Ten Hag: The Biography

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Against Borussia Dortmund, the defensive duty of Alvarez, meant the team defended in a low 4-5-1 block. At the same time, their runs can also be aided by attacking runs from deeper positions, whether it’s Blind moving inside or Mazraoui underlapping whilst Berghuis or Gravenberch moves wide. Positional play works to enable teams to progress the ball forwards through the creation of triangles or diamonds that give the ball-carrier space and several passing options at any given time.

Get Passion4FM’s Football Manager 2022 Ajax tactics, that replicates Erik ten Hag’s Ajax tactics of 2021-2022 season. Both Alvarez, Blind, Martinez and Timber got great ball control and first touch to keep control of the ball despite under pressure. To do it successfully, it’s important that the two central midfielders free up passing lanes to the wingers – dragging the attention of the opponent in to the center. Besides providing more depth to the team’s structure, it gave Ajax more options when entering the final third. With limited resources and continuously being forced to re-build the squad by incorporating young Dutch talents to replace those being poached by bigger clubs, he has done a phenomenal job making Ajax into one of the leading clubs in Europe.

Ten Hag suggested there would not be a repeat of the punishment of his team having to do extra running which he imposed after the 4-0 defeat at Brentford.

Ten Hag is in control, his influence stretching not solely to the large details at the club such as operational structure, but even the little ones like preventing the players from visiting and being filmed on the set of Australian soap Neighbours. On 24 October 2020, Ten Hag led Ajax to a historic 13–0 victory over VVV-Venlo, breaking the Eredivisie record of the biggest recorded victory in the history of the competition. Dialling further back, long-serving employees believe there has not been such a crystalline path, as well as emotional investment into it, since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement. At the same time, by instructing the wingers to provide the width, it will create advantagous 1v1 situations in wide areas as they try to isolate one of the defenders via movements in the half-spaces. This proved to be one of Ajax' three league defeats over the season, as Ajax cruised past the competition once more under the guidance of Ten Hag.All the time, the opposite defenders far from the ball must make a decision to either follow the movements of their teammates to contract space, or become isolated against the forward and/or the winger.

I wouldn’t bring him in because out of respect for Cristiano, for his big career,” the manager said. The curveball was followed by Ronaldo's no-show when the international players reported back to United for duty, although by all accounts the "family issue" cited as the reason behind that, is true. The Dutchman says: “When you ask me about Rashford, the same counts for Rapha Varane and every player. With different rules and strategies depending on which zones on the pitch the ball enters, players have the freedom to move and rotate positions within a specific framework dictated by the manager’s desire. Ajax began the 2021–22 campaign with a 4–0 defeat in the Johan Cruyff Shield to PSV, before swiftly picking up form in the league, going unbeaten for their first seven matches, before sustaining a 1–0 home defeat to Utrecht.

We have now seen how Ajax uses overlaps, underlaps, movements between the lines and third man runs to manipulate space to come to goalscoring opportunities.