Ralf Rangnick: The farce at Man Utd and the "Godfather" who helped the Austrian team thrive

At the age of 65, the "godfather of Gegen-press", as people still call coach Ralf Rangnick, was appointed as the interim coach of Man Utd. There is not too much pressure on the German coach in terms of targets, because after nearly half a season of bad results that led to the dismissal of coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Man Utd leadership is aiming for gradual reform.

The two words "interim" also partly reflect that Rangnick's responsibility is not as terrible as that of his successor Erik Ten Hag. But even so, this coach still failed miserably. In 29 matches leading the Red Devils of Manchester, Coach Rangnick only won 11 matches, drew 10 matches and lost 8 matches.

Not only that, the "Godfather of Gegen-press" also seems to receive no respect from his students. Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo declared that he never considered Rangnick as a "boss".

"Of course, out of respect, we still call him boss. Any coach in my career calls him that because of the position they hold. But deep down, I have never considered him boss because I have never agreed with him on many different points of view," said C. Ronaldo.

But in Berlin on the evening of June 25, after 2 years, Rangnick gave the most decisive answer to whether he deserved to be the "boss" or not. Under the guidance of the "Godfather of Gegen-press", the Austrian team had a great performance against the highly rated Netherlands and won spectacularly 3-2.

Ralf Rangnick: Trò hề tại Man Utd và Bố già giúp đội tuyển Áo thăng hoa - 1 — After failing at Man Utd, Ralf Rangnick achieved great success when leading the Austrian team (Photo: Getty).

With this result, Austria topped Group D, above both France and the defeated Netherlands. Captain Marcel Sabitzer, who scored the winning goal, said after the match: "When we have the ball, we have a great leader on the bench."

The midfielder, who is currently playing for Borussia Dortmund, stressed: "It feels great to play for this team. I enjoy it every day with my teammates and the coaching staff. I want to stay like this for a long time."

From passive and cautious to relentless predators

The victory of the Austrian team against the Netherlands is a reward for coach Rangnick having enough time to shape the team according to the direction of this "Godfather of Gegen-press".

When Rangnick was appointed as Austria coach in April 2022, many were surprised, perhaps even laughed at the Austrian decision. Initially, there were shaky results, but over time, the mocking laughter died down.

Austria have started to make a splash with impressive performances, especially the victory over Italy and the draw with Belgium and France. In total, Rangnick and his team have won 3 out of 4 matches before going to Germany to participate in the Euro 2024 finals.

In the opening match, an own goal cost Austria their opening game against France, but the team quickly responded with wins over Poland and now the Netherlands.

In the match against the "Orange Storm", perhaps coach Rangnick's students were the "storm", the whirlwinds that relentlessly rushed into the opponent to steal the ball. The Austrian team's terrifying willpower and desire to steal the ball left the Dutch players exhausted.

Ralf Rangnick: Trò hề tại Man Utd và Bố già giúp đội tuyển Áo thăng hoa - 2 — Austria convincingly beat the Netherlands 3-2 thanks to the tactical imprint of Ralf Rangnick (Photo: Getty).

"You can see the improvement in the team since the head coach came to us," Sabitzer added. "Before, we were a bit passive and that's definitely the biggest change. Now we're very strong on the ball. Everyone knows when we lose the ball we need to transition and chase. That's a big difference."

Tom Middler, host of the Austrian football podcast "The Other Bundesliga", one of the most intimate followers of Austrian football in general and the Austrian national team in particular, said the current team is a complete contrast to the time of Franco Foda, Rangnick's predecessor.

"On a few memorable occasions, Franco Foda has shouted at his players when they tried to push forward and press instinctively. So the style of the current Austrian team is completely opposite," Middler said. "The players must have a lot of respect for Rangnick and are happy with him, because his philosophy is close to what the players are used to at the club."

Statistics also show that the Austrian team is one of the most effective pressing teams at Euro 2024.

Ralf Rangnick: Trò hề tại Man Utd và Bố già giúp đội tuyển Áo thăng hoa - 3 — The Austrian team won the top spot in Group D of Euro 2024 thanks to impressive total play with the effective football philosophy of "Godfather Gegen-press" (Photo: Getty).

Opata 's data on PPDA (passes per defensive action) shows that only Germany press more aggressively, allowing fewer passes before taking a defensive action.

But Rangnick's players have also been the "butchers" of this Euro. According to statistics, the Austrian players have committed 49 fouls on their opponents in 3 matches, more than any other team in the tournament, and have also shown their ferocity in chasing opponents to regain the ball.

"I just watched the Austrian team, the way they organised themselves with and without the ball," said former Liverpool player Stephen Warnock. "They were so organised, every player on the pitch knew what they had to do for the team. The bond between them was fantastic."

The ups and downs of "The Godfather of Gegen-press"

Not many people called Rangnick "The Godfather of Gegen-pess", "The Father of gegen-pressing" (applying constant pressure whether with or without the ball), "The Teacher of Teachers"... until he became the interim coach of Man Utd.

Rangnick had a difficult coaching career. Before Man Utd, he led 12 different clubs but rarely stayed for too long. Suddenly being given the power at the "Theatre of Dreams Old Trafford" seemed like a blessing, but in fact it was a curse for Rangnick.

The result of only 2 wins in the last 10 games at Man Utd, including 2 4-goal defeats against Liverpool and Brighton, caused the Technical Director position that was "planned" for Rangnick from the next season at Old Trafford to disappear. He left after 6 months like a farce.

However, when his reputation hit rock bottom, Rangnick found the right choice with the Austrian team and perhaps quite similar to the "fate" between coach Park Hang Seo and the Vietnamese team. These are all teams that have owned the best quality players for many years and found the right head coach.

Ralf Rangnick: Trò hề tại Man Utd và Bố già giúp đội tuyển Áo thăng hoa - 4 — Sabitzer is optimistic about Austria's chances under Rangnick at Euro 2024 (Photo: Getty).

Now, let's wait and see where the Austrian team can go. Of course, from the humble perspective of coach Rangnick, he downplayed his and his players' chances quite a bit.

"I said many months ago that I did not think about the possibility of winning the Euro. If someone asked me if I ruled out the possibility of winning the championship, I would answer that I did not rule it out but the chance is very small. Of course, I want my boys to go as far as possible and we will go step by step," coach Rangnick said.

Sabitzer was a little more optimistic about Austria's chances at Euro 2024. "Statistics and odds have their own language, but we have passed the first stage," the midfielder said.

"It was a tough group and we got through it. Going into the knockout stages, we're just focused on the game at hand. We have the quality to beat anyone."

Austria writes fairy tale in Germany? Why not?