Erik ten Hag reacts to viral clip of him giving Johan Cruyff advice at 13 years old after Man United win vs Reading

Erik ten Hag was shown a clip of him speaking to Johan Cruyff when he was 13 years ago after Manchester United’s 3-0 win against Reading in the FA Cup.

A clip went viral last week of the Dutch manager answering a question from the footballing legend, where he advised different reactions from managers to youth players and first-team players.

The now United manager said: “I think you should watch out that you don’t yell to the youth too much, because you can break a player like that.

“But on a higher level, such as the first team of Ajax, you should be able to say something about it. Those guys train almost every day in the week. If they keep making the same mistakes, you should be able to confront them.”

The clip showed that Ten Hag was always a bright footballing mind and highlighted a positive man-management approach.

After victory against Reading in the FA Cup, Ten Hag was shown the clip and asked for his thoughts on it.

“Long time ago,” he told ITV. “It’s great, I think Johan Cruyff had such an impact on football like Pele, Beckenbauer and Maradona.

“It’s my character, obviously, it’s who I am. I think I was brave and I wanted to be a good football player, I wanted to learn and when you have a moment with Johan Cruyff, you take that moment.

“He [Johan Cruyff] was a big inspiration on how you have to play football. Johan Cruyff was not only about winning games – obviously, he was a great winner but also in a certain way; adventure, an attacking way and always with creative solutions.”

The Dutch manager has impressed at Old Trafford since joining the club in the summer. The Reds remain the only English club left this season battling in four different competitions.

They have one foot in the final of the Carabao Cup and have made good ground in the race for the top four in the Premier League.