Erik ten Hag’s predecessor Ferguson is, according to him, the best. The Manchester United manager did so after his Scottish predecessor was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. De Tukker sees the illustrious club icon as a source of inspiration for his time at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag honors predecessor: “Klopp and Guardiola good, but he is the very best”
“He has left a legacy,” Ten Hag said, who still notices the influence of Ferguson every day. “Manchester United is Alex Ferguson. He has set the standard by setting the highest standards and values and instilling a winning mentality in the club. That’s why he converted the club.”
Ten Hag sees Ferguson as an example for every manager: “He is the guideline for all managers in top football. How to build your teams, how to form them, how to coach and manage them. He has won the Premier League thirteen times. No one can ever do that again, it’s such a huge achievement. And then all those other trophies he won. He won the treble, no one in England did it before or after him. That says it all.”
“Ferguson also did it in an offensive way,” said Ten Hag. “He knew when to select through and reconstruct the team. That worked for more than two decades. Every time with a group that consisted of players from our own soil and foreign stars.”
Ferguson managed to touch those stars, but according to Ten Hag he was not afraid to make big decisions about such tenors. Ten Hag said, “He brought the best out of those players. Whether it was Eric Cantona, or Ruud van Nistelrooij, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney. That is so clever, dealing with all those personalities and also letting them function in the team. The team was always above the individual, that was the best thing.”
Together around the table
Ten Hag has built up a good connection with Ferguson. The duo recently ate together so Ferguson could offer advice. He revealed, “I am very happy that he wants to share his knowledge with me. It’s great to talk to him, to learn from him. I hope we can do that more and more often. Football is all about winning and he is number one. Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp won a lot, but Ferguson did it for 26 years.”
