Coach Ten Hag was suddenly fired after only 3 matches.

(Dan Tri) - Leverkusen Club has decided to part ways with coach Erik ten Hag after only 3 official matches in the new season.

Ten Hag was appointed by Leverkusen in May to replace Xabi Alonso. The Dutchman signed a two-year contract with the German club. However, a poor start to the season saw the former Man Utd manager leave the Bundesliga champions early.

Leverkusen coach was fired after only 3 matches at Leverkusen (Photo: ESPN).

Leverkusen lost their opening home game to Hoffenheim, then drew 3-3 with Werder Bremen last weekend. Between the two Bundesliga games, their only win was in the first round of the German Cup against German fourth-tier opponents SG Sonnenhof.

The decision to dismiss was made by the club's shareholders' committee after consulting with the board of directors.

Last summer, Leverkusen experienced many changes when a series of key players such as Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Amine Adli, Odilon Kossounou, Granit Xhaka, Lukas Hradecky and Jonathan Tah all left the team.

To rebuild the squad, the club spent about 170 million euros to bring in Malik Tillman, Jarell Quansah, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Loïc Badé, Ibrahim Maza, Mark Flekken and Ernest Poku.

Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said: “This was a difficult decision. Nobody wanted this. But the past weeks have shown that it is not possible to build a new and successful team with the current model. We believe in the quality of the team and will do our best to move forward with a new arrangement.”

Ten Hag was in charge of Man United from 2022 to 2024 before replacing Alonso, who moved to Real Madrid this summer. Under Alonso, Leverkusen were very successful, winning the Bundesliga title in 2023/24 and finishing runners-up in the league last season.

Leverkusen's board of directors do not believe coach Ten Hag can help the club succeed (Photo: Getty).

However, Ten Hag's defensive style of play proved unsuitable for a team accustomed to attacking fire. A source told ESPN that Leverkusen's board wanted to act quickly before the situation worsened.

The instability was even more evident after the draw with Bremen last weekend. Leverkusen lost a two-goal lead. Captain Robert Andrich could not hide his disappointment: “On the pitch, everyone plays for themselves. There are too many players who only care about themselves. I don’t know if I have ever seen that in Leverkusen. The final stages of the game really reflected our current situation.”

CEO Fernando Carro also admitted that the decision to part ways with Ten Hag was regrettable: “It was painful to part ways with a coach so early in the season, but we felt it was necessary. The club remains steadfast in its objectives and to achieve that, we need to create the best conditions for the whole team. Now is the time to re-implement those conditions thoroughly.”

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-ten-hag-dot-ngot-bi-sa-thai-chi-sau-3-tran-20250901192440246.htm