Эрик тен Хаг, технический директор клуба «Твенте», встретил журналиста в Энсхеде после завершения рабочего дня на стадионе «Де Гролсх Весте». Специалист предложил подвезти гостя на своем автомобиле, так как поезд из Амстердама задержался. «"I pick you up at the station."», — сказал тен Хаг.

Тен Хаг приехал на серебристом «Рейндж Ровер» и пожал руку журналисту. «"They got married two weeks ago as a surprise,"», — добавил тен Хаг, улыбнувшись.

Два года прошло с тех пор, как тен Хаг ушел с поста главного тренера «Манчестер Юнайтед». Во время поездки через голландскую сельскую местность он рассказал историю места, через которое они ехали. «"The Germans were here in the Second World War, but also the English and Americans afterwards - they lived here on the base of the military airport,"», — сказал тен Хаг.

Из динамиков автомобиля играла песня «Небеса — это место на Земле» Белинды Карлайл из плейлиста 1980-х годов. «"In this period it was real music; now everything is computer,"», — добавил тен Хаг.

В 2000 году во время игры тен Хага за «Твенте» произошёл взрыв склада фейерверков, который снабжал поп-концерты. В результате взрыва погибли 23 человека, включая четырех пожарных. 950 человек получили ранения. Был разрушен 400 домов.

Тен Хаг отметил, что взрыв не попал в баллоны с пропаном на пивоваренном заводе «Гролш» на окраине города, иначе ущерб был бы еще больше. Базовый лагерь «Твенте» находился рядом с местом взрыва. Семьи и друзья игроков «Твенте» пострадали в результате взрыва.

Клуб «Твенте» приказал команде сыграть последний матч сезона на следующий день, выездной матч против «Фейеноорда». После матча тен Хаг дал интервью СМИ и раскритиковал руководство клуба. «"The leadership of the club were mad at me, but they had made the decision to play,"», — объяснил тен Хаг. «"Everyone is agreeing now: you can't play football when your city is burning."», — добавил тен Хаг.

