'It's my Man Utd team that has reached Europa League final' Ten Hag claim

Ruben Amorim has taken Manchester United to the brink of European glory, steering the team to the Europa League final after an emphatic 4-1 victory over Athletic Club, sealing a 7-1 aggregate win.

United now face Tottenham Hotspur in an all-English final-a showdown that’s generating plenty of debate, especially as both clubs have struggled in the Premier League this season.

Amorim is rightly being praised for reviving a campaign that looked lost, guiding United on an unbeaten, free-scoring run to the final.

However, a provocative claim from the Dutch press has emerged, suggesting that former boss Erik ten Hag could have achieved the same feat.

United’s Europa League journey this season has unfolded under three different managers.

Erik ten Hag oversaw the first three group games, all of which ended in draws-including tough away results at Porto (3-3) and Fenerbahce (1-1), and a disappointing home draw against FC Twente.

Ruud van Nistelrooy then took charge for a 2-0 win over PAOK at Old Trafford, before Amorim began his tenure.

Since Amorim’s arrival, United have been transformed: in 10 Europa League matches, they’ve won eight and drawn two, scoring 25 goals.

This turnaround has come with a squad that Amorim inherited and had to fix, as it was tactically disjointed when he took over.

Despite Amorim’s achievements, Dutch pundit Robert Maaskant told Sportnieuws that Ten Hag might look at United’s current run and believe he could have also led them to the final.

Maaskant said, “It is his [Erik ten Hag’s] team that is there. And I think they can also win the final. With all due respect to Spurs, but they are even worse this year. He must think, I could have done this too.”

While it’s tempting to downplay Amorim’s success by calling it “Ten Hag’s team,” the reality is that Amorim inherited a squad in poor shape and spent months correcting deep tactical flaws.

Under Ten Hag, matches had become unpredictable, with glaring structural issues that Amorim has since addressed.

Although Ten Hag may not have been as poor a manager as results suggested, claiming he could have matched Amorim’s European run overlooks the significant improvements Amorim has made. United are now dominating games in a way they hadn’t since Ten Hag’s first season, and even recent defeats have shown progress.

Ultimately, while hypothetical debates will continue, Amorim’s impact is clear: he’s taken a struggling side and turned them into Europa League finalists-a feat that deserves full credit in its own right.