Premier League
Who is Ralf Rangnick? Everything you need to know about Manchester United interim manager
Manchester United have reached an agreement to appoint Ralf Rangnick as their interim manager, but just who is the new man in 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 in a consultancy role 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 ahead of his Old Trafford appointment.
Name: Ralf Rangnick
Date of Birth: 29 June 1958
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 while he studied at the University of Sussex before returning to his homeland.
Upon his return to Germany he continued to play for the best part of a decade at a range of lower league clubs as he continued to learn about coaching.
Coaching career
Rangnick got his break coaching at his hometown club Viktoria Backnang and finished his playing 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 but was sacked after a difficult second season at the club.
He moved onto Hannover 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 future success at Hoffenheim and across two spell at Schalke. In his second spell the side won the German Cup, German Super Cup and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League where they were beaten by United.
The German 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.
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 on the pitch.
Rangnick managed Leipzig on two spells where they achieved promotion 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 in the summer.
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.https://get-latest.convrse.media/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.manchestereveningnews.co.uk%2Fsport%2Ffootball%2Ffootball-news%2Frangnick-manchester-united-manager-wiki-22276818&cre=bottom&cip=33&view=web
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 for 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.
“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.”
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
WAFCON 2024: Nigeria’s Super Falcons begin ‘La Decima’ quest with Tunisian clash
Supporters Club Mourns Peter Rufai: “Another Big Tree Has Fallen,” Says Rafiu Ladipo
WAFCON 2024: Morocco Held to Thrilling 2-2 Draw by Zambia in Opening Match
- OBITUARY3 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Goalkeeping Legend Peter Rufai is dead
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Football Agent John Shittu Demands Retraction and ₦250 Million Damages from Samson Siasia Over Bribery Allegation
- WAFCON1 week ago
Super Falcons Land in Morocco, Eye Historic ‘La Decima’ Women’s AFCON Title
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Kwara United Clinch Historic First Title as President Federation Cup Final Goes to Penalties for the 18th time
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Rivers Angels Crowned 2025 Female Federation Cup Champions After Penalty Shootout Thriller
- OBITUARY3 days ago
Peter Rufai looked lean when I last saw him, says mourning NFF President, Gusau
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Family issues statement on Peter Rufai
- IMMEMORIAL2 days ago
Peter Rufai’s Death Adds to Long List of July Tragedies in Nigerian Football