A biography for Erik ten Haghasn’t been written yet.
“Always it is a way of playing, in possession, so you give each other options, scanning the right moment to situation, taking the right decisions, go forward where it's possible, defending, be front foot, be aggressive. That means what is brave.”
“If you want to be in four competitions, you have to be so prepared and have so much energy with a good game plan.”
“I can't put any energy into whether I am judged fairly or not.”
“OK it is 11-v-11, and it is about attacking, defending, transition. But there is more: the approach to the game, the speed of the game, the intensity. The varieties in styles.”
“Football is about winning trophies.”
“For me, pressing is an important factor. If you want to have initiative in a game I think it's necessary.”
“As a team, act with togetherness, so have the same ideas in every situation. That means bravery.”
“What I always do after every game: I analyse the game, what went well, what went wrong, where can we improve, what do we have to improve, how we can train and we tell the players and show them how to improve to get solutions.”
“When you concede three goals in a top game you can't win.”
“Every time you have to swap your back four, it's difficult.”
“I want to build a team who are battling for each other, who are unified and who will get results.”
“To keep a game under control, to dominate an opponent, the pressing has to be right. It does not always have to be higher up the pitch. There will be moments when you can be lower, really low.”
“We are always playing for our future, that is as professional players.”
“What is important? Sleep, recovery, nutrition. Three key areas and when you don't do this right, you have a problem. You can't perform.”
“I demand the highest standards in sleep, recovery and nutrition because that makes the difference if you can perform every third or fourth day. That is the demand for every top player, so at Man United we are demanding the highest standards.”
“Top football it is always a test.”
“If you do that in a high block or in a low block, that is a tactic that can be both ways. I prefer to do it in a high way, in high pressing, but it will not always be the case. There's also situations, games that you are lower. But what I demand from my team is that they press.”
“A fanatical audience is nice to play before.”
“I am a fighter and I am in that fight and I have to make sure that I share the responsibility with my players and that we stick together and fight together, and get better results.”
“People love Man United - or they are against Man United. I like clubs like this. Ajax was like this. This job is the most difficult to do, but I want the challenge.”