The German was not widely admired for his work at Old Trafford, but he's since strengthened his reputation significantly
On May 22, 2022, Ralf Rangnick attended his final post-match press conference as interim Manchester United manager. This writer was among the journalists gathered at Selhurst Park and I can still picture the thoroughly underwhelming scene now.
United pressers are usually filled to bursting, but there were heaps of empty seats for this one. On that final day, like so many times previously in recent years, the Red Devils simply weren't the story. The biggest jeopardy they faced was potentially dropping down into the Europa Conference League for the following season. Manchester City and Liverpool's tense Premier League title race, as well as Arsenal and Tottenham's top-four battle and a relegation scrap, were playing out elsewhere.
Such was the lack of interest, there was an ominous silence when the press officer asked for the opening question following Palace's 1-0 victory, and the same staff member was soon forced to ask for quiet as some techies loudly chatted while setting up a camera to capture Eagles boss Patrick Vieira's last press conference of the campaign.
When he was eventually free to speak, Rangnick expressed himself eloquently and without a filter, as he always did during his time at Old Trafford. He addressed topics ranging from Bruno Fernandes' role in Palace's winner, the imminent exit of Edinson Cavani and what type of players United should be targeting in the summer transfer window.
And with that, he was off, firing a thank you to the media folk in attendance. At that time, Rangnick had been pencilled in for a continued consultancy role at Old Trafford following the appointment of Erik ten Hag as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's permanent successor, a job he would juggle with his new responsibilities as Austria head coach.
However, just seven days later, his permanent exit was confirmed in a short statement posted on the club's website. "We would like to thank Ralf Rangnick for his efforts as interim manager over the past six months," it read.
"By mutual agreement, Ralf will now focus solely on his new role as manager of the Austria national team and will not therefore be taking up a consultancy role at Old Trafford. We would like to wish Ralf the best of luck in this next chapter of his career."
Getty ImagesShaky stint at Old Trafford
Reflecting on his time at the United helm a few years later, opinion remains split on Rangnick. To some, he is a hell-raising soothsayer who correctly identified the club's problems and wasn't afraid to let those above him know about their shortcomings. To others, he was a disastrous appointment, whose tactical incompetence led to United's season crashing and burning when it could have been salvaged. The truth of the matter likely lies somewhere in the middle.
Throughout his time at the club, Rangnick often publicly highlighted problems that INEOS appear to be addressing in the opening stages of their part-ownership. In his very first press conference, he criticised the churn of managers since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement and emphasised the need to create a "United DNA".
Then, towards the end of the his tenure, perhaps after seeing the true scale of the issues, he continually reiterated this message, most famously recommending the club underwent "open-heart" surgery in April 2022.
"You don’t even need glasses to see and analyse where the problems are," he said. "Now it’s about how do we solve them? It’s not enough to do some minor amendments – cosmetic things. In medicine you would say that this is an operation of the open heart. If this happens and everyone has realised that this has to happen and if people want to work together then it makes sense, and I believe it doesn’t take two or three years to change those things."
This warning are eerily similar to Sir Jim Ratcliffe's comments in February of this year. "It's a two-to-three-season challenge to get the organisation and environment right, to get the performances on the field right and win football matches," he said. "That involves the design and structure of the organisation being correct. In the last 11 years, Manchester United have had a lot of coaches and nobody has been very successful in that environment. That says to me there is something wrong with the environment."
INEOS have backed up these proclamations too, rapidly altering the club with the additions of Omar Berrada as chief executive, Jason Wilcox as technical director and – hopefully soon – Dan Ashworth as sporting director.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesEasy job?
All of this suggests that Rangnick seemed to succeed in his brief as a kind of footballing trouble-shooter. But his detractors might point out that this was hardly worth his sizeable salary. If the club wanted someone to point at them and shout: 'Manchester United aren't very good, they need to be more like Man City and Liverpool,' they simply could have turned on the television or had a brief scroll on social media.
Rangnick's other role was to have a positive influence on the pitch. Solskjaer was sacked following a 4-1 defeat to Watford, a result that left United eighth, six points off the top four, out of the Carabao Cup following a September defeat to West Ham, but well on track to progress to the Champions League group stages.
By the time he'd finished the job, they'd crashed out of Europe in the last 16 to a poor Atletico Madrid side, exited the FA Cup against second-tier Middlesbrough and moved up just two places in the table – though only by the skin of their teeth.
Perhaps most disappointingly, Rangnick – who arrived with a lofty reputation for high-octane, pressing football – made very little progress implementing that DNA he continually mentioned. Flirting between several different approaches, United were far from cohesive, often being bailed out by the individual brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo – who would later describe his boss as "not even a coach".
So while Rangnick's candid interviews were refreshing for supporters, he failed to convince as a coach at the top level during his stint in the Premier League. Not that that stopped Austria supporters getting excited when he was unveiled. And, maybe surprisingly, this hype has proved justified.
Getty ImagesTurning things around
When Rangnick took over, public feeling towards the Austria national team was at its lowest ebb for some time. They had just failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, attendances were down and the football being played under Franco Foda was largely unadventurous.
Perhaps conscious of this fact, Rangnick made efforts to get the public on side, moving out to Austria and speaking affably at his first press conference. However, the biggest factor in the shifting mood around the men's team has been the changes made on the pitch.
After enduring a shaky start in a tough Nations League group, Rangnick's methods began to make an impact in November 2022. During that international break, Austria secured an encouraging win over Italy, which provided a platform for their mightily impressive Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. They would breeze through Group G, finishing just one point behind winners Belgium – who were the only side they lost to during the entire process.
And after qualification was sewn up, they kicked into another gear, winning three of their four subsequent friendlies, including victories over Germany, Turkey and Serbia.
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Getty ImagesOverhauling the tactics
Perhaps what has been even more eye-catching than the results themselves has been Rangnick's overhaul of Austria's playing style. Credited as a pioneer of gegen-pressing, this high-octane approach has been present right from the start of his reign. Usually playing a 4-2-3-1, Rangnick also insists on vertical passes and rapid transitions – and it's pretty clear that his squad has bought in.
Speaking after just his second game in charge, a noteworthy draw with France, skipper David Alaba said: "It just shows that maybe we’re fed up with playing a certain kind of football, like we’ve always had in previous years."
That Rangnick has managed to implement his style – which requires players to take on complex instructions and run themselves into the ground – despite having scarce contact time with his squad, is worthy of significant praise.
In 2024, there is also a political element to any national team job, and Rangnick has handled himself excellently in this arena. In March, he omitted three players from his squad after they were seen engaging in homophobic chanting following Rapid Vienna's win over city rivals Austria Vienna the previous month.
Amid the rise of the far right in Austria and Germany over the past few years, Rangnick has said: "If the history of both countries has taught us anything, it is the danger posed by right-wing extremism and fascism."
Rangnick has also insisted that the national team has a role to play in standing against these malignant forces. "We cannot allow things to continue like this. I do not want our grandchildren to suffer. We as a national team must also stand up for the right values."