Erik ten Hag Analysis
Introduction
I’ll be honest, prior to the 2018/19 season, especially in the Champions League, I had no idea who Erik ten Hag was, nor did I have any interest in Ajax. But following their incredible run that season beating teams like Juventus and Real Madrid along the way, like many football fans, I was impressed.
Before becoming a manager, ten Hag played as a centre back for a variety of clubs in Holland’s Eredivisie such as FC Utrecht and FC Twente, where he made 162 appearances for the latter club. Following his retirement in 2002, he was an Assistant Manager for a few of the Academy sides at FC Utrecht, eventually becoming Assistant of the First Team in 2006.
From there, he was Assistant Manager for three years before moving to PSV Eindhoven in 2009. Ten Hag then made the transition to Manager when he was appointed at Go Ahead Eagles, also in the Eredivisie. He then had stints at various sides including FC Bayern II and FC Utrecht before eventually joining AFC Ajax in 2017.
Not only has the Dutchman been incredibly successful with the footballing giants by winning the Eredivisie twice (2018/19, 2020/21), the KNVB Cup also twice (2018/19, 2020/21), as well as the Johan Cruyff Shield in 2019, his side has played tremendous football.
For instance, Ajax’s start to this present season has seen them finish Gameweek 7 on top of the table, and undefeated. Also, his side are the best in front of goal so far, with 30 goals scored (an average of 4.3 goals scored per game) and even defensively too, as they’ve only conceded 1 goal (an average of 0.1 goals conceded per game).
In accordance with their history, Ajax dominate the ball, as so far this season they average 67.4% possession per game and they’re not just keeping the ball for the sake of it too. Ajax’s passing accuracy overall is 85.1%, with their accuracy within their own half being 89.7% and in the opposition’s half 79.8%.
But not only has ten Hag’s Ajax played unbelievable football, they are doing so with a young squad. It was highly commendable, particularly in the 2018/19 season in the Champions League, that Ajax were able to go toe to toe with the big clubs and beat them. Some of Ajax’s best players in the tournament were players who at the time were under 23 years old, including captain Matthijs De Ligt, Donny van de Beek and Frenkie de Jong.
Tactically, ten Hag is developing into one of the top managers in European football and his tactics are incredible. His style of play is attractive, defensively he demands intensity and energy but overall the players enjoy themselves in the final third, as he gives them licence to combine with other players to create goal scoring opportunities.
Starting Eleven
At Ajax, ten Hag has stuck with a 4–3–3, where the shape of the triangle in midfield would be the only variation. Over his 4 years at the club so far, this has been his best starting eleven:
Onana
Mazraoui — Blind — De Ligt — Tagliafico
van de Beek — Schöne — de Jong
Ziyech — Tadić — Neres
Attacking Style
I mentioned before that Ajax under ten Hag are a side that love to dominate possession and it was no surprise this season that they average 67.4% possession per game. This means, they are a danger when they have the ball, as the opposition cannot even touch them, a characteristic similar to Guardiola’s Barcelona.
Speaking of Guardiola, being coach of the reserves team at Bayern when Pep was manager of the first team, has left a tactical imprint of ten Hag particularly in possession.
From a goal kick, de Godenzonen looks to create a numerical advantage through a +1 or a +2 advantage.
Bar SBV Vitesse (3–5–2) and PSV Eindhoven (4–4–2/4–2–2–2), most teams in the Eredivisie defend in a 4–3–3 or a 4–2–3–1. So the 4v2 shape is quite common where the goalkeeper, the two centrebacks and one of the pivots/or the sole pivot — depending on the system, would create a diamond shape with the first line of pressure.
That diamond shape would be present either in a goal kick situation or when looking to deal with the opposition’s first line of pressure.
Overloads are a common feature of ten Hag’s style, just like Guardiola’s. It can vary what the outcome could be from the use of an overload. One could be to make a run in behind the defence, as shown below.
Or the overload could have a more Pep Guardiola influence, by looking to Overload a side in order to isolate a wide player. This is one of the big reasons why ten Hag wants width within his team, as they look to stretch the opposition’s backline.
Quick one touch combinations is one element of ten Hag’s style that is appreciated internationally, and one sequence they performed against Juventus in the second leg of the Champions League Quarter Final.
As shown above, the principle of overloading is in action, as Juventus have six players looking to deal with Ajax’s three. Further, despite Donny van de Beek not actively participating in this sequence, him holding his width achieves two outcomes. One, he acts as an isolated option following the overload but two, he stretches the defence and creates that gap evident between Juventus’ RB and CB.
It’s not just their overloads where the one touch football is present. Their intricate passing and movement is impossible to deal with. Take Ajax’s goal against Tottenham in the first leg of the Semi Final in the Champions League in the 2018/19 season.
It wasn’t just Hakim Ziyech’s beautiful through ball that created the goal, it was van de Beek’s movement. Cleverly, he initially positioned himself in an offside position (Danny Rose is not aware of his movement). Now with Ziyech on the ball, Rose’s priority is stopping the ball but due to his lack of awareness of where van de Beek is, Ziyech is able to slip Donny in, unmarked and finish coolly.
Defensive Style
Another element of Pep Guardiola’s style in high pressure is present with ten Hag’s Ajax side. The Dutch side use a man-oriented press which is often geared towards the movement of the ball rather than the opposition players’ movement, however both are of high importance. This means that they often swarm the player in possession, particularly when the ball is close to the touchline.
Predominantly when Ajax look to press high, the main objective would be to cause a turnover in possession, which is usually a long ball in the direction of their centrebacks from the opposition. When Ajax were away to Tottenham in the first leg of the Champions League Semi Finals in the 2018/19 season, their pressure caused Spurs to play 29 wasteful long balls. In other words, Spurs gave Ajax possession 29 times from a long ball.
Sometimes to force this long ball, Ajax would look to cut the immediate short passing options, ironically a pressing system that former Tottenham coach, Mauricio Pochettino would use against his opposition sides.
But regardless of opposition and the occasion, Ajax would look to press high in order to retain or win the ball back as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Erik ten Hag deserves a huge amount of praise for the way in which he has developed some of the young talent rising through the ranks at Ajax but more importantly, combining youth and experience that is bringing him results.
Although their 2018/19 Champions League run was a fairytale, domestically Ajax are dominant and there’s no doubt that there will be more attention, particularly over the coming seasons on their manager.
