Ralf Rangnick: What can Man United expect from the German coach?

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Rangnick won the German Cup with Schalke 04 in 2011 and led RB Leipzig to the final in 2019

Ralf Rangnick is set to be appointed as interim coach of Manchester United until the end of this season.

He will succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who left the club this month and, after his first six months in the job, the German will take up an advisory role with the club for another two years.

But what attracted United to Rangnick and vice versa? What kind of manager is he? Is he likely to be successful and what will his role entail after this season?

What does his appointment to Cristiano Ronaldo mean?

To answer these questions, the BBC spoke to St Louis Lutz’s sporting director Pfannenstein, who has worked with Rangnick at Hoffenheim, former Leicester defender Christian Fuchs – who played under him at Schalke 04 – and European football journalists Raphael Honigstein, Guillem Ballaj and Julian Lorenz. .

Best man in the market

Rangnick’s appointment comes at the end of United’s extensive recruitment process, which was affected during an initial conversation with the German earlier this week.

The 63-year-old built an impressive coaching reputation during his time in Germany, particularly through stints at Stuttgart, Hanover, Hoffenheim, Schalke and RB Leipzig.

He will join the eighth-placed club in the Premier League, having lost his way under Solskjaer, whose last game was 4-1 against Watford and their fourth defeat in five league matches.

Honigstein: He got a similar offer for a temporary job from Chelsea not long ago and he said ‘No, that’s not for me’. In this case there are three different things.

First, it’s Manchester United and they still have their own ring. There is a love story, especially for Anglophile fans like Rangnick, who studied and lived in England and loves the Premier League.

Second, it’s six months. It’s more than two-thirds of the season and a lot of football still has to be played.

Third, United effectively told him “We might just want you as a short-term coach, but we want to take advantage of your footballing knowledge after that.” This comes at a time when the structure at United is changing quite a bit, with the arrival of a new chief executive and an opening to bring in more footballing experiences from abroad.

We all look at what Thomas Tuchel did in a shorter period of time at Chelsea. He has no experience in English football, comes in January and, once given a team that was completely rudderless, goes on to win the Champions League.

I think United were thinking ‘Can we get a Tuschel-type player to give us an instant boost and instant structure?’ The team is better than their results and current performance.

Pfannenstiel: Ralph is a great expert, and really one of the best coaches and managers Germany has produced in the last 15-20 years, I would say.

Everything he has done so far has been successful and he has always been very clear that if he had the opportunity to work for a big club in England, he would want to do it.

So, given this temporary manager, I think he’s the one who can really stabilize everything to really get United back on the right track. I think he was probably the best guy on the market.

Lorenz: I’m surprised and still not sure. He is one of the greatest thinkers in football of the last 20 years and has inspired all the great German coaches.

But he’s a construction worker, that’s what he does and you don’t do that in six months.

For a quick fix, I wouldn’t put him in that role. He will give his opinions on players and methods, but will not be able to intervene as he did at Leipzig. I was a little surprised. I can see why he’s taking this position – you can’t say no to United no matter who you are.

He knows English football but has never played here before.

Compression, high intensity and always exciting to watch

Rangnick’s tally as a coach is modest, but his influence on the game is vast, not only as a football coach and manager but as a thinker of the game.

His biggest achievements were building sides from the bottom up – most notably at Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.

He is often cited as the originator of the modern pressure game, with Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralph Hessenhuttl and Jürgen Klopp among those who have influenced him.

Pfannenstiel: His football is very direct, a lot of pressure, a lot of counter pressure, a lot of high intensity football – which is always exciting to watch.

If you look back at how Hoffenheim played, especially the way RB Leipzig played, I think that’s what you can expect – some really loud football where they put pressure and pressure on the opponent, forcing the opponent to make mistakes.

He is very straightforward and most importantly everything he does is with a clear purpose. He’s not the guy who jokes around all day. He wants to get things done – that’s how he’s going to handle that. Ralph has always been successful – and I think he will always be successful because he is as strong as the football he would be on the field. He expects a lot from the guys, but he also expects a lot from himself.

