SUMMARY
- In his second season for Manchester United, Erik ten Hag's playing career lacks the same spotlight as his managerial exploits.
- The Dutch player started as a center-back at FC Twente in the Netherlands.
Erik ten Hag is in his second season for Manchester United and while his managerial exploits are well documented, there is no spotlight on his playing career. The Dutch player primarily played as a center-back and started his career in the Netherlands with the FC Twente under-19 side.
He moved to the senior side of FC Twente in 1989 and made 16 appearances for the Dutch side in his first season at the club. The center-back often found himself outside the squad or on the bench, which prompted him to move to the second division of the Netherlands for De Graafschap in 1990.
The center-back spent two years at De Graafschap. In his first season, he earned promotion back to the first division by winning the Eerste Divisie title. It is unclear how many appearances the Dutch center-back made in the second tier of the Netherlands. Some records point at 37 appearances, but they aren’t reliable. However, in the 1991/92 season, Erik ten Hag made 17 appearances for De Graafschap.
In 1992, he returned to FC Twente for another two years and followed it with spells with clubs like RKC Waalwijk and FC Utrecht. The Dutch center-back moved around the Netherlands in the 1990s but found his home at FC Twente with 257 appearances for the Dutch side.
Throughout his career, Erik ten Hag made 25–30 appearances per season, with the 1997/98 season being his best with 33 appearances in Eredivisie. The Dutch center-back was a reliable figure for FC Twente at the back scored six goals and provided 11 assists during his time.
Erik ten Hag won only two trophies as a player
Erik ten Hag could have millions in the real estate business by following his father’s footsteps as the chairman of ‘Ten Hag Assurantie Adviseurs B.V.’ but chose to follow his passion in soccer. The Dutch center-back could also play at Right back, but his versatility wasn’t enough for him to earn a national call-up.
Erik ten Hag had a long playing career from 1989 to 2002 but has no major highlights to write about apart from two trophies that he won in his career. The first came when he won the second-tier league title with De Graafschap in the 1990/91 season.
A photo of Erik ten Hag during his playing days at FC Twente 😳🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/3asi39baQZ
— mufcmpb (@mufcMPB) October 21, 2022
The second title came ten years later when he won the KNVB Cup (the Netherlands equivalent of the FA Cup) with his boyhood club, FC Twente. He led his team as the captain of the side against the mighty PSV and won the cup on penalties.
His post-match interview went viral in 2023 when eagle-eyed fans noticed some shady behavior with the female interviewer. The Manchester United manager greeted the SBS reporter with three kisses on the cheeks before addressing the performance of his team. The online reaction wasn’t kind of the Manchester United manager at the time but the news didn’t snowball into anything bigger.
Erik ten Hag’s career playing career started and ended with FC Twente, but the Dutchman will always be remembered for his managerial career, which also started with FC Twente in 2002. As a manager, Erik ten Hag exceeded expectations by winning six titles in the Netherlands with Ajax before moving to Manchester United.