46 Facts About Ralf Rangnick

1.

Ralf Rangnick is a German professional football coach, executive and former player who is currently the manager of the Austria national team.

2.

Ralf Rangnick was then appointed by Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2000, but was dismissed in 2001.

3.

Ralf Rangnick 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.

4.

Ralf Rangnick later served as head coach at RB Leipzig across two periods between 2015 and 2019.

5.

Ralf 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.

6.

Ralf Rangnick resigned from Red Bull in 2020 and joined Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow as manager of sports and development in 2021.

7.

Ralf Rangnick is credited with developing the Gegenpressing tactic, whereby the team, after losing possession, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup.

8.

Ralf Rangnick's sides have been noted for their pressing and high attacking output, as well as for popularising zonal marking.

9.

Ralf Rangnick is credited for influencing Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralph Hasenhuttl and Jurgen Klopp, among others.

10.

Ralf Rangnick's mother is from Breslau and his father is from Konigsberg.

11.

Ralf Rangnick began his playing career at VfB Stuttgart, but was noted for his strategic talents and was added as player-coach.

12.

Ralf Rangnick's playing career was short-lived and was primarily concentrated in Germany, but included a stint at English club Southwick while studying at the University of Sussex.

13.

Ralf Rangnick was one of the first coaches to publicise football tactics, notably during a ZDF SportsStudio TV broadcast in December 1998.

14.

Ralf Rangnick began his coaching career in the 1980s, first as player-coach at his hometown club Viktoria Backnang, then continuing on to play and coach at VfB Stuttgart II and TSV Lippoldsweiler.

15.

Ralf Rangnick then returned to first team management in 1995 with two seasons as head coach at SSV Reutlingen 05.

16.

Ralf Rangnick took the club to a fourth place finish in his first season.

17.

Reutlingen were in fifth position when Ralf Rangnick left the club.

18.

Ralf Rangnick won two out of the club's five final matches.

19.

Ralf Rangnick was now first team coach at the club he had served as a player and coached at amateur and under 19 level previously.

20.

Ralf Rangnick finished with a record of 36 wins, 16 draws and 34 losses.

21.

The next season brought a new post, as Ralf Rangnick took over 2.

22.

Ralf Rangnick's first season was a complete success as they romped home as champions and were promoted to the Bundesliga after a 13-year absence.

23.

Ralf Rangnick finished with a record of 44 wins, 22 draws and 32 losses.

24.

Ralf Rangnick again tasted European action as the club had earned a UEFA Cup spot via the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

25.

Ralf Rangnick led them through the group phase, but they exited in the knockout rounds to Shakhtar Donetsk.

26.

Ralf Rangnick left with a record of 36 wins, 15 draws and 14 losses.

27.

On 2 January 2011, Ralf Rangnick resigned as head coach of Hoffenheim, citing the sale of midfielder Luiz Gustavo to Bayern Munich, of which he had not been informed, as his reason for resigning from the club.

28.

Hoffenheim were in eighth place when Ralf Rangnick left the club.

29.

Ralf Rangnick finished with a record of 79 wins, 43 draws and 44 losses.

30.

In March 2011, Ralf Rangnick was named as the replacement for Felix Magath as coach of Schalke 04.

31.

On 22 September 2011, Ralf Rangnick stepped down as Schalke's coach due to chronic fatigue syndrome, stating he did not have "the necessary energy to be successful and to develop the team and the club".

32.

Ralf Rangnick finished with a record of ten wins, three draws and ten losses.

33.

Ralf Rangnick finished with a record of 21 wins, 7 draws and 8 losses.

34.

Ralf Rangnick finished his second term as coach with a record of 29 wins, 13 draws and 10 losses.

35.

The club and Ralf Rangnick decided that he would not continue with his planned consultancy role with the club due to the demands of his new role at the Austria national team.

36.

On 29 April 2022, Ralf Rangnick was appointed manager of the Austria national team on a two-year deal, starting in June.

37.

In June 2012, Ralf Rangnick became the director of football for both Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig.

38.

In 2019, Ralf Rangnick was promoted to head of sport and development for Red Bull GmbH, thus overseeing global football initiatives, including New York Red Bulls and their takeover of Red Bull Bragantino.

39.

Ralf Rangnick resigned from Red Bull in 2020, with a reported move to Milan failing during negotiations.

40.

Ralf Rangnick left the post on 29 November 2021 to become interim manager of Manchester United.

41.

Ralf Rangnick is regarded as the "godfather" of modern German football.

42.

Ralf Rangnick is credited with developing Gegenpressing, whereby the team, after losing possession, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup together with evolving player's spatial coverage by increasing memory space and processing pace.

43.

Ralf Rangnick developed this after playing a friendly against Dynamo Kyiv in 1984, being inspired by the pressing philosophy of Valeriy Lobanovskyi.

44.

Ralf Rangnick's sides have been noted for their pressing and high attacking output, as well as for popularising zonal marking.

45.

Ralf Rangnick has cited his main coaching influences as Ernst Happel, Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Arrigo Sacchi and Zdenek Zeman, and is credited for influencing Thomas Tuchel, Jurgen Klopp, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralph Hasenhuttl, Marco Rose, Roger Schmidt, Adi Hutter, Oliver Glasner and Matthias Jaissle.

46.

Ralf Rangnick has said that a parental seminar about "raising kids with love and consequence" influenced his relationship with people he works with.