Man United hire Ten Hag as 5th manager in 9 years

MANCHESTER, April 21, (AP): Once a model of coaching stability in Alex Ferguson’s long trophyfilled tenure, Manchester United hired a fifth full-time manager in nine years since his retirement by bringing in Erik ten Hag from Ajax.

Ten Hag’s arrival was announced by United on Thursday, with the 52-year-old Dutchman joining at the end of the season to 2025. He is tasked with awakening a fallen superpowers in European soccer that are enduring their longest trophy drought in nearly 40 years.

“I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead,” ten Hag said. “I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve.”

Adopting the attacking philosophy of the great Johan Cruyff, ten Hag succeeded in bringing the good times back to Ajax, leading the biggest team in the Netherlands to two Eredivisie titles - it could be three in a few weeks - as well as the Champions League semifinals in entertaining style in 2019.

Returning United to their former heights is set to be an even bigger job, given the team won the last of their record 20 English titles in 2013 - Ferguson’s final season of his 26year reign - and haven’t won a trophy since beating Ajax in the Europa League final in 2017.