Nacer Barazite has had several clubs and trainers in his active career. The thirty-year-old attacker of the Thai Buriram United puts Erik ten Hag at the top of his list of favorite trainers. Barazite has very good memories of the collaboration with the current Ajax coach, which he experienced at FC Utrecht between 2015 and 2017.

“You learn something from every trainer, but I can say that I developed the best under Ten Hag”, Barazite concludes in an extensive interview with Football International. The routine was always kept on his toes by Ten Hag, although this also had its drawbacks. “Sometimes he went too far. For example, it can work quite well to change me or put me on the bench. But if that happens too often, it can also backfire for me. At the end of FC Utrecht came. I end up on the couch for example. “

“At one point during a walk through the forest, he indicated that he liked having such a weapon at hand. But of course I wanted to start and make a difference from the start”, says the former attacker of Arsenal and AS Monaco, among others. Nevertheless, Ten Hag was a revelation for Barazite, especially in the tactical field. “I was never occupied with the tactical part before. I was always very bad at tactical explanation on such a board. I just wanted to play football. Under Ten Hag I played at ‘ten’. Many people thought that I would not. because I wouldn’t do my defensive duties, but he was really convinced I could. ”

It is true that Ten Hag’s experiment got off to a bad start. “The first match in that position against PEC Zwolle was a drama, because I had not yet mastered the defensive part. Ten Hag kept faith and eventually I also got better in the defensive aspect.” Barazite soon made progress in his new position. “Under him I was serious about the tactical part, the way of free running and going deep. In the past I actually only did something from the first whistle. Under Ten Hag I was more conscious about my profession. . ” Ten Hag is therefore above coaches such as Arsène Wenger and Claudio Ranieri, with whom he also worked. “If I have to choose one of my trainers, Ten Hag was the best among whom I have worked.”