Erik ten Hag’s Leverkusen Reign Ends in Just 62 Days
So, here’s quite a story that’s been making the rounds in football. Erik ten Hag, the Dutch coach once seen as one of the brightest minds in the game, has just been sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after a spell that barely lasted nine weeks. Critics have already given him the nickname “Erik Ten Weeks,” though technically he didn’t even make it that far — it was exactly 62 days in charge. And in that time, he only managed three competitive matches.
The end came after a chaotic Bundesliga game against Werder Bremen. Leverkusen were cruising with a 3–1 lead against ten men, but somehow they let it slip and ended up drawing 3–3. That followed an opening day defeat at home to Hoffenheim. To make matters worse, the only win under his watch came in the German Cup, and that was against a fourth-division side. For a club that just won the Bundesliga under Xabi Alonso, those results weren’t close to good enough.
Also Read:But poor results weren’t the only problem. From the beginning, Ten Hag seemed to rub people the wrong way. He rescheduled a friendly during pre-season in Brazil, moving it up by four days, only for Leverkusen to get thrashed 5–1 by Flamengo’s under-20s. He also tried to block Granit Xhaka’s departure, even though the club had already made it clear that they were open to selling. Xhaka left anyway, heading to Sunderland. On top of that, players were said to be unimpressed with his training sessions and even his pre-match talks. Before their first Bundesliga game, reports claimed he didn’t deliver any team talk at all. That kind of leadership style just didn’t inspire confidence.
It’s surprising when you think about it. After all, this is the same Erik ten Hag who won three league titles with Ajax and led them to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019. At Manchester United, he picked up two trophies — the League Cup and the FA Cup — and although things fell apart in the Premier League, many still believed he could rebuild his reputation in Germany. That never happened.
Leverkusen’s hierarchy has taken a big hit too. Sporting director Simon Rolfes and CEO Fernando Carro were the ones who pushed for Ten Hag’s appointment in May, but now, less than two months into the season, they’ve had to admit defeat. Carro even called the decision “painful but necessary.” And now they’re scrambling for a replacement, with names like Xavi and Marco Rose already being linked.
For Leverkusen, it’s a messy situation. Players like Malik Tillman and Jarell Quansah signed expecting Ten Hag to lead them. Instead, they’ve walked into a club in turmoil. For Ten Hag, it’s another bruising chapter in a career that once seemed unstoppable. He was once the man to challenge Pep Guardiola with Ajax, but now he finds himself out of work again, his methods and charisma questioned more than ever.
What’s clear is that this short-lived saga will linger over Leverkusen for a long time, and Ten Hag’s reputation has taken yet another serious blow.
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