Bayer Leverkusen have dismissed Erik ten Hag just two Bundesliga games into his reign. This makes him the Dutchman the earliest coach ever sacked in a league season.
The 55-year-old, fired by Manchester United last October, was appointed in July as successor to Xabi Alonso, who left for Real Madrid after guiding Leverkusen to an unbeaten domestic double in 2023/24.
“This decision was not easy for us. Nobody wanted to take this step,” sporting director Simon Rolfes said in a club statement. “The past few weeks have shown that the steps to build a new and successful team have not been effective.” CEO Fernando Carro added that the move was “painful, but necessary.”
Ten Hag’s brief tenure included a 5-1 friendly defeat to Flamengo’s under-20s, a routine 4-0 German Cup win, and just one point from two Bundesliga fixtures. Leverkusen squandered leads in both matches, losing 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim and drawing 3-3 with 10-man Werder Bremen after being 3-1 up.
He inherited a squad that had been gutted in the summer, with Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka, Jonathan Tah, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, and Lukas Hradecky all departing. In their place, Leverkusen invested more than €100m in new talent, including record signings Malik Tillman, Jarell Quansah, and Eliesse Ben Seghir.
For now, the club has confirmed that assistant coaches will take charge of training while a permanent replacement is sought.
Ten Hag. leaves with the unwanted record of being the earliest coach dismissed in Bundesliga history, surpassing the previous mark of five games.
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