I think it fits well with the Manchester United players and the style the fans love to see at Old Trafford. I think Ralf could be the next German to put his stamp and legacy on the club’s future.

Fox: He has a very clear philosophy about the way he wants to play, the idea of ​​training and pressing – and that’s never going to change.

He is looking forward to a personal interaction with you. I was in Vienna with the Austria national team, we had some beers and we talked for a long time about the Hoffenheim philosophy.

But then he said, “Right now, you’re not the right player for me.”

He was very straightforward and very clear which I appreciate. Two years later he said “I want to sign you now”.

He thought I wasn’t ready, but it’s all down to him for being so straightforward and so realistic. He said “Keep playing, keep learning” and two years later he said “Now, you’re ready”.

It’s the little things – positioning, when to move forward and all those things that can affect your game the most. Under him I came to Schalke 04, a big club and expectations were immediately high, but he made me feel comfortable and appreciated. This type of human management is very important in the game.

He knows what he wants and will ask these guys to stay together and work hard together.

It is hoped Rangnick will take over at United after this weekend’s Chelsea game, for which Michael Carrick will remain in charge.

United will be the first true European club to be managed by Rangnick.

He joined them after a summer of investment during which he added a number of high-profile players to a squad already filled with several reputable international players, most notably five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Honigstein: He’s always been nice to people, but some people just can’t handle someone who wants you to change too quickly. They find it annoying, threatening and exhausting to find someone who pushes you all the time. Some players respond well and take it to the next level because they needed that boost.

Rangnick’s problem was the people upstairs because for these guys once you’re in a position it’s more about keeping your job than doing your job. This species has been threatened by someone saying “this is not good enough, we need to change this”.

Balaj: It seems like a temporary job and it sounds a bit dangerous. If you are creating a new structure, Ralph is someone who has a clear idea of ​​what he should be doing.

He can’t stand people who don’t want to change and I feel there are a lot of those at United. You have to be nice to people and move them. Is he cute now?

What was missing at United was the lack of clarity in the decisions.

Honigstein: He wouldn’t have as much power as the guy who comes up with a three-year deal, but at the same time you can do whatever you want because you’re going away anyway. It could be harsher somehow.

It would be difficult if Ronaldo refused, for example. This might not be easy to do – how does Ronaldo fit into the kind of football Rangnick plays? Maybe he can. Maybe the idea can change, maybe Ronaldo can change? It will be one of the most amazing parts of this story.

But Ralph has learned to deal with people even if they are not on the same wavelength. The journey, the six-month thrill of Manchester United, with play still in the top four, the Champions League and the FA Cup, will take on its own dimensions.

“Organization, structure and planning, the future is really great”

Since 2012, Rangnick has worked in a number of notable leadership positions in the field of sports management, most notably with Red Bull Group of Clubs and RB Leipzig in particular, during which the club rose from the fourth tier of German football to the challenge for the Bundesliga title.

He is currently the Head of Sports and Development at Lokomotiv Moscow.

Honigstein: I’m not sure if the future role will have real power. I don’t think United are ready for that.

But he is at a stage in his career where he has set up his own consulting firm and works with clubs, federations and sporting directors.

I think he’s at a point where he wants to use what he’s learned and give it to those who need it. They pay him for his advice and if they don’t like it, he goes ahead. I think it’s out of the cliché of a guy who comes in and should have complete control.

Pfannenstiel: We like to call him, in Germany, the football master. Everything he does is well thought out, and the way he sets up the structures at each club is just amazing.

Looking at the way Red Bull Salzburg was built or how RB Leipzig was built from a training center to a professional team, youth development… all with a lot of thought and a lot of science in it. Its organization, structure and layout, the future is really great.

Given how he planned his career after ending his deal in Leipzig, he wanted to be more on the advisory side anyway and that’s what he did in Moscow.

Knowing Ralph and his career and how the world of football works, if he comes and does an incredible job and everyone is happy, I think the plan to become a consultant, in the next two years after this season, could easily turn into a long-term term as well.

Anything is possible and I think it’s all about results and success.

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