Ralf Rangnick

Ralf Rangnick
Rangnick in 2022
Personal information
Full name Ralf Dietrich Rangnick
Date of birth (1958-06-29) 29 June 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth Backnang, West Germany
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Austria (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1979 VfB Stuttgart II
1979–1980 Southwick
1980–1982 VfR Heilbronn 66 (6)
1982–1983 Ulm 1846 32 (0)
1983–1985 FC Viktoria Backnang
1987–1988 TSV Lippoldsweiler
Managerial career
1983–1985 FC Viktoria Backnang
1985–1987 VfB Stuttgart II
1987–1988 TSV Lippoldsweiler
1988–1990 SC Korb
1990–1994 VfB Stuttgart U19
1995–1997 Reutlingen 05
1997–1999 Ulm 1846
1999–2001 VfB Stuttgart
2001–2004 Hannover 96
2004–2005 Schalke 04
2006–2011 TSG Hoffenheim
2011 Schalke 04
2015–2016 RB Leipzig
2018–2019 RB Leipzig
2021–2022 Manchester United (interim)
2022– Austria
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ralf Dietrich Rangnick (born 29 June 1958) is a German professional football coach, executive, and former player who is currently the manager of the Austria national team.

Rangnick began his coaching career in 1983, succeeding his career as a player, at age 25. In 1997, he was hired by former club Ulm 1846, with whom he won the Regionalliga Süd in his debut season. Rangnick was then appointed by Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2000, but was dismissed in 2001. He subsequently joined Hannover 96, winning the 2. Bundesliga, but was dismissed in 2004. After a brief period with Schalke 04, Rangnick joined TSG Hoffenheim in 2006, and achieved successive promotions to the Bundesliga. He departed the club in 2011 and returned to Schalke 04, where he won the 2011 DFB-Pokal and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. He later served as head coach at RB Leipzig across two periods between 2015 and 2019.

Rangnick joined Red Bull as director of football in 2012, helping oversee their expansion into European football, emphasising the recruitment of unproven players and developing youth systems with a worldwide scouting base and an attacking on-pitch philosophy across their clubs.[2][3] As a result, Red Bull clubs rose in market value from €120 million to €1.2 billion during his tenure.[4] Their clubs have also seen sustained domestic success[5] and generated sizable profits with player transfers,[6][7] which led to Rangnick's promotion to head of sport and development in 2019.[8] He resigned from Red Bull in 2020 and joined Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow as manager of sports and development in 2021. Later that year, Rangnick was appointed as interim manager of Manchester United until the end of the 2021–22 season, following which he took charge of the Austria national team.

Rangnick is credited with developing the Gegenpressing tactic,[9] whereby the team, after losing possession, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup. His sides have been noted for their pressing and high attacking output, as well as for popularising zonal marking.[10][11] He is credited for influencing Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann, Jürgen Klopp and Oliver Glasner, among others.[12][13]

  1. ^ "Ralf Rangnick - Spielerprofil - DFB". dfb.de (in German). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Implementing a radical strategy at Red Bull's football teams". ft.com. Financial Times. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Ralf Rangnick: The catalyst for RB Leipzig's success". bundesliga.com. Bundesliga. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  4. ^ "The Oracle Is Speaking Again. Who Will Listen This Time?". The New York Times. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  5. ^ "RB Leipzig: How did Red Bull build a Champions League side from scratch?". bbc.com. BBC Sport. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Implementing a radical strategy at Red Bull's football teams". ft.com. Financial Times. 20 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Ralf Rangnick: 'I have to influence areas of development across the whole club'". The Guardian. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Ralf Rangnick and the Big Reshuffle at RB Leipzig". Forbes. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Thomas Tuchel could become third successive German coach to win Champions League - so what is their appeal?". Sky Sports. 28 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Jurgen Klopp plays a special kind of football". thetimes.co.uk. The Times. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Which manager has proved the most influential of all time?". thefsa.org.uk. The FSA. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.