Во время разговора в частном обеденном зале отеля тен Хаг открыто рассказал о ключевых аспектах своего времени на посту главного тренера «Манчестер Юнайтед» и своей карьеры после этого. «"Wout did well for us; what he took out of his career is amazing,"», — сказал тен Хаг. «"Like Marcel Sabitzer. We got success, winning the League Cup, third position; we were a team because they worked hard. Wout was one of the reasons Rashford was so important."», — добавил тен Хаг. «"The team was not consistent,"», — продолжил тен Хаг. «"On our good day we could match the best teams in the league, in the world, I would even say. On the worst day, we sat below the bottom. And then in Liverpool, obviously, we went below the bottom, also mentality-wise. It was the next Premier League game after we won the League Cup. We were on the high; we went up there, maybe we were too confident, and we got punished. Every attack was a goal."», — сказал тен Хаг. «"The team couldn't play without two players,"», — отметил тен Хаг. «"Licha was so important for us to play from the back, but also the winning mentality, winning duels. And Bruno. In that game (first leg), at 2-0 up, I decided to sub Bruno, 30 minutes from time, and then Lisandro broke his foot."», — добавил тен Хаг. «"I think it was good for the team, the best solution, and for him it was good as well. Obviously he has some pros and cons, but he has great game understanding, he's a top professional, and he always gives his best; lifestyle good. Every day, he goes to the limit; he's driving it."», — прокомментировал тен Хаг. «"Sometimes he's getting emotional, but he's a winner."», — сказал тен Хаг. «"I gave him some freedom in the game plan. I think I'm always quite self-critical and reflective. I have to say I can't see a game where the players didn't want to transfer the game plan onto the pitch. They were always trying because I think they believed in what we did."», — добавил тен Хаг. «"The tour was so much expectation on the players,"», — отметил тен Хаг. «"We got exhausted from all the kilometres. We started in New York, we played in Houston, we played in Vegas, went back, we gave them a couple of days off, and then we didn't train proper tactical and physical work for 10 days because they were totally killed… We were never fit."», — сказал тен Хаг. «"The first time I saw him, playing for the second team, I thought, 'OK, he's an amazing talent'. But he was too easy. I saw that we needed him to get in a higher intensity. We started to bring him in drills where we challenged him on dynamics."», — добавил тен Хаг. «" of his career, adding: "», — прокомментировал тен Хаг. «" Ten Hag laughs. He gets sent all the quotes from players criticising his regime, but this is one that hasn't been passed on to him. "», — сказал тен Хаг. «" United's injuries continued that season, though, and results suffered. Ten Hag picked 13 different centre-back combinations and changed his back four 29 times. "», — добавил тен Хаг. «"But I know at the top, it's about the result."», — отметил тен Хаг. «"Expectations at United are so huge, everyone is expecting the team to win the league every year. But be fair, United at that time, and also definitely two years after, are not able to win the league. "», — сказал тен Хаг. «" In October 2024, United's executives decided Ten Hag was not the man to lead them to a title challenge. The writing appeared on the wall after his job was so publicly at risk around the FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City five months earlier. But he insists his maverick choice to start Mazraoui at No 10 at Fenerbahce in his penultimate game was not a last roll of the dice, but rather a selection Jose Mourinho would not predict. "», — добавил тен Хаг. «" says Ten Hag, chuckling about news leaking from United's training ground. "», — прокомментировал тен Хаг. «" Ten Hag started loanee Sofyan Amrabat in the FA Cup final against Manchester City, instead of Casemiro, to get more coverage in midfield. United then bought Manuel Ugarte that summer but Ten Hag thinks he could have instead kept Scott McTominay and saved money on Amrabat. He says: "», — сказал тен Хаг. «" Ten Hag was scrutinised by pundits for his call in Istanbul, and for much else in his tenure, but he has a sanguine response to a question about the impact on United of the host of former players giving their views as pundits. Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt all regularly pass comment, occasionally sharply, on their YouTube shows as well as more mainstream channels. "», — добавил тен Хаг. «"I have to say, I had a very good relationship with them all, with Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand. I did nice interviews with them both, so it didn't hurt me. Of course, they have podcasts, they have their models. Sometimes it's difficult for players. Some of them get affected by it, get annoyed by it. "», — отметил тен Хаг. «"There came up a problem because Sancho didn't want to play on the right side; he said that,"», — сказал тен Хаг. «"Which was very weird; he played often on the right. He said he felt more comfortable on the left. So there we had an issue, and we were late."», — добавил тен Хаг. «"I see on performances and profiles what is needed for the game,"», — прокомментировал тен Хаг. «"Not on emotion, if I like a player or dislike a player, or if I trained him before, or if I bought him or the club bought him, no, I can be acting very professional, I would say."», — сказал тен Хаг. «"It's a very strange story,"», — добавил тен Хаг. «"They ended an era with Alonso, so all the players wanted to go. We fought for some and they were not committed anymore. So it was waiting until September 1. The good players signed in the last couple of days. I never worked with them. Three games and then we parted ways."», — отметил тен Хаг. «"I regret where he is now,"», — сказал тен Хаг. «"I told him, 'Come to Leverkusen'. But luckily he didn't. He wanted to stay in England. I understand, the best league, so he denied."», — добавил тен Хаг. «"He's a character, you have to manage him, but I had a strong connection with him,"», — прокомментировал тен Хаг. «"But it's also up to him, of course, but he needs a coach, a particular coach, who will give him trust, who will give him love. He needs the love, definitely. But he's an amazing player. What's so special about him is he can run all day, high volume at really high speed, all game, back and forward. "», — сказал тен Хаг. «" Ten Hag laughs. "», — добавил тен Хаг. «" Ten Hag pulls out his laptop to show FC Twente's plans and data analysis. There is an image that depicts the team as a boat going downstream, passing by landmarks they need to hit. He also has pages of detailed statistical analysis, which he uses for recruitment. "», — отметил тен Хаг. «"Technical ability, for me, is most important. Second is game intelligence and cognition. Third, you need athleticism, then lifestyle. Determination. Resilience and robustness to play every third day. And then we want to be always offensive. "», — сказал тен Хаг. «"I use this every day, so it should not be a document in a drawer. That is winning culture, if we match what we described. We use a lot of data to see new signings match our style of play."», — добавил тен Хаг. «"Data changed the whole world, and now it's coming, AI, and every organisation has to take this on board. I think United miss some aspects. The moment I came in, they were starting. For instance, data was already a long time on board at Ajax."», — прокомментировал тен Хаг. «"A manager should get, by the end, all the information,"», — сказал тен Хаг. «"You need others in a club to collect all the information and make everything ready to make final decisions. Top organisations innovate continually and they're actually driving the innovations. "», — добавил тен Хаг. «"I agree you need more than one voice,"», — отметил тен Хаг. «"Selections and game plan, definitely the manager, the head coach. Culture, then it's probably more the technical director. Financial issues, then the CEO has to step forward."», — сказал тен Хаг. «"He made the assist for Marco van Basten in the 1988 Euro final,"», — добавил тен Хаг.

В январе 2023 года тен Хаг искал замену Криштиану Роналду на позиции центрального нападающего. Тен Хаг использовал свои нидерландские связи, чтобы взять в аренду Ваута Вегхорста из «Бернли». Тен Хаг до сих пор считает, что работа Ваута Вегхорста без мяча была одним из факторов, способствовавших тому, что Маркус Рашфорд забил 30 голов в том сезоне.

Отель «Рос ван Твенте» тен Хаг владеет совместно со своими братьями Мишелом и Рико, а также Джоном Бергхааном и Анитой Старренбелд, которые управляют им. Энсхеде находится на востоке Нидерландов. «Твенте» играет на стадионе «Де Гролсх Весте» в Энсхеде, Нидерланды.