IS STILL TOP DOG
KloppRONNY New gaffer Rangnick backs veteran CR7 to fit in to his pressing system
CRISTIANO Ronaldo is still No1 at Manchester United says new boss Ralf Rangnick.
The German is known for being the father of “gegenpressing” which is the all- action style employed by the likes of Jurgen Klopp.
That involves teams defending from the front with the attackers running their bollocks off for the whole 90 minutes.
At the age of 36, it seems unlikely that Ronaldo will be doing that even though he’s known for his fitness.
But Rangnick says HE will change his system to fit the Portugeezer rather than asking an old dog to learn new tricks.
He said: “You always have to adapt your style or your idea of football to the players you have available, not vice versa. Having seen Cristiano against Arsenal in the second- half at the age of 36, an amazing top professional.
“At his age, I’ve never seen a player who is still that physically fit. He’s still a player who can easily make the difference.
“So yes, it’s about how we can develop the whole team not only Cristiano. We play in the most competitive league in the world so we need all the players on board.
“What I saw from Cristiano yesterday, he is more than willing to do that, to put his input into the team. His team- mate will have to do the same.”
Rangnick can’t wait to get going at United and says he has always wanted to work in England.
He came over in the late 70s to study here and played non- league footy in the Sussex County League. He almost became England boss when Roy Hodgson left but he missed out to Sam Allardyce.
Rangnick said: “I studied English when I was a young student at university to become an English teacher.
“I lived in Brighton, and since then I fell in love with English football.
Cherished
“In the 80s I took the fast train to Victoria station to watch games every three days at the old Highbury and the old White Hart Lane or even in Liverpool.
“I went to Goodison Park. I was not here at the time because that was too far from Brighton but since then I have always very much cherished the way that teams are being supported, I think this is absolutely unique.”
United are very much the biggest club Rangnick has managed. He has bossed Red Bull Leipzig and Stuttgart in Germany’s top division along with Schalke but the Red Devils are a very different challenge.
He said: “You will find very few football clubs in the world with this much support.
“For me, that is football in the purest sense as it was in those times and, as I said, it’s more than exciting to be part of that atmosphere.
“That should help any team and especially our players to get on track and play at their highest possible level.”
Despite being only interim boss, it seems as though Rangnick will have a transfer budget to spend.
He has been linked with a move for Erling Haaland. The Borussia Dortmund ace worked with him at Red Bull Salzburg but the new gaffer laughed off ideas it was a done deal.
Rangnick said: “£ 100m for Erling
Haaland, £ 100m for Kylian Mbappe, £ 100m for Robert Lewandowski and £ 100m for Joshua Kimmich,” he laughed at press questions.
“This is nonsense obviously. There is no such clause in my contract. It doesn’t make sense to speculate over any new players.”
But he admits that he has a long history with Haaland and rates him a massive talent.
Options
Rangnick added: “Erling is a fantastic striker. I know myself because I was with the people at RB Salzburg at the time. I was also a little bit involved with the move from Molde to Salzburg
“I know what kind of player he is, but isince, the whole world has realised how good. Two years ago, it was only a few people who believed.”
Rangnick says most managers would be delighted with the range of attacking options already at United.
As well as Ronaldo, there is Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial to call on.
He said: “I’m more than happy. The offensive players we have here, we have so many top players in the offensive department that we don’t need to speak about any other players.
“It’s not the time to speak about new players.
“It’s the time to get to know the current squad in detail. This is the major focus for the next couple of weeks, to get to know the players that we have currently.
“The squad is definitely not too small, there are enough players in the squad. Maybe at Christmas or after Christmas, there will be a possible time to speak about possible transfers in the winter.”