Blind Backs ‘Control Freak’ Ten Hag to Deliver at Manchester United

02 November 2021, North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund: Then Ajax's head coach Erik ten Hag leads a training session for the team at at Signal Iduna Park ahead of a UEFA Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund. (dpa)
02 November 2021, North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund: Then Ajax's head coach Erik ten Hag leads a training session for the team at at Signal Iduna Park ahead of a UEFA Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund. (dpa)
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Blind Backs ‘Control Freak’ Ten Hag to Deliver at Manchester United

02 November 2021, North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund: Then Ajax's head coach Erik ten Hag leads a training session for the team at at Signal Iduna Park ahead of a UEFA Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund. (dpa)
02 November 2021, North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund: Then Ajax's head coach Erik ten Hag leads a training session for the team at at Signal Iduna Park ahead of a UEFA Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund. (dpa)

Ajax Amsterdam defender Daley Blind has described new Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag as a "control freak" and backed the Dutchman to bring success back to the club if given time and resources to establish his own playing style.

Blind, who spent four seasons at United before leaving for Ajax in 2018, won three Eredivisie titles and two domestic cups under Ten Hag.

"He's really social," the 32-year-old told https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/daley-blind-says-new-united-boss-erik-ten-hag-is-a-control-freak United's website. "I think, also in Ajax, he knows everyone at the club is important. Everyone needs to be involved to get that winning feeling, that winning mentality.

"He is aware of that and wants to keep everything close. He's also a control freak and wants to be on top of everything. I think that's a special quality you need to have when being that good."

Ten Hag takes over at Old Trafford following a woeful campaign under interim manager Ralf Rangnick, with the team finishing sixth in the Premier League and missing out on Champions League qualification.

United have not won a trophy since the Europa League in 2017 and while getting his hands on silverware will be important for Ten Hag he must first establish a clear playing style, said Blind.

"I know this manager has the quality and I hope he gets the time to put everything his way and makes sure the team plays how he wants," he added. "I am confident he will be successful."



Leipzig Turns to Former Assistant Zsolt Löw to Save Its Season

Bayern Munich's Assistant coach Zsolt Löw sits on the bench prior to the UEFA Champions League Group A football match FC Bayern Munich v Manchester United in Munich, southern Germany on September 20, 2023. (AFP)
Bayern Munich's Assistant coach Zsolt Löw sits on the bench prior to the UEFA Champions League Group A football match FC Bayern Munich v Manchester United in Munich, southern Germany on September 20, 2023. (AFP)
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Leipzig Turns to Former Assistant Zsolt Löw to Save Its Season

Bayern Munich's Assistant coach Zsolt Löw sits on the bench prior to the UEFA Champions League Group A football match FC Bayern Munich v Manchester United in Munich, southern Germany on September 20, 2023. (AFP)
Bayern Munich's Assistant coach Zsolt Löw sits on the bench prior to the UEFA Champions League Group A football match FC Bayern Munich v Manchester United in Munich, southern Germany on September 20, 2023. (AFP)

Leipzig is betting on Thomas Tuchel’s former assistant Zsolt Löw to save its season.

The 45-year-old Löw – no relation to former Germany coach Joachim Löw – was to take charge of his first training session as Leipzig’s interim coach on Monday, a day after the club fired Marco Rose.

The Hungarian coach has two days to prepare the team for its German Cup semifinal at Stuttgart on Wednesday, but his principal task will be to ensure Leipzig qualifies for the lucrative Champions League.

Despite losing all but one of the eight games it played in Europe’s premier competition this season, it’s likely to have been worth around 50 million euros ($54 million) plus matchday revenue to the Red Bull-owned club.

Leipzig is currently sixth in the Bundesliga, three points behind fourth-place Mainz, with seven rounds of the season remaining.

"The team now has a duty to turn things around together with Zsolt," Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schäfer said.

Löw is taking over a team that has failed to win any of its last eight away games and failed to score in the last five of those. Leipzig hasn’t won away from home since beating Holstein Kiel in December.

Stuttgart hasn’t won any of its last six games, home or away, but will be able to count on vociferous support on Wednesday.

Löw was previously assistant coach under Leipzig coaches Ralph Hasenhüttl and Ralf Rangnick, and then an assistant to Thomas Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich. He was last working as Red Bull’s "head of soccer development" under the energy drinks concern’s new global soccer chief, Jürgen Klopp.

Löw will need to develop under-performing players like Xavi Simons, Loïs Openda and Benjamin Šeško. Šeško and Openda are the team’s top scorers in the Bundesliga with three goals each. Simons only has one.

Löw will be in charge for at least eight games. His first will determine whether it’s nine with a German Cup final in Berlin.