Dutch media outlet NOS discussed Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s affinity for Eredivisie players on August 17, suggesting he could be following in the footsteps of Louis van Gaal.
In the late 1990s, while at the helm of Barcelona, Van Gaal went on a spree of signing Dutch players, aiming to replicate the success of his Ajax team in Barcelona, bringing in eight Dutch and one Finnish player.
Dutch legend Wim van der Laan said: “History is repeating itself under Ten Hag. He has signed six former players at United, including Lisandro Martinez, Antony, Andre Onana, Sofyan Amrabat, Denzel Dumfries and Jurrien Timber. Antony, whom United paid €95 million for, has been struggling in the Premier League.”
Van der Laan also spoke about the return of Ruud van Nistelrooy as a coach: “Bringing back Van Nistelrooy was a wise move, of course, he is still only an assistant coach, so he can’t do anything wrong yet.”
Van der Laan commented on why Eredivisie players struggle to succeed in the Premier League and La Liga: “La Liga and the Premier League are totally different from the Dutch league. The intensity is much higher in these two leagues, making it much harder to adapt. It’s much harder for Eredivisie players to adapt here.”
Former Ajax coach Frank de Boer, when asked about Ten Hag assembling his Dutch contingent, said: “Ten Hag attracts foreign players like Antony, Onana and Lisandro Martinez, who all came from Ajax. I think that’s a big advantage for him.”
De Boer reminisced about the Dutch contingent at Barcelona: “At Barcelona, Dutch became the second language in the dressing room. Van Gaal advised us to learn and use Spanish so that we wouldn’t become a clique and could ease relations with our other teammates, but achieving this was difficult. I think it’s very important for players to integrate into the club’s culture. Spanish players have a deep understanding of the history and culture of Real Madrid and Barcelona, allowing them to interact with the fans on a deeper level. In our playing days, we didn’t do a good job of this, and the Dutch contingent did overdo it somewhat.”
Despite the internal conflicts, Barcelona still won the La Liga and Copa del Rey double in the 1997-98 season. However, Barcelona underperformed in the Champions League, failing to advance from the group stage in the two subsequent seasons. De Boer added: “When the team performs poorly, people dig into the reasons. At Barcelona at the time, people blamed the team’s poor performance on too many Dutch players. Ten Hag’s use of the Dutch contingent is a double-edged sword. If the team does well, everything is fine; but if United performs poorly, you’ll hear questions about those Dutch players.”
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