UNITED PLOT A RANGNICK REVOLUTION
German ‘godfather’ trusted to find blueprint for glory
MANCHESTER UNITED find themselves in so much trouble that the fallen giants have turned to a footballing Godfather to sort them out.
Ralf Rangnick has been on United’s radar since 2019, when senior club officials including current football director John Murtough travelled to RB Leipzig to see how he operated.
Murtough, right, returned to Manchester with a glowing dossier of information on Rangnick, who has been held in high regard at Old Trafford ever since.
Now United have finally decided to move in on their chosen target, with Rangnick poised to replace sacked manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on an interim basis until the end of the season.
His vast experience and progressive football brain will be called upon to help stabilise a team that found itself sinking fast under Solskjaer.
Rangnick’s task will be to ensure United finish in the top four this season and possibly challenge for a trophy, including the Champions League. His six-month deal will include attractive bonuses.
Despite all his proven qualities, Rangnick is not viewed as the long-term solution. United remain focused on hiring Mauricio Pochettino as their
next permanent manager, with Rangnick moving upstairs to work alongside him as the club’s first sporting director.
One senior United source said: “The club has huge respect for
Ralf Rangnick. We want him for much longer than just a stint as manager.”
Rangnick is expected to work above Murtough, becoming the conduit between the club’s board and manager, with United willing to put their faith in a German and Argentinian being able to bring the team’s approach, tactics and style of play into the 21st century. For longer than United supporters care to remember, they have been forced to watch the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and now Thomas Tuchel adopt philosophies first endorsed by Rangnick himself, that have seen all three of them achieve huge success. Guardiola has won trophies galore at Manchester City, Klopp landed the Champions League with Liverpool and ended their 30-year wait to be English title winners, while Tuchel inspired Chelsea to conquer Europe within six months of arriving at Stamford Bridge. Rangnick became known as the ‘Godfather of German football’ after his modern coaching revolutionised the game in his homeland. Klopp might have popularised the famous ‘gegenpress’, but Rangnick championed it long before him.
The 63-year-old has previously managed Hannover, Schalke, Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, and more recently took up roles as director of football at Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig before moving to Russia, where he has been working for Lokomotiv Moscow. This will be a challenge on a different scale altogether for Rangnick.