Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after just three games in charge. The Dutchman's tenure lasted only 62 days, making it one of the shortest managerial spells in modern football.
Ten Hag started with a 4-0 victory over fourth-tier Sonnenhof Grossaspach in the DFB Pokal. However, he suffered a 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim in his first Bundesliga match before surrendering a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with ten-man Werder Bremen on Saturday.
The club announced: "Bayer 04 has parted ways with head coach Erik ten Hag with immediate effect. The assistant coaching staff will temporarily take over training duties."
Management explains decision
Managing director Simon Rolfes said: "This decision was not an easy one for us. Nobody wanted to take this step." He added that recent weeks showed "building a new and successful team with this setup is not feasible."
The timing has drawn criticism from supporters, particularly given the club lost key players Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong during the summer transfer window. Ten Hag had replaced Xabi Alonso, who left for Real Madrid after successfully managing the club.
Dramatic collapse against Bremen
The final straw came against Werder Bremen, where Leverkusen led 3-1 before conceding a 94th-minute equaliser to ten men. Bremen had been reduced to ten players after Niklas Stark received a red card, making the collapse particularly damaging.
Ten Hag's dismissal marks a dramatic fall from his previous success at Ajax, where he reached the Champions League semi-finals, through his struggles at Manchester United until October 2024, to this brief and unsuccessful stint in the Bundesliga.
Sources used: "Metro", "GBNews", "Guardian", "Manchester Evening News", "Mirror", "Independent", "Standard"
Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
