Man Utd Appoint Rangnick as Interim Manager
Manchester United have named German Ralf Rangnick as interim manager until the end of the season, the Premier League club announced yesterday, eight days after sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Rangnick steps in to replace Solskjaer, who was removed after United's 4-1 defeat by Watford this month, their seventh loss in 13 games across all competitions which left them eighth in the Premier League standings.
"Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager until the end of the season, subject to work visa requirements. Following this period, Ralf and the club have agreed that he will continue in a consultancy role for a further two years," the club said in a statement.
Former midfielder Michael Carrick, one of Solskjaer's assistants, took charge of the team for their Champions League victory at Villarreal last Tuesday, and oversaw the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.
Rangnick, who began coaching in the early 1980s, is a proponent of 'gegenpressing' – a style of football in which teams press high and use counter-pressing to win the ball back as soon as possible after losing it, rather than falling back to regroup.
Ralf Rangnick has never managed outside of his native Germany, taking charge of five different teams in the German Bundesliga in his career. The last side he managed was RB Leipzig, winning promotion with them from 2. Bundesliga in 2015-16 before returning to the club for the 2018-19 top-flight season and leading them to third place.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013, Rangnick will be the seventh different manager to take charge of a game for Manchester United (including caretakers), with five of those six winning their first games in charge. The exception was Louis van Gaal in 2014.
Rangnick has also managed in the UEFA Champions League, taking charge of 10 games with FC Schalke 04 in the 2005-06 and 2010-11 seasons – his last match in charge was against Manchester United in May 2011 in the second leg of that season’s semi-final, losing 4-1 at Old Trafford and 6-1 on aggregate. His 10 games in charge have seen 38 goals scored (20 for, 18 against, 3.8 per game), the third-highest ratio of any manager to take charge of 10 games in the competition.