Paving the way for Cristiano Ronaldo and dugout health scares - Mitchell van der Gaag's incredible journey to Man United

Erik ten Hag’s right-hand man is still relatively mysterious.

During Mitchell van der Gaag’s maiden season as assistant manager at Manchester United, he kept out of the limelight, with the eyes of the world on Erik ten Hag. The pair guided United to third in the Premier League, with February's Carabao Cup triumph an added bonus.

He may be a relatively unknown quantity in English football, but Van der Gaag's backstory is incredible. You'd have to be something of a footballing genius to know that Van der Gaag played for both Motherwell and Al Nassr - or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr as they're now known - during his playing days. Since hanging up his boots he's managed all over Europe, though his coaching career was temporarily put on hold in 2013 after suffering a cardiac arrest while in charge of Portuguese outfit Belenenses.

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The closest Ten Hag and Van der Gaag’s playing careers ever came to crossing paths was in 1996 at FC Utrecht. A tenacious defender by the name of Ten Hag was replaced by Van der Gaag. The latter is 18 months Ten Hag’s junior.

In a playing career that spanned 18 years, including a two-season spell in Scotland, Van der Gaag enjoyed a lengthy stint playing for Portuguese side Maritimo. He took his first steps into management with Maritimo’s B team. Within a year he was promoted to the first team, helping them qualify for the UEFA Europa League in his only full season in charge.

After a brief management hiatus, he was announced as Belenenses’ new head coach in