Erik ten Hag is seldom listed among Pep Guardiola’s direct disciples. He lacks the inextricable link that the Manchester City manager forged with Xavi at Barcelona or the side-by-side working relationship the Catalan shared with Mikel Arteta at the Etihad Stadium. Nevertheless, the Manchester United manager does have experience of working with Guardiola. Ten Hag was the head coach of Bayern Munich reserves while Pep managed the first team. The former Ajax boss was in situ between 2013 and 2015, when he took over at Utrecht.
Ten Hag has credited Guardiola with helping him from a tactical perspective when they were both employed by the Bundesliga club. It is true that Pep would likely find much to admire in the style of Ten Hag, were it not being carried out by City’s local rivals. But there is more Ten Hag can and should learn from the five-time Premier League winner. Ahead of the two managers meeting in the FA Cup final, here are four lessons Ten Hag could take from Guardiola.
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You Don’t Have To Keep The Faith In Your Keeper
One of the first and most well-publicised changes Guardiola made when taking over at City was replacing goalkeeper Joe Hart. The England custodian had been a vital part of two Premier League title wins and was viewed as one of the best in the league in his position. Yet Guardiola didn’t hesitate in replacing the Englishman with Claudio Bravo before settling on Ederson. The manager wanted a passing-oriented goalkeeper and was not swayed by Hart’s shot-stopping qualities.
David De Gea has just picked up the Premier League Golden Glove for most clean sheets in a season. Yet his distribution has often limited United, with Ten Hag being forced to compromise on his early plans to play it long. The Red Devils boss would do well to take a leaf from Guardiola’s book and bring in a sweeper-keeper type, despite De Gea’s heroics.
Demand 100% Commitment No Matter How Good The Player Is
Joao Cancelo spent the second half of the season on-loan at Bayern Munich. The full-back now looks set to leave the Etihad permanently this summer. This despite being a player who was once synonymous with Guardiola’s City, a malleable defender-cum-midfielder who could shift focus on a whim, he is being cut loose. This came about after rumours of disagreements with Guardiola behind the scenes.
This is one that Ten Hag has already shown signs of grasping. Cristiano Ronaldo was shipped out with a second thought for his reputation after publicly targeting the manager. But it’s one thing to cut your losses on a player nearing the age of 40. Ten Hag must prove he can hold firm if a player in their prime starts to deviate from the script. We’ve seen Ten Hag handle divas in their dotage, but what if Marcus Rashford or Bruno Fernandes were to show insolence? How he handles that could define the Ten Hag era.
Find Your Erling Haaland...
Easier said than done and this isn’t meant literally. But while City acquiring the best centre forward on the planet has added 36 league goals to an already formidable side. United meanwhile have relied heavily on Marcus Rashford’s goals from out wide, while centre forwards Anthony Martial and Wout Weghorst have offered very little.
The key for United might come in signing a player City themselves pursued heavily two years ago. Guardiola was keen on a deal for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and a £100 million bid nearly prised him away from north London. Kane ended up staying and now he’s being linked with an Old Trafford move. Ten Hag should learn from Guardiola and integrate a traditional centre forward to pick up his side’s scoring slack.
…But Don’t Pursue Targets Too Hard
City know when to quit when it comes to vying for a signing. Sometimes that has even allowed Manchester United to gazump them. The Cityzens wanted Harry Maguire but baulked at the £80 million fee that is commonly weaponised against the defender. They also pursued moves Alexis Sanchez and Fred, another two players where they were quoted more than they were willing to pay in either fees or wages and looked elsewhere. All three struggled to some degree at Old Trafford, partly under the weight of what they were being paid or had been paid for them.
United will be shopping this summer as Ten Hag looks to strengthen in a few key positions. But the key is to avoid the mistakes of the past and not overpay for players who don’t warrant their fee. City know when to quit when it comes to a drawn-out transfer saga. The endless Frenkie de Jong drama last summer shows United haven’t quite grasped this element yet.
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