Ralf Rangnick fulfills his next heart’s desire and becomes national coach. The 63-year-old takes over the Austrian football selection. “It is an honor for me to take on the role of team boss. I am particularly looking forward to the prospect of competing in the European Championships in Germany with a young team hungry for success,” said Rangnick in a statement on Friday.
He succeeds Franco Foda, who announced his departure after failing to qualify for the World Cup at the end of the year. As the ÖFB announced on Friday, Rangnick’s contract is initially valid for two years. Should the team qualify for the EM 2024 in Germany, the contract will be automatically extended by two years until the 2026 World Cup.
According to Rangnick on Thursday evening, he will also work as a Manchester United agent after this season as planned. The native Swabian, who had always dreamed of an engagement in the Premier League, is still working as the coach of the English record champions. Dutchman Erik ten