Erik ten Hag succeeds Xabi Alonso as head coach of Bayer Leverkusen

Erik ten Hag will be the new head coach of Bayer Leverkusen. The German football club announced this on Monday morning on social media. The former trainer of FC Utrecht, Ajax and Manchester United has a contract in Germany until 2027. He succeeds Spaniard Xabi Alonso, who leaves for Real Madrid. Ten Hag was also one of the trainers mentioned as a possible successor to Francesco Farioli at Ajax.

« I look forward to working with Bayer 04, » said Ten Hag in a first reaction. « The club has developed enormously in recent years and is one of the top of German football. I want to build on this success together with the team and the staff. »

Under Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen freed himself from the painful nickname ‘Eternal Second’ last year (Neverkusen), due to the many times that the West German club ended up in second place in recent decades. For the first time, the team became champion of the Bundesliga, partly thanks to the input of the Dutch wing defender Jeremie Frimpong. This season Bayer 04, traditionally, ended second behind the German record champion Bayern Munich.

Ten Hag is known in Germany, because more than ten years ago he was the trainer of the second team of Bayern Munich for two seasons. He managed to make an international name at Ajax, by reaching the semi-final of the Champions League with sparkling football in the 2018-2019 season. He left for Manchester United in 2022. There he managed to win two cups, but was fired six months ago because of disappointing results in the competition.

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