Guardiola 'problem', telling nickname - Inside Erik ten Hag’s Bayern Munich spell as return 'eyed'

Reports over the future of Erik ten Hag at Manchester United continue to swirl as the end of the Premier League season approaches.

The arrival of new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already seen a lot of change behind the scenes at Old Trafford. It has led to suggestions that there could also be a change in the managerial seat ahead of the 2024/25 campaign after what has been a disappointing season.

MEN Sport understands that new United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is unconvinced by Ten Hag, with his Ineos Group having analysed potential replacements, including Brighton coach Roberto de Zerbi. Latest reports in Germany suggest that current Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has been contacted and would be interested in the job should it become available, but his full concentration is currently on the Champions League clash vs Real Madrid.

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Tuchel is due to leave Bayern this summer, with the report also claiming that the possibility of replacing him with Ten Hag is being discussed by the Bundesliga side. If any of the reports come to fruition then it would be a sort of reunion for Ten Hag.

His early coaching career saw him spend some time at the German outfit. Ten Hag spent two years in charge of the reserve side at Bayern Munich between 2013 and 2015 before leaving to join FC Utrecht as manager.

While it was his time in charge of Ajax where he really made his name in the world of football management, it was his time at Bayern where a lot of his development took place.

"It was great for me, yes. I really enjoyed it here and I liked the mentality from Bayern," Ten Hag said of his time at the club in a press conference ahead of the Champions League clash between the sides in September last year.

"The region as well, but especially the club. We had great years, the first year especially we were champions and we were unlucky not to be promoted, I never forget that. But it was a great experience to have as a coach and a manager. For me, it was a very good experience to be here and it was enjoyable."

Ten Hag’s appointment as manager of Bayern Munich II came at the same time that Pep Guardiola arrived to take charge of the first team. The job saw Ten Hag walk away from first-team management with Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles, but gave him the opportunity to learn from the best.

"That time was enormously valuable for me," he told Sport Bild back in 2018. "I remember it well. Many people in Holland shook their heads when I left the Eredivisie for the Regionalliga [the local division in Bavaria].

"I never regretted the decision. Working for a club as big as Bayern with such formative personalities as Pep Guardiola and also Matthias Sammer was like winning the lottery."

Now Manchester rivals, Ten Hag and Guardiola worked closely together during their time at the club. The now United manager was allowed to take training sessions for some of Bayern’s senior players during the international break.

Steve McClaren, who now works with Ten Hag at United revealed to the Telegraph in 2022, how the Dutchman was known as ‘mini Pep’ during his time at the Allianz Arena. "He worked with Pep [Guardiola] at Bayern Munich and took in his philosophy too," he said.

"They called him ‘Mini Pep’ out there. He’s ready. A lot of top clubs in Germany and England will be out to get him."

Speaking to author Maaran Maijer for his book Ten Hag: The Biography, the United manager outlined how he looks up to Guardiola. It was as an observer during his time at Bayern where he picked up some tips.

"I do not want to compare myself to Guardiola, his list of honours is unparalleled. But Guardiola certainly inspired me," he said.

"Every coach wants to play attacking football like his teams do. Adventurous, fast, dynamic, technically excellent and with so much joy. Every coach who likes attractive football strives for that. Of course, I regularly talked with him about that. But most of all, I watched very carefully. His training sessions are a joy to watch."

He added: "I was able to experience his approach up close, and I learned a lot from that. Guardiola stands for dominant and attractive football, a way of playing that appeals to me. I remember how Pep practised moving in with the full-backs."

While it was a time where Ten Hag took in a lot from a learning perspective, there were also some struggles in the reality of managing a second team and the preparation that comes with that. Bayern Munich II goalkeeper Karan Tejwani outlined them in the book Glorious Reinvention.

"Both [Guardiola and Ten Hag] want to have their success, and there was a time where it seemed difficult for Ten Hag to coach the second team," he said.

"This was because the second team sometimes had to give players to the first team or some player from the first team would drop down to the second team and then he had to integrate them, possibly even just one day before a match.

"You could feel that there were sometimes problems with it because he’d make his plans and would want to execute it in a certain way, but that may not have always been possible."

Ten Hag wouldn’t run into the same problem this time around if he was to swap United for Bayern in the summer.