Tenghach s 62-day lightning-out get out of class: a complete collapse of tactics, trust and culture

On September 1, 2025, Leverkusen officially announced the firing of head coach Eric Tenhach, which has only 62 days since he officially took office on July 1. This record of the fastest coach's dismissal in Bundesliga history not only shocked the football world, but also exposed the fragile balance between tactical adaptation, locker room control and management trust in modern football club management. Tenghach's rapid collapse was not caused by a single factor, but the result of the joint effect of failed tactical transformation, out-of-control locker room, divergence in signing strategies and the club's trust crisis, providing a highly warning sample of modern coach positions for football.

fatal misalignment of the tactical system: from formation obsession to out-of-control on the spot

Tenhach faced a arduous reconstruction task at the beginning of his term of office - taking over the legendary coach Alonso who won the Bundesliga championship with an unbeaten record, and at the same time dealing with the lineup vacuum of core players such as Wilz, Flynnon, and Jonatan Ta. However, his stubborn choice in tactical layout became the first rift. According to his tactical layout, Tenghach did not continue Alonso's successful 3-4-2-1 system, but forced himself to implement the 4-2-3-1 formation that he is good at. This decision directly led to a comprehensive disorder in the team's tactical operation. The conflict between the new formation and the technical characteristics of existing players is particularly obvious in data. In the first round of the Bundesliga, Leverkusen's ball control rate reached 58% and 16 shots, the average pass error rate of the central defender combination Kuansa and Tapsoba was as high as 12%. The defense line frequently exposed the gap, and was eventually defeated twice by the opponent. What's even more fatal is the second round of the game against Bremen. The team led 3-1 and played one more player, and the intensity of high-pressure pressing dropped by 37%, and was tied by the opponent in the last 15 minutes. The goal conceded by defensive mistakes surged from 0.6 goals last season to 2.5 goals. Behind this tactical gap is the reality that Tenghach failed to effectively integrate new players and retained players - among the many new players who spent nearly 200 million euros, only Tillman got stable playing time, and the rest of the players have not yet adapted to the tactical requirements.

The misconductive command on the spot further amplifies the tactical flaws. In a key battle with Bremen, Tenhach took the core midfielder Tilman while leading, while sending Palacios and Echeveri to try to control the ball and spend time. This decision caused a sharp drop in the midfield defense. The German Sky Channel criticized sharply: "His substitution logic is like playing FIFA. He just wants to pile up technical points, but forgets that there is also an acceleration button on the other side ". In contrast, the opponent coach Werner targeted wing-blasting substitutions, Teng Hach's adjustments seemed rigid and out of reality. After the game statistics agency WhoScored only gave him the lowest score of the team with 5.9 points. This disconnect in tactical execution essentially reflects his misjudgment of the team's existing strength and his rash denial of Alonso's tactical legacy. The complete disintegration of trust in the locker room: from discipline authority to cultural conflicts

If tactical mistakes are the fuse, then the overall out-of-control of the locker room is the core reason for Tenghach's dismissal. The penalty kick dispute that broke out against Bremen became a landmark moment when the team's internal contradictions became public. Forward Sick had a fierce dispute with Palacios, who had just come on as a substitute, for the penalty kick. The latter even angrily kicked the ball a few meters away, and eventually, captain Andrrich intervened to calm the dispute. This chaotic scene not only conveyed negative signals to the opponent, but also exposed Tenghach's failure in team management: he claimed after the game that "the penalty shootout sequence was clear before the game", but Andrish admitted that "the team lacked clear order". This open contradiction completely destroyed the coach's authority.

The deeper crisis stems from the fierce conflict between Tenghach's management style and team culture. German Biography revealed that players are generally not adapted to his stereotypical pre-match preparation and lengthy tactical speeches. His coaching philosophy of emphasis on discipline, concentration and sacrifice runs contrary to the cohesion that the team urgently needs after the core players leave the team. Many players said anonymously that Tenghach's communication method brought "cultural impact". His iron-fisted management model that he had existed at Manchester United was directly copied to Leverkusen, but failed to consider the differences in historical background and player composition between the two teams. What's more serious is that he continued the highly criticized high-intensity model during the training period of Manchester United, resulting in players' physical overdrawing and implicit resistance. This "punitive training" has intensified the team's fatigue and dissatisfaction. The division in the locker room is also reflected in the opposition between the old and new players. New aid Tillman publicly expressed dissatisfaction after the team missed the victory, while old players were skeptical about tactical transformation, and the public criticism of captain Andrrich confirmed this division. Tenghach failed to establish an effective communication bridge, but instead publicly criticized the club's ineffective signings through remarks of "I'm not Harry Potter". This practice of transferring responsibility further lost the trust of players. Compared with the management style that focused on team spirit and personal respect during Alonso's period, Tenghach's concept of discipline supremacy seemed out of place, which eventually led to the team "fighting on their own" on the court and completely losing the team cohesion of the former "pharmaceutical factory". The fundamental differences in the signing strategy: from resource mismatch to the crisis of trust

