Professor Ralf knows his job improve these United players
UNITED have reached an agreement to appoint Ralf Rangnick as their interim manager, but just who is the new man set to take temporary charge at Old Trafford?
The 63-year-old German will take up the managerial role on a six-month deal until the end of May, before moving into a consultancy position at the club for an initial two-year period.
Rangnick was identified as United’s preferred choice for the interim vacancy after an interview process earlier this week which saw a five-man shortlist of managers considered for the role. Here is everything you need to know about the current head of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow...
PLAYING CAREER
RANGNICK had a rather uneventful playing career before he moved into a player-coaching role at VfB Stuttgart.
He spent a year at English side Southwick, who are now in the Mid-Sussex League, while he studied at the University of Sussex before returning to his homeland.
A defensive midfielder, he continued to play for the best part of a decade in Germany at a range of lower league clubs as he continued to learn about coaching, making fewer than 100 appearances in total.
COACHING CAREER
RANGNICK got his break coaching at his hometown club Viktoria Backnang and finished his career as a player-coach for Stuttgart II and TSV Lippoldsweiler.
He continued coaching in the lower divisions of German football for a number of years before he was given the chance to manage former side Stuttgart in the Bundesliga in 1999, but was sacked after a difficult second season at the club.
He moved on to Hannover 96 and earned promotion to the German top-flight. He applied to be the assistant manager of the German national side but missed out on the role to Joachim Low.
Rangnick enjoyed success at Hoffenheim and across two spells at Schalke. In his second spell the side won the German Cup, German Super Cup and reached the semifinals of the Champions League, where they were beaten by United.
He stepped out of coaching for a while to become director of football for both Red Bull Leipzig and Salzburg, with the German side rising from the fourth division all the way to the Bundesliga under his guidance after a big financial investment into the club.
He is also credited with overseeing their expansion into European football, particularly within their recruitment of unproven players and an exciting brand of attacking football.
Rangnick managed Leipzig in two spells where they achieved promo
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tion to the top flight, finished runners up in the German Cup and established themselves as regulars in the Bundesliga. He left Leipzig last year after a protracted move to AC Milan collapsed and joined Lokomotiv Moscow in the summer as head of sports and development.
COACHING LEGACY
RANGNICK is known as a ‘professor of football’ and has been credited for influencing modern German coaches Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel, Ralph Hasenhuttl and Julian Nagelsmann.
The experienced coach played a key role in establishing the gegenpress tactic where a team immediately fights to win the ball back after losing possession rather than dropping deep.
He is also known as one of the pioneers of zonal marking from set-pieces, with his sides well known for a high-pressing game as well as a tendency to play on the front foot.
WHAT HE HAS SAID ABOUT HIS APPROACH
“IF you want to increase the speed of your game, you have to develop quicker minds rather than quicker feet,” he said. “At RB Leipzig, we work on increasing the memory space and the processing pace.
“We put players into the Soccerbot, for example - a machine that simulates previous games and allows players to relive key moments of matches.
“It’s PlayStation football, but with your feet. The players enjoy it so much we have a hard time getting some of them to stop.
“Tactics, fitness and rules are all hugely important, but they’re only a means to an end.
“My job - the job - is to improve players.
“Players follow you as a manager if they feel that you make them better. That’s the greatest, most sincere motivation there is.”