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'Erik reached the top and Gino died in loneliness': The story of Weber, a youth player like no other who connected with ten Hag but saw his life fall apart off the pitch

Erik ten Hag often thinks about how different life can be. About how paths that run side-by-side can one day diverge and about where they might end up.

Gino Weber was, according to ten Hag, the best talent in the Netherlands when they were coming through the ranks as young Dutch footballers. Weber was, he said, ‘an unparalleled player, with a mega technique, who was completely two-footed’.

They were close friends back then, team-mates in the FC Twente youth set-up, and often travelled together to matches as their families lived not too far from each other.