There's a story going that EtH had his staff put together and inspirational video before the FA Cup final. The story was posted in NY Times.
Rest of the story in the first comment because of length.
Our lord and savior Mike Phelan posted the video on Twitter. It got taken down rather quickly but a reddit user re-uploaded it and tried their best to polish the quality. I'm posting the reddit link as that's what we've got at the moment.
Reddit video link
Erik ten Hag was in his own personal version of the trenches, figuring out how to battle back against bad results, when he walked Carrington with a female member of Manchester United’s security personnel. He asked his colleague about her own experiences, and she explained her background in the British military, including an assignment in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
In the week leading up to the FA Cup final against Manchester City, Ten Hag found himself recalling this conversation as he searched for novel ways to inspire a performance from his team. The backdrop was a difficult season in which United finished the Premier League campaign in eighth position and were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage. The FA Cup final against Pep Guardiola’s imperious City represented an opportunity for redemption for his beleaguered side, and Ten Hag may have been hoping for a dose of salvation when it came to his position as manager of United.
And so Ten Hag became inventive. He asked United’s security staffer to record a video for his team, which was shown to the players at the Marriott Hotel in London in the lead-up to the final. The Dutchman was so moved by his colleague’s story that he reserved the video for his final team meeting with the squad before they left for Wembley on Saturday morning.
In the video, the United security officer explained how one day in Afghanistan, she became trapped in a village with her platoon. Outnumbered, nobody thought they had a chance of escaping the threat before them. But, she explained, they worked together, and many fought their way out. Sadly, however, a small number of her colleagues died along the way, but in representing their country, they had sacrificed their own lives to valiantly save villagers.
She was emotional as she spoke, and it represented powerful messaging that resonated strongly with United’s players; stick together, back each other up, stay on the front foot and fight to win. The video of the security personnel telling her story intermingled with images of United players winning duels during games, increasing the relevance to their own against-all-odds mission before them.
She was not present in the room when the video played, but an indication of the impact it had came after the game when the players learned that she had been guarding the directors’ box at Wembley during the final, where owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer were seated, as well as club legend Sir Alex Ferguson and the future King of the United Kingdom, Prince William. United’s players invited her down to the dressing room, where they thanked her for the video, with some telling her she had helped inspire them.
The video, of course, was only one part of Ten Hag’s strategy, which had in fact started 10 days before the final as he trialled a new tactical setup in United’s 3-2 victory against Newcastle United at Old Trafford. In doing so, he dropped Rasmus Hojlund, the club’s only fit recognised striker, to the substitutes’ bench, and stiffened up the centre of the pitch by playing Sofyan Amrabat alongside a more restrained Kobbie Mainoo, as well as Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay in flexible midfield roles that doubled up as false nines.
United won that game and then replicated the system for the 2-0 win at Brighton on the final day of the season. The performance at Brighton was imperfect but Ten Hag had been convinced by its merits as a way to combat Guardiola’s City, who had just sealed a fourth Premier League title in a row. Those wins also meant Ten Hag gained buy-in from the players over the unorthodox formation, which was akin to a compact 4-2-4 shape.
While Ten Hag was sure of his system, the major decision in the week of the final came in personnel. His first-choice defensive pairing Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were fit enough to start the match, while Mainoo, Fernandes and McTominay were certain starters. The quandary was whether to stick with Amrabat in holding midfield or restore the five-time Champions League winner Casemiro, who had deputised in central defence due to a spate of injuries.
As The Athletic revealed on the eve of the game, Ten Hag’s choice was bold; he set up in training for much of the week with Amrabat as a starter and Casemiro as a substitute. It was only on the day of the game, after the team sheets were originally handed in with Casemiro on the bench, that the Brazilian then withdrew, with the club and his representatives saying that the player had complained of tightness in his hamstring.
But make no mistake, Amrabat’s selection was tactical and it turned out to be a masterstroke against City, who Ten Hag described after the game as “the best team in the world.” The box midfield outnumbered City centrally, forcing them wide, with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho ready to spring forward to take advantage of space left by Guardiola’s advanced full-backs.
Other tweaks worked too. Assistant Steve McClaren, now responsible for set pieces since Eric Ramsay’s departure, chose Mainoo to mark Erling Haaland due to his strength, and was proven right when the teenager outmuscled the 6ft 4in striker at a late corner.
In the week leading up to the FA Cup final against Manchester City, Ten Hag found himself recalling this conversation as he searched for novel ways to inspire a performance from his team. The backdrop was a difficult season in which United finished the Premier League campaign in eighth position and were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage. The FA Cup final against Pep Guardiola’s imperious City represented an opportunity for redemption for his beleaguered side, and Ten Hag may have been hoping for a dose of salvation when it came to his position as manager of United.
And so Ten Hag became inventive. He asked United’s security staffer to record a video for his team, which was shown to the players at the Marriott Hotel in London in the lead-up to the final. The Dutchman was so moved by his colleague’s story that he reserved the video for his final team meeting with the squad before they left for Wembley on Saturday morning.
In the video, the United security officer explained how one day in Afghanistan, she became trapped in a village with her platoon. Outnumbered, nobody thought they had a chance of escaping the threat before them. But, she explained, they worked together, and many fought their way out. Sadly, however, a small number of her colleagues died along the way, but in representing their country, they had sacrificed their own lives to valiantly save villagers.
She was emotional as she spoke, and it represented powerful messaging that resonated strongly with United’s players; stick together, back each other up, stay on the front foot and fight to win. The video of the security personnel telling her story intermingled with images of United players winning duels during games, increasing the relevance to their own against-all-odds mission before them.
She was not present in the room when the video played, but an indication of the impact it had came after the game when the players learned that she had been guarding the directors’ box at Wembley during the final, where owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer were seated, as well as club legend Sir Alex Ferguson and the future King of the United Kingdom, Prince William. United’s players invited her down to the dressing room, where they thanked her for the video, with some telling her she had helped inspire them.
The video, of course, was only one part of Ten Hag’s strategy, which had in fact started 10 days before the final as he trialled a new tactical setup in United’s 3-2 victory against Newcastle United at Old Trafford. In doing so, he dropped Rasmus Hojlund, the club’s only fit recognised striker, to the substitutes’ bench, and stiffened up the centre of the pitch by playing Sofyan Amrabat alongside a more restrained Kobbie Mainoo, as well as Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay in flexible midfield roles that doubled up as false nines.
United won that game and then replicated the system for the 2-0 win at Brighton on the final day of the season. The performance at Brighton was imperfect but Ten Hag had been convinced by its merits as a way to combat Guardiola’s City, who had just sealed a fourth Premier League title in a row. Those wins also meant Ten Hag gained buy-in from the players over the unorthodox formation, which was akin to a compact 4-2-4 shape.
While Ten Hag was sure of his system, the major decision in the week of the final came in personnel. His first-choice defensive pairing Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were fit enough to start the match, while Mainoo, Fernandes and McTominay were certain starters. The quandary was whether to stick with Amrabat in holding midfield or restore the five-time Champions League winner Casemiro, who had deputised in central defence due to a spate of injuries.
As The Athletic revealed on the eve of the game, Ten Hag’s choice was bold; he set up in training for much of the week with Amrabat as a starter and Casemiro as a substitute. It was only on the day of the game, after the team sheets were originally handed in with Casemiro on the bench, that the Brazilian then withdrew, with the club and his representatives saying that the player had complained of tightness in his hamstring.
But make no mistake, Amrabat’s selection was tactical and it turned out to be a masterstroke against City, who Ten Hag described after the game as “the best team in the world.” The box midfield outnumbered City centrally, forcing them wide, with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho ready to spring forward to take advantage of space left by Guardiola’s advanced full-backs.
Other tweaks worked too. Assistant Steve McClaren, now responsible for set pieces since Eric Ramsay’s departure, chose Mainoo to mark Erling Haaland due to his strength, and was proven right when the teenager outmuscled the 6ft 4in striker at a late corner.
Our lord and savior Mike Phelan posted the video on Twitter. It got taken down rather quickly but a reddit user re-uploaded it and tried their best to polish the quality. I'm posting the reddit link as that's what we've got at the moment.
Reddit video link
