Erik ten Hag could have been making millions selling houses – instead he’s now guiding Manchester United’s hunt for silverware.
The Dutchman has transformed United in his opening season at Old Trafford and has already turned the team into Premier League title contenders.
Ten Hag has impressed since taking charge of United last summer
The Dutch boss started off his football career at Eredivisie outfit FC Twente
Ten Hag could claim United’s first trophy since 2017 on Sunday when they face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final, a match you can listen to live on talkSPORT.
But things could have worked out differently if he had followed his brothers Michel and Rico into their father’s real estate company.
Hennie ten Hag founded the company in 1967, with the BBC stating his siblings have become multi-millionaires from their empire.
After standing down from the company in 2007, Michel resumed the role as chairman where he works closely alongside Rico.
Ten Hag’s father had hoped Erik would join him into the business, but the ex-Ajax manager had no interest as he instead looked to forge a career in football.
Erik came through the ranks at Dutch side FC Twente, where he became a regular in the Under-18s at just 14.
Ten Hag retired from playing aged 32 in 2002
Ten Hag can win United first trophy since 2017 with the club to face Newcastle in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final
But Ten Hag was hit by multiple personal tragedies early in his career, with his close friend and Twente teammate Andy Scharmin killed in a plane crash aged 21 in 1989.
The talented left-back – tipped to become a Netherlands international – died when travelling to play in an exhibition match for Suriname along with 175 of the 187 people on board.
It is a tragedy that still affects Ten Hag 34 years later, who was given the honour of carrying Scharmin’s coffin at his funeral.
Speaking of his friend, Ten Hag said: “Andy Scharmin was an unimaginable athlete and my friend.
“I will never forget my team-mate Edwin Hilgerink standing on my doorstep to tell me that a plane had crashed with Andy and his mother on board.
“That was a huge blow. At his funeral I carried Andy’s coffin with other team-mates. It happened on June 7, 1989 – and every year on that date I have a day of mourning.”
Another one of his close pals – Gino Weber – took his own life aged 33, while friend Wilfried Elzinga had to cut short his promising career due to injury.
Further heartbreak struck when Ten Hag’s mentor and youth coach Epi Drost died during a friendly game aged 49 after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Commenting on the tragedies, he remarked: “I often think back to my youth at FC Twente. We had a really good group. Three boys from that team were so good that they could have made it to the national team.
GETTY9Elzinga saw his career halted by injury
GETTY9Elzinga (top left) and Ten Hag (third from the left, middle row) played together just 29 times from 1989 to 1997
“But one of them was seriously injured at a young age and two other boys died young. In Andy Scharmin, Wilfried Elzinga and Gino Weber we had three top talents.
“Gino was the best talent in the Netherlands at that time, an unparalleled football player with a mega technique who was completely two-footed.
“But he suffered a mental illness and took his own life. It puts everything into perspective. I certainly think about how things can go in life.
“Epi Drost was my idol. He became my coach at the FC Twente academy and he had a soft spot for me because I was by far the youngest in the squad.
Drost is an FC Twente legend and his passing had a huge impact on Ten Hag
“He was a fan of technical and adventurous football. He stimulated creativity, because that was the most important thing to him. Epi died suddenly due to a cardiac arrest during a match.
“That was a massive blow for me.”
Ten Hag’s modest career came to an end at Twente in 2002 aged 32 as he moved into coaching after believing he had nothing left to prove in the game.
A career in coaching was always in the forefront on his mind, with Ten Hag lending his expertise to Johan Cruyff when he was just 13 during an appearance on a television show in 1983.
A young Ten Hag once questioned Johan Cruyff on TV in 1983
Cruyff had asked the boys if a coach had ever yelled at them in training
Little did Barcelona and Ajax legend Cruyff know that the youngster would go on to become one of the most highly sought-after managers in the game.
After working closely alongside Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, Guardiola earned rave reviews in charge of Utrecht, before winning multiple trophies at Ajax.
And it is now United that are reaping the benefits of Ten Hag’s wonderful football mind, with fans confident he is the man to end their wait for a first top-flight title since 2013.
