Eric Tenhag will become United's new manager from 1 July. The 52-year-old Dutchman will not travel to Old Trafford alone, with Ajax assistant coach Mitchell van der Gaag joining. British media disclosed that Ajax was willing to promote Van der Gag to succeed Tenhag and become the manager of the team, but he chose to follow the latter to coach Manchester United. Next season, for the first time in history, the Manchester United coaching staff will sit with two bald heads.
Tenhag was most impressed by reaching the final four in the 2018/19 Champions League, but was eliminated in the semi-final by another rival of the Manchester United boss, Tottenham Tottenham, who was then in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, and this time he finally pulled back a city while competing for the Red Devils. This season, Tenhag's Ajax won all the group stage, comparable to Liverpool, but unfortunately was eliminated by Benfica in the round of 16. After coming to Manchester United, he faced an even bigger challenge, and even the unsuccessful task of the famous managers Louis Van Gaal and Mourinho was to revive Manchester United.
In the Ajax coaching staff, there are many former players, such as Réziger and Bogard, who won the Champions League in 1995, and another Ajax star, Richard Witzger. Many fans may not be impressed by Witzger's name, but many have seen the classic video of him wearing the Ajax No. 8 shirt, using his left foot and thigh, tossing the ball nine times in a row from the backfield, bringing the ball to the opponent's penalty area. Another of his masterpieces is the midfielder's left-footed shot.
In this star-studded coaching staff, Van der Gag was a less famous member of the player era, but he played an indispensable role in Tenhag. Similarly, the rumored Van Persie, McLaren and other well-known figures of Manchester United fans have refused to be invited to join Tenhag's coaching staff. Only Van der Gag has decided he will come, and if he and Tenhag stand side by side, you may not be able to tell who is who. A more significant way to distinguish is that van der Gag is taller than Tenhag.
Mitchell van der Gag, 50, is two years younger than Tennhag, a former professional footballer, and his son Luca now plays for the Belgian club Belém. Mitchell van der Gag played for the famous Eindhoven when he was a player, where Tenhag worked as an assistant coach.
Later, van der Gag, a player with long hair, traveled to many clubs, including Matherwell in the Soviet Premier League, Marítimo in Portugal, etc. After retiring in Saudi Arabia in 2007, van der Gag quickly entered the management and coaching positions.
Van der Gag, 35, first returned to Maritimo and was appointed coach of team B. He was later promoted to coach the team's first team and then moved to Belenenses, where he fell on the sidelines due to a heart attack that left him unwell and ended his managerial career.
After a two-year break, van der Gag made a comeback in Cyprus and then returned to Eindhoven to coach the second team, before joining Rotterdam Elite and NAC Breda. In 2019, van der Gag joined Ajax as a youth team coach. He had never crossed paths with Tenhag before, and although they had both played for Utrecht and Degrav Sharp, they had never worked together.
However, it took only a short time for the two to establish a close working relationship. In the summer of 2021, van der Gag was promoted to first assistant coach at Ajax. He is known for his expertise in organizing defense and managerial staff, and is responsible for directly directing player practice on the training ground.
Van der Gag has said he prefers to talk to players individually about what they're doing well and what needs to be improved, prioritizing one-on-one conversations over group meetings. "Players are getting more and more liked personal conversations, which takes more time and effort, but I feel like it will give me better access to my players." Van der Gaarde explains.
Van der Gag is fluent in many languages and has played in places like Scotland and Portugal. Moreover, he also trains as an instructor in Portugal, so the Portuguese is very fluent. This is crucial for Tenhag and Manchester United, which have a large number of Portuguese-speaking players in the squad, including number one star Cristiano Ronaldo and second core Bruno Fernandes.
In his interactions with the players, van der Gag is not afraid to speak out. "I sit down with the player every week and watch videos of his performance. I will ask for higher requirements, only then can you make the players more responsible. They may hide behind the collective and evade responsibility. I talk to them, it's not just about the weather, if I'm not satisfied, I'll just say it, and then everyone will know where he stands."
Van der Gag played as a centre-back, so after becoming a coach, he attached great importance to the organization and structure of the defense. United certainly need this ability very much, because the team has conceded 51 goals in 34 rounds this season, the worst defensive in the top 8 in the Premier League, and the positional sense and defensive awareness of Maguire, Luke Shaw and Wan Bissaka are all major flaws.
Sky Sports stressed that Tenhag could not single-handedly change the chaos in Manchester United, and the Daily Telegraph said that unless Tenhag was Einstein, it was impossible to cure the Red Devils. To make a difference in the club, Tenhag needs to use all the power he can use, and the other bald van der Gaarde is his trusty left arm.