Revealed: Man Utd legend Stam wants return with Ten Hag's coaching team
Karan Tejwani
- 12 Sept 2022 08:55 BST
- 3 min read
Jaap Stam has kept the door open for a return to Manchester United, this time in a coaching capacity, as part of Erik ten Hag’s backroom staff at the club.
The former defender was linked with a return earlier in the summer when Ten Hag was new to the club, but a move never materialized and Stam remains without a club.
Ten Hag has been hiring some experienced names such as Steve McClaren and Benni McCarthy, while Mitchell van der Gaag, who worked with him at Ajax, has also taken up a position.
Now, Stam wants to return as a defensive coach, having been a star defender for the Red Devils during Alex Ferguson’s most successful years at Old Trafford.
Related articles
Stam open to Man Utd return
Speaking to Tribal Football, Stam spoke about his admiration for Manchester United, but was never called for a role at the club: “I never spoke to United - no one called me for any reason.
“But that’s how it is in football. When a new coach arrives, he invites his people who he knows and trusts and who can help him in certain ways.
“But like I said before, United is the club I love. I grew there as a person and as a player, they made me stronger, they made me who I am now.
“I have made history with this club and if they need me, if I can help them in any way, I am always at their service,” he concluded.
Stam’s coaching career began with PEC Zwolle immediately after his retirement after he played at Ajax, but that was only in a caretaker capacity.
He then joined Frank de Boer’s staff at Ajax, initially as a defensive coach, also working as a link between the academy and first-team, helping out players such as Matthijs de Ligt grow in the game.
🚨🎙| Jaap Stam on Erik ten Hag: “He’s making a real change at #mufc which is positive to see.”
— centredevils. (@centredevils) September 8, 2022
Stam joined Ajax as part of the revolution at Ajax that saw many former club greats return to Amsterdam in some capacity – Dennis Bergkamp was working alongside him in the first-team.
He then took charge of Jong Ajax – the club’s second team playing in the Eerste Division, the second tier of Dutch football – staying there between 2014 and 2016.
After that, he joined Reading in the Championship, only narrowly missing out on Premier League promotion after losing out in the play-off final to Huddersfield in 2017.
At the end of 2018, he returned to Dutch football and PEC Zwolle, but that stint was short-lived as he moved to PSV a few months later, however, he was unsuccessful there and only lasted four months.
A spell in Major League Soccer with FC Cincinnati followed, but that too was unsuccessful, and he’s now open to working with a backroom staff once again.
Read more about: Premier League, Man Utd
