But Ralf Rangnick is rewriting his legacy at Euro 2024 with his
Topping a group that included
Not bad for the German coach whose previously solid reputation took a hit after an unsuccessful six months as interim manager of United through 2021-22, which included a run of just three wins from his last 14 games and heavy losses to Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton.
“This guy is not even a coach,” Ronaldo said in his explosive interview with
While Rangnick's previous job had been head of sports and development at Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow, his coaching credentials had been long-established in
So effective was Rangnick's brand of soccer - dubbed “gegenpressing” (counter pressing) - that it was widely-regarded as having influenced a generation of German coaches including
“He had a huge influence on all of us at this time," Tuchel has said, having played under Rangnick earlier in his career.
Rangnick's success has largely been with smaller clubs, winning promotions with Hannover, Hoffenheim and
Perhaps it is no surprise then that he is excelling with an Austrian team which wasn't considered among the favorites leading up to the Euros. But the signs of his impact were clear during the qualifiers as
“You can see a clear development since the coach joined the team,” midfielder Marcel Sabitzer said.
Bayern Munich clearly shared that opinion when targeting him as a successor to Tuchel at the end of the season. Rangnick opted to stay on at
While his team suffered defeat to
“It’s incredible to finish top of the group that was the hardest possible based on
As well as his coaching career, Rangnick also has a reputation for his work as an executive, having identified numerous emerging players and coaches during his time as sporting director of
United had planned to keep him on as a consultant at the end of his spell as interim manager and tap into his soccer expertise.
It would have been fascinating to see what sort of an impact he would have had at the 20-time English league champion after saying the team needed an “open heart operation” and as many as 10 new players.
Ultimately plans for the consultancy role were scrapped after Rangnick accepted the
He hasn't looked back since.
___
___
AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024
© 2024 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source