Marc Overmars became convinced of Erik ten Hag during the match between Ajax and FC Utrecht in 2017 (1-2), he says in a double interview together with the coach in The Telegraph. Ajax released Ten Hag at FC Utrecht in January 2018 and since then the trainer and Overmars have formed a two-unit in Amsterdam. The question is how long the two will continue to work together.
“Then I thought: he will be my new Ajax trainer. We paid an extremely high lump sum for this. You do that for your number 1 choice”, Overmars says. Ten Hag, in turn, says that he only wanted to come to Ajax if Overmars would stay for at least a year and a half, because his feeling with the director of football affairs was good and he needed time to sharpen his vision. Overmars: “That also expressed confidence in me that Erik wanted to do it with me at Ajax.”
Within those eighteen months, Ajax reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and despite the great interest in both Overmars and Ten Hag, the two decided to express a commitment and remain loyal to Ajax. “At Ajax I have never had the feeling that this should be my springboard,” Ten Hag emphasizes. “Not at all! I want to be the best here and get the most out of our team – management, staff, scouting, youth academy. Putting myself in the spotlight, so that I can take a step, is not a goal.”
Overmars recently signed up in Amsterdam until mid-2026 and states that a new commitment can be expressed with Ten Hag just like that. “I’m glad Marc has extended his contract,” Ten Hag responds. “And rightly so, that so much confidence is expressed in him. It provides peace of mind and that is pleasant. Also for a trainer. Whether the road is wide open for my contract extension? I still have a contract for a year and a half, until mid-2023.”
“With their arrival in 2018, Dusan Tadic and Daley Blind gave the impulse to take the necessary step with Ajax. It is up to policy makers to anticipate the decline caused by their eventual departure. There must be replacements who can take over their role,” Ten Hag warns with a view to the coming years. He believes that the lifespan of Ajax’s team has been short in recent years and despite the fact that he understands the transfers, the trainer states that you cannot absorb those bloodletting if you want to continue to play a role in the Champions League. “You need such giants for that and they cannot be bought by Ajax.”