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Ralf Rangnick is the current managing director of sport and communications at the Russian side, Lokomotiv Moscow, and has had previous managerial roles at clubs such as Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig. Rangnick said at the start of the 19/20 season that United had been ‘underperforming’ when he was asked about the situation regarding Solskjaer.
His last managerial role was at RB Leipzig and he left at the end of the 18/19 season with Leipzig finishing third in the Bundesliga and since then, he has moved into more off-field roles with Salzburg and now Lokomotiv Moscow. The 63-year-old is one of the main men behind Leipzig’s success on and off the pitch in recent times. In his time at both Hoffenheim and Leipzig, he mostly used a 4-3-3 formation with a large emphasis on pressing and transitional situations.
During his stints in the Bundesliga, Rangnick revamped the pressing game in the league and was renowned for using systematic pressing rather than the disjointed pressing we currently see at Manchester United. His pressing style is well-structured and was incredibly effective in the Bundesliga and became more popular in modern times with the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel adopting similar styles.
Rangnick is one of the tactical masterminds of the modern era and he was one of the first coaches to adopt what we now know as the ‘Gegenpress’ or counter-pressing which we now see in full flow with Klopp’s Liverpool side.
Rangnick’s career isn’t without silverware, with him winning the German cup with Schalke back in 2011. He has also won the Austrian Bundesliga twice in 2013 and 2014 with RB Salzburg and also guided RB Leipzig to second in their first top-flight Bundesliga season and finished on a total of 67 points in the 2016/17 season.
Ralf Rangnick could be the solution for Manchester United with the current manager and coaching setup not appearing to be up to the standard that it needs to be for the stature of the club. Rangnick’s ideas of pressing and defending could see United massively improve and put the season back on track.
Author: Connor Aspinall