After two league games in charge, when Erik ten Hag was sacked, the Dutchman’s job was not saved by the weekend draw at Werder Bremen.
Ten Hag immediately came under pressure after Leverkusen lost their opening Bundesliga game to Hoffenheim 2-1 at home, and his short reign as manager is over with a 3-3 draw against Bremen on Saturday.
“We had to make a decision, which was difficult.” No one wanted to make this decision, according to Leverkusen Sporting Director Simon Rolfes in a statement released on Monday.
“However, recent weeks have demonstrated that using this set-up to create a new and prosperous team is not feasible.”
Ten Hag took over as manager in May after Xabi Alonso left for Real Madrid, who had been sacked by Manchester United in October.
After Alonso had won the first Bundesliga title without losing a game in the previous season, Leverkusen finished second overall in the league.
The close-season departures of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, Jonathan Tah, and Granit Xhaka, among others, made Ten Hag’s task of emulating Alonso’s successful spell at the club even more challenging.
Ten Hag has already run out of time as a result of his Leverkusen debut, which was a 4-0 victory over fourth-placed Sonnenhof Grossaspach in the first round of the German Cup. The club is currently five points clear of leaders Bayern Munich and has a Champions League campaign in the works.
Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro said, “We felt it was necessary,” but parting ways at this early stage of the season is painful.
We are still determined to accomplish our season’s objectives, and we require the best possible conditions across the entire first team.
Not just one former Manchester United manager has lost his job recently, Ten Hag is one. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho have parted ways with Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Besiktas, respectively.
The 55-year-old Dutchman led Ajax Amsterdam for three league titles, and he also won the FA Cup and League Cup at Manchester United, where he was fired with the team 14th in the Premier League standings.
Source: Aljazeera
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