Erik ten Hag Could Return to Ajax
Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag could be on his way back to Ajax next season, according to statements by the club’s technical director, Alex Kroes.
Ten Hag has been without a team since his dismissal in October. Kroes revealed to Dutch television NOS that Ten Hag is a candidate to replace Francesco Farioli, who resigned from Ajax on Monday.
“Erik ten Hag has been on the list for a long time. He is very well known, he did a fantastic job when he was here. I spoke briefly with him on Sunday. He was at the Arena as a spectator,” Kroes stated.
Alex Kroes, Ajax Technical Director
Ten Hag was present at the last match of the Dutch league season of Ajax against FC Twente on Sunday. The team won 2-0, but failed to snatch the title from PSV Eindhoven.
Ten Hag, 55, managed Ajax from 2018 to 2022, winning three league titles and leading the club to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
Farioli resigned on Monday, but had already decided to leave after a dramatic draw in his penultimate match against Groningen the previous Wednesday, when Ajax let slip a 2-1 lead in stoppage time, effectively ceding the top spot in the table to PSV.
“Francesco sent me a text message from the bus that night: ‘let’s sit together tomorrow’,” Kroes said. “Then he said he had serious doubts about whether he should continue.”
Farioli explained that the Ajax board of directors and he disagreed on how to proceed next year after Ajax squandered a nine-point lead with five games remaining in the season.
“My decision has nothing to do with the fight for the title. But I feel this is the best option, especially for the club,” insisted Farioli.
Francesco Farioli
“I only stopped crying a few minutes ago,” Farioli told Dutch television on Monday.
“I informed the players this morning. It was a very emotional day. I didn’t expect to cry for seven or eight hours straight. With everyone, with all the players, with the coaching staff, the medical staff, the kitchen chefs.”
“The path Ajax is taking now would also fit perfectly with my career, with Champions League football next season and high expectations regarding the championship,” he added.
“I wanted to tackle those goals, but I also have to be honest with myself. I think some steps need to be taken very quickly. We differed in opinion on that and I didn’t feel those differences could be bridged.”
