“The Godfather of Gegenpress”, Ralf Rangnick (63), will lead Manchester United out of the season.
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That confirms Manchester United on their websites. There, they state that Rangnick leads the team as interim manager for the rest of the season, and that he will then continue for another two years in a consulting role.
– I look forward to taking on the job at Manchester United. My focus now is to make this a successful season for the club, Rangnick says to the club’s own website.
Last week came the first reports that it would be the 63-year-old German who takes over the baton from Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Michael Carrick. The latter has led the Red Devils in two matches – to victory over Villarreal and a draw against Chelsea – after Solskjær left his post.
Carrick continues to lead the team while the club waits for Rangnick’s visa to work. Manchester United’s next match is at home against Arsenal on Thursday.
– The stable is full of talent and has a good balance between young promising players and those who are more experienced. I will give everything I have to get the players to reach their full potential, both individually and as a collective, says the German about the task ahead.
Rangnick is now leaving his role as director of Russia’s Lokomotiv Moscow with immediate effect to try to get the Manchester United ship back on track. Not all Premier League managers are happy about this:
He takes over a Manchester United team that is in 8th place in the Premier League, twelve points behind league leader Chelsea. There are five points up to the top four.
Manchester United are also already further from their Champions League group as group winners, and Rangnick will lead the team in the quarter-finals next year.
The German is called “The Godfather of Gegenpress” in Germany, and is highlighted as a role model and inspiration for renowned coaches such as Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea), Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool), Julian Nagelsmann (Bayern Munich) and Ralph Hasenhüttl (Southampton).
He is also mentioned by many as one of those who have been involved in changing football in his home country. The counter-pressure, a tactic of applying pressure immediately after the ball loss and his use of zone defense in the late 1990s, has contributed to this.
The 63-year-old is also known as a club builder, including in Hoffenheim (2006–2011) who went from “nothing” to becoming a big club. He was also the sporting architect of RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg. In 2012, he managed both clubs. He later became a coach at RB Leipzig.
The 63-year-old has also coached clubs such as Stuttgart, Hannover 95, Schalke 04 and Hoffenheim. Former Manchester United player and world champion with Germany, Bastian Schweinsteiger, tweeted about Manchester United and Rangnick during Sunday’s match against Chelsea:
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