first job after he was dismissed by Manchester United last October.
He was removed on Monday after Leverkusen’s 3-3 draw with Werner Bremen. They had given two late goals that included that 94th minute equaliser. “A parting of ways at this early stage of the season is painful, but we felt it was necessary,” Leverkusen’s chief executive, Fernando Carro, said in a statement. “We remain committed to achieving our goals for the season – and to do that, we need the best possible conditions at all levels and across the entire first team. Now it’s a matter of fully implementing and utilising these conditions again.”
Ten Hag had inherited a team that finished second in the Bundesliga and reached the German Cup semifinals this season. Leverkusen won both competitions under Alonso the year before and became the first unbeaten Bundesliga champion ever
Leverkusen’s managing director, Simon Rolfes, said: “This decision was not an easy one for us. Nobody wanted to take this step. However, the past few weeks have shown that building a new and successful team with this setup is not feasible. We firmly believe in the quality of our team and will now do everything we can to take the next steps in our development with a new setup.”
Ten Hag led just one home game in his charge, a 2-1 loss to Hoffenhiem. Their win had come against Sonnenhof Grossaspach 4-0 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.
The 55-year-old becomes the third former United manager to be sacked in the space of a week, after Ole Gunnar Solskjær by Besiktas and José Mourinho by Fenerbahce.
When he had joined the team, Ten Hag had said: “Bayer 04 are one of the best clubs in Germany and also among the top clubs in Europe. The club offers outstanding conditions, I’ve been very impressed with the discussions of the management. I’ve come to Leverkusen to continue with the ambition shown in recent years. It’s an attractive challenge to set up something together in this period of change and develop an ambitious team,” the Dutch manager said in a release issued by the German club.
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And Simon Rolfes who has said now that “setup is not feasible” had sung a different tune at the time of the signing. “With Erik ten Hag we have brought in an experienced coach with impressive success on the pitch. His six title wins at Ajax were exceptional. With three league titles and two domestic cup wins he and Ajax dominated Dutch football from 2018 to 2022. And Erik demonstrated his quality as a coach with the ensuing success at Manchester United under difficult circumstances at times. Our ideas of football coincide. With technically demanding and dominant football, we want to carry on in the Werkself style and aim for the highest targets in the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League,” sporting managing director Simon Rolfes had said then. In just three games now, Ten Hag has been sacked.
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