11 of the best stats from Erik ten Hag’s brilliant reign as Ajax manager
After doing a brilliant job at Ajax, Erik ten Hag is reportedly the leading candidate for the manager’s job at Manchester United.
Ten Hag became Ajax manager in December 2017 and oversaw an impressive rebuild, winning domestic trophies and guiding them to within a minute of reaching the Champions League final in 2019.
But he’s now looking to test himself outside of his native Netherlands and looks set to leave his job at Ajax at the end of the current season.
“I think I’m ready for it [coaching abroad]. I would be happy to take up that challenge.” Ten Hag told de Volkskrant in December 2021.
“But I’m not chasing it. If it turns out that that step will never come, I will not say that my coaching career has failed. But I think I have sufficient competencies to take on that challenge.”
According to The Telegraph, United recently conducted an interview with Ten Hag, who detailed his philosophy and vision for the club.
It’s easy to see why United are so keen on the 52-year-old and we’ve taken a look at 11 of the best stats from his time at Ajax.
– During Ten Hag’s 207 games in charge of Ajax, they have won 153, drawn 26 and lost 28. That’s a win rate of 73.9% and an average of 2.34 points per game.
– The Dutch side have scored a remarkable 570 goals in those 207 games at a rate of 2.75 goals per game. They’ve also conceded just 174 goals, averaging 0.84 per game.
– Ten Hag’s Ajax side have scored five or more goals in 37 different games. That means they average a five-goal haul every 5.6 games.
– His biggest ever win with Ajax was a 13-0 win over VVV-Venlo in the Eredivisie in October 2020. He’s also recorded a 9-0 league win over Cambuur and a 9-0 win against Excelsior Maassluis in the KNVB Cup.
• • • •
READ: 11 quotes to explain Erik ten Hag’s philosophy: ‘A Cruyffian influence’
• • • •
– Ajax had gone three-and-a-half years without an Eredivisie title when Ten Hag arrived in December 2017 but have since won it twice. They were also sat at the top of the table when the 2019-20 season was abandoned due to the pandemic.
– He’s just the second Ajax boss to win the Rinus Michels Award, which is given to the best professional manager of the Eredivisie.
– Ajax’s overall net spend during Ten Hag’s time at the club is a £167.26million profit. He’s only ever made one £20million+ signing and that was Sebastian Haller (£20.25m).
– In 2018-19, he became the first manager to lead Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals since Louis van Gaal in 1996-97.
– Despite playing against the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus and Liverpool, Ten Hag has only lost one of his 16 Champions League away games with Ajax. They’ve won 10 and drawn five of the other away games.
– His overall record in the Champions League is 17 wins, seven draws and eight defeats in 32 games with 63 goals scored and 34 goals conceded.
– In 2021-22, Ten Hag’s Ajax became one of just 10 sides to ever win all of their Champions League group stages games in a single season.
More from Planet Football
FM22 simulates what would happen if Ten Hag became Man Utd manager
Can you name every Dutch player to appear for Man Utd in the Prem?
A tribute to Ruud van Nistelrooy and the playground art of goalhanging