Erik ten Hag’s spell at Bayer Leverkusen is over almost as quickly as it began. The Dutch coach was dismissed on Monday after just two months in charge, a shock move that follows a faltering start to the Bundesliga season.
The club announced the decision in a short statement, confirming: “Bayer 04 Leverkusen has parted ways with head coach Erik ten Hag with immediate effect. Training will be taken over by the assistant coaching staff for the time being.”
Ten Hag, 54, joined Leverkusen on 1 July with a two-year contract, stepping in after Xabi Alonso left for Real Madrid. Hopes were high that the former Ajax and Manchester United manager would bring order and discipline to a squad in transition.
A Short, Sour Chapter
The start was promising. Leverkusen cruised to a 4–0 win in the German Cup against Sonnenhof Großaspach. But their league form told another story. A 2–1 defeat to Hoffenheim was followed by a dramatic 3–3 draw against Werder Bremen.
That Bremen game, played just two days before his dismissal, sealed his fate. Leverkusen led 3–1 against a side reduced to 10 men, only to concede twice late on, including a stoppage-time equaliser. Fans jeered at the final whistle, and the mood inside the BayArena soured.
“The result was simply not worthy of Leverkusen’s ambitions,” one club official told The Guardian.
Fallout and Context
With just three matches under his belt, Ten Hag’s reign lasted 62 days, making him one of the shortest-serving managers in Bundesliga history, according to German outlet BILD.
His sacking also came in a week that saw two other former Manchester United bosses—José Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær—lose their jobs elsewhere in Europe.
Rogier Meijer, Ten Hag’s assistant, will take over training for now while the board considers longer-term options.
Familiar Problems
Critics point out that the problems Ten Hag faced in Leverkusen were not new. At Manchester United, he was often accused of being inflexible with tactics and struggling to control the dressing room.
Similar complaints surfaced in Germany. Reports from talkSPORT suggest Leverkusen’s hierarchy were frustrated with his game management, particularly his refusal to adjust when Bremen fought back with 10 men.
Supporters, too, were losing patience. Social media was awash with calls for change, while chants of discontent echoed in the stadium.
For Leverkusen, the priority is to steady the team before the season slips away. The club has ambitions to qualify for the Champions League and cannot afford more missteps in the coming weeks.
For Ten Hag, the future looks uncertain. His reputation, once built on his successful years at Ajax, has taken heavy knocks in both England and Germany. A return to top-level management in Europe may now be harder to come by.
His exit after such a brief spell is a reminder of football’s unforgiving nature. For Leverkusen, it is about regrouping quickly. For Ten Hag, it is about repairing a career that has stumbled twice in a single year.
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