I should also point out that it's extremely difficult to exert zonal, positional control in a vertical axis in the Champions League against some of the best teams in the world, whilst being hampered financially in comparison. You then have to rely on developing players, and having a play-style that will help you bridge the gap against the biggest clubs in Europe. And he did that with aplomb playing a brand of football that was both attractive as well as flexible in dealing with the ever changing circumstances in-game. But you can only do so much when you have several players in your team who have very little experience in closing games out which I'll come to later.
I never said there was anything wrong with being pragmatic and ten Hag isn't Pep as far as being wedded to a particular way of playing the game. ETH is actually even more vertical in his approach and isn't wedded to the Juego de Posicion (positional play) principles. ETH has even setup to counter attack in the past due to being realistic about the hand he's been dealt with in comparison to the biggest clubs in Europe, which speaks volumes about him being pragmatic if needs arise. It's not me twisting things but your own naivety and ignorance in making the comparison with Pep, which doesn't make sense, when put to scrutiny. Because ETH is his own man and has combined different football cultures to tweak his approach.
Playing out from the back and having players who dictate the game isn't anything special or to write home about. There's plenty of managers who play out from the back and have players who can dictate games. But can they do all that whilst dominating both offensive and defensive transitions against the best teams in Europe in a compact high block, compact mid block or compact low block? EtH does all this which proves he's pragmatic and realistic due to the hand he's dealt with in comparison to teams from England and other major European leagues. But what's even more special about him is he does the above whilst maintaining a strong zonal and positional game, which provides top level structural play.
I don't know about you or Pochettino's Mother Ama-donut, but I'd like to see a head Coach appointed who has the ability to coach a broad spectrum of skills from back to front with and with out the ball in a imposing manner, whilst also being realistic and flexible in his approach to the game. And ten Hag as he's demonstrated in the Champions league has shown the ability to coach a brand of football that is imposing in a compact high block or lethal on the turn over in a low or mid block with out sacrificing his core principles and morphing into Sam Allardyce.
What cost Ajax a place in the UCL final against Spurs after being 3-0 up on aggregate with 35 minutes to go, was a lack of experience and know how in how to see out a game. Both Blind and de Ligt were vulnerable against the high ball and Spurs brought on Llorente as the target man and were playing direct to him and he caused both Ajax's home grown players problems and it was his knock down that fell to Lucas Moura that won it deep into injury time. Ajax at the time were defending in a low block and ten Hag's options were limited because the players he brought on (Lisandro Magallán) is currently on loan in the Belgian league at 28 years old and Veltman is at Brighton. EtH didn't have the finances of Spurs because if Ajax did have those finances, then Eriksen, Vertonghen and Alderweireld who were players that benefitted Pochettino and were developed by Ajax, would've been options for ten Hag.
I said at the time that Ajax going out would hand Liverpool the UCL title and Spurs surrendering meekly to Liverpool is exactly what happened. Klopp wasn't handicapped like EtH and had players like Van Dijk and Matip who could comfortably handle players like Harry Kane or Llorente both on the ground and in the air.
Also you bring up Klopp and Pep as coaches who had the pleasure of having the assurance of unprecedented success before they arrived in England. And I agree both were/are excellent coaches but that doesn't mean we should hold ten Hag's nationality against him because he was born in the Netherlands and not Spain or Germany who both have league competitions and finances that allow a coach to better develop at a higher level potentially due to the finances and the quality of league. It's a very narrow minded way of looking at things.
Last edited:
