Erik ten Hag led Ajax to an impressive Champions League semi-final and to success in the Dutch league. The former second-team coach of Bayern Munich was declared a genius and brought to Manchester United after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (we happily skip the months with Ralf Rangnick). Ten Hag was unable to build on Solskjaer’s solid deliveries in the Premier League and was sacked in October 2024. Less than a year later, the Dutchman has been weighed too lightly in the Bundesliga as well.
We said it before the start of the season. Erik ten Hag came to a club brimming with confidence after the Bundesliga title in the 2022/24 season, second place last season. This was the starting point of the former Man United coach. So, in turn, the Dutchman has seen one after another of the key players under Xabi Alonso leave the club. However, expectations have not changed. So when Bayer Leverkusen started the season scarily weak, the alarm was already sounded. On Monday, the alarm switched to action.
It started with a 5-1 loss to Flamengo’s U20 team in preseason, Ten Hag blown away that this was just a friendly match. Then the Bundesliga season started. There was a win against level four side Sonnenhof Grossaspach in the first round of the German Cup, but the mood quickly sank among Leverkusen supporters after a 1-2 loss at home to Hoffenheim. On Saturday, the collapse came against Werder Bremen, who with ten men on the pitch brought in a 1-3 lead for Leverskusen to 3-3 (the last goal in injury time) and the points were shared.
German Bild reported on Sunday that the Leverkusen management would go into a crisis meeting, on Monday came the conclusion: Bayer Leverkusen confirm they have fired Erik ten Hag.
