Prior to Erik ten Hag’s arrival as manager in 2015, FC Utrecht were too good to be threatened by the bottom of the table, but not quite good enough to challenge the upper ends and make a push for a European place.
Ten Hag was brought in to change that. As with his previous jobs, things were switched around: the dugouts were moved closer to the pitch, offices redesigned for greater transparency and players were given more freedom.
He also moved into an apartment close to the club’s stadium, and his silhouette was often visible at night when he was working. With a mid-range budget that arguably wasn’t enough to compete with the Eredivisie’s best, Ten Hag would use his tactical acumen to get the best out of his squad and propel the club.
Given a talented group that included the likes of Sebastien Haller, Richairo Zivkovic and Nacer Barazite, amongst others, and mixing them with gifted youth academy graduates Bart Ramselaar and Giovanni Troupee, his tactical flexibility and man-management were evident.
Ten Hag implemented some big changes to improve the team. Willem Janssen, the team’s captain who was previously an attacking midfielder, was converted into a centre-half to make way for others such as Yassin Ayoub and Sofyan Amrabat higher up the pitch.
Utrecht often played with a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield and it was Ayoub working in both boxes. They played down the middle, rarely using the wings and maintaining a narrower structure, with forwards Haller and Zivkovic frequently moving wide to receive the ball if needed.
Ten Hag’s Utrecht (playing in black) in the Dutch cup final of 2016. pic.twitter.com/QEHQS5HQFY
— Erik Elias (@erikelias_) April 12, 2022
The first season was a great success as Utrecht finished fifth (missing out on Europa League qualification in the play-offs), as well as runners-up in the KNVB Cup, where they lost 2-1 to Feyenoord. For a club that were quite unstable in the league, this was a positive return. He even…
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