Tenhach and the club management's profound differences in the signing strategy have laid the groundwork for this short-lived coaching period. Although Leverkusen invested nearly 200 million euros in the summer window to introduce multiple players, setting the highest investment in the same period of the Bundesliga, when investing 103 million euros, Tenghach still publicly requested to sign another 4-5 players. This almost harsh requirement has a direct conflict with the concept of "precise recruitment" by sports director Rollfies. Rollfies made it clear that it was necessary to form a lineup under the existing resources, and hinted that Tenghach's demands exceeded the club's ability to bear, and this strategic divergence eroded the trust base of both sides from the very beginning.

The imbalance in the signing rhythm further worsens the difficulty of tactical implementation. When Tenghach first training in July, a large number of core players had left the team, and key new players were not in place until two days before the start of the Bundesliga, resulting in less than two weeks of running-in. What's more fatal is that the new appointment type is seriously mismatched with tactical needs. The high-pressure pressing system he advocates requires speed-based full-backs and flexible midfielders, while players such as Kuanssa who are actually introduced are better at traditional defense. This resource mismatch makes tactical transformation difficult from the beginning. When Tenghah used "insufficient signings" to defend his poor performance, the management believed that he failed to effectively utilize existing resources, and the cognitive gap between the two sides eventually evolved into an open confrontation. Behind this difference in signings is the difference in perception of the team's reconstruction cycle. Tenhach hopes to quickly replicate the early successes of Ajax and Manchester United through large-scale signings, but ignores Leverkusen's traditional positioning as a "star-making factory". Clubs tend to be more gradual roster updates than disruptive reconstructions, and this strategic conflict reaches its peak before the transfer window is closed. Sports director Rollfies deliberately avoided support for Tenhach in a pre-match interview with Bremen. This silence is regarded as a "death sentence" in the circle, indicating that management has lost patience with him. The gap in expectations under the shadow of the legend: From substitution anxiety to collapse of trust

Tenhach took over not only a team with a turbulent lineup, but also a coach position shrouded by the aura of Alonso's legend. In 2024, Alonso led the team to win the championship with an unbeaten record set a high standard that is almost impossible to accomplish for his successor. When Tenhach gave up Alonso's successful tactical system but failed to come up with a more effective alternative, doubts from the outside world surged like a tide. Including the summer friendly matches, the data comparison is particularly eye-catching: the team's average score has dropped from 2.4 points last season to 1 point, and the number of goals has dropped from 2.8 goals to 2 goals. This cliff-like decline has made it difficult for fans and management to accept.

What is more subtle is the "spare tire effect" in the process of selecting coaches - Leverkusen initially regarded Fabregas as his first choice, and chose Tenghach after the invitation failed. This "B plan" identity weakened his authoritative basis from the beginning. When the record is poor, this substitution anxiety is further amplified, and there may be a comparative mentality of "it would be better if Fabregas is chosen" in the management subconscious. Unlike the full trust Alonso received when coaching, Tenghach never obtained a similar space of patience. The club quickly stopped losing after two rounds of defeat, reflecting the cruel reality faced by the legendary successor.

Tenhach's personal reputation has also become a double-edged sword. His later locker room conflicts and tactical stubbornness at Manchester United have caused controversy, and Ronaldo's comment "I respect him 0" has become a footnote that the media repeatedly quoted. When similar locker room issues repeat in Leverkusen, it is easier for the public and management to form "history repeats" judgments, accelerating the collapse of trust. This reputational debt made him have to prove himself with immediate results, but the reality is that the team is in deeper chaos and eventually forms a vicious cycle.

The 62-day coaching career is like a prism, reflecting the multiple difficulties of modern football coaches' survival. Tenghach's failure is not only due to the rashness of tactical transformation and the rigidity of locker room management, but also the failure to establish a trust bond with clubs, players and fans in a short period of time. In this era where achievements are paramount and patience is scarce, coaches need not only tactical ability, but also comprehensive qualities that balance change and inheritance, discipline and flexibility, ideals and reality. Tenhach's lightning was dismissed, and it sounded a wake-up call for all coaches who were trying to rebuild under the shadow of the giants' legend - in the football world, the establishment of trust takes a long time, and collapse may only take 62 days.