Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as the interim first-team manager on a six-month deal. The German will take a consultancy role with the club at the end of his stint for the next two years.
The German tactician will replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – who was sacked last week – in the dugout for the next six months, following which he will join the backroom in a consultancy role for two further years. Rangnick was working with Lokomotiv Moscow in a similar consultant role when Manchester United came calling.
Credited with influencing several modern football coaches, including Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel, Rangnick last coached RB Leipzig during the 2018/19 season. The German stepped down from his backroom role to take over the first team responsibilities from Ralph Hasenhuttl while the club waited for Nagelsmann to be relieved from his contract at TSG Hoffenheim.
Rangnick expressed his excitement to the Manchester United club website upon joining, stating that his goal is to help a talented squad fulfill its potential over the next six months.
“I am excited to be joining Manchester United and focused on making this a successful season for the club,”
“The squad is full of talent and has a great balance of youth and experience. All my efforts for the next six months will be on helping these players fulfill their potential, both individually and, most importantly, as a team.
“Beyond that, I look forward to supporting the club’s longer-term goals on a consultancy basis.”
he said.
Rangnick will arrive at Old Trafford armed with modern tactical ideas – some of which, such as Gegenpressing, he developed – and his reputation intact. He worked his ideas into the lower rungs of German football for a decade before achieving his first big breakthrough at the top level with Hoffenheim, whom he himself led to the Bundesliga – and briefly to the top of the table – from the third division.
His other coaching credits include spells at Schalke 04, Stuttgart, and Leipzig, albeit his trophy haul is far from impressive – a domestic cup with Schalke in 2010/11 his biggest achievement to date, in terms of silverware.
