Erik ten Hag has been helping Borussia Dortmund’s cause and pressure is ramping up on current boss Nuri Sahin – which could yet lead to an opening for the ex-Manchester United manager
Erik ten Hag has been working as a “shadow coach” at Borussia Dortmund – with pressure ramping up on their manager Nuri Sahin after another defeat.
The Dutchman has been out of work since he was sacked by Manchester United several months ago. A poor start to the campaign meant his dismissal had been a long-time coming and followed a poor campaign last time out.
Ten Hag though has been quick to find a new club interested in his expertise and Dortmund have allowed him to work with Sahin. The player turned manager is in his first major role in the dugout but the German giants are enduring a difficult campaign.
Ten Hag was present on Friday night as Dortmund suffered a 3-2 loss against Bayer Leverkusen, which saw them fall to eighth in the Bundesliga. Things have gone from bad to worse with the Bundesliga side enduring another loss, this time at Holstein Kiel, who sit in the bottom three.
They had trailed 3-0 at one point before they scored twice in an attempt to rescue the game, but it was Holstein Kiel who scored the sixth goal of the game to add some gloss to the scoreline. Captain Emre Can has come out and Dortmund’s woes were “nothing to do with the coach – we as players are responsible”.
Sky Germany report that Ten Hag is known to have a ‘very good’ relationship with Dortmund advisor and former captain Matthias Sammer, adding fuel to speculation that he could end up being Sahin’s replacement.
Ten Hag has worked in Germany in the past, taking charge of Bayern Munich’s B side when Pep Guardiola was at the club. Sammer was also present at the Allianz Arena at that point, leading to the pair forging a relationship.
During his time in Manchester, Ten Hag claimed successive domestic trophies – landing the Carabao Cup in his first year before winning the FA Cup in May. Those victories did cover up for some horrific Premier League defeats as the Dutchman’s lack of style was constantly criticised.
Prior to that he was a huge success at Ajax. Those exploits could yet encourage Dortmund to take the plunge should they be in the market for a new manager. Whilst in Amsterdam, Ten Hag led Ajax to the last four of the Champions League and also won several league titles.
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