Former Ajax coach Winston Bogarde has admitted he was shocked to be sacked by Ajax when Erik ten Hag left for Manchester United this summer.
Ten Hag moved to Manchester United as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s permanent replacement earlier this year following Ralf Rangnick’s stint as caretaker manager.
It brought an end to a five year stay with Ajax, where he had guided them to domestic success and impressed in the Champions League, despite a near yearly rebuilding of the squad.
As well as taking Ajax stars Antony and Lisandro Martinez with him to Old Trafford, several of his staff also joined him in making the move as the Dutchman looked to surround himself with his own team.
Bogarde was not one of those he wanted with him, the former Chelsea defender having been an assistant to Ten Hag after working his way up through the club’s ranks since 2015.
He instead remained with Ajax but was dismissed from his position not long after Ten Hag joined Manchester United, a decision he was surprised by.
“I didn’t see it coming, no,” Voetbal Primeur report him saying to RTL.
“After Erik left, they decided to change the whole staff and that included my departure. Very unfortunate because I would have liked to continue.
“The past two years we were working on the residual defence every day. The distances between the midfielders and the defenders, for example, just had to be right.
“You really don’t see any of that now. Those are just understandings you have to keep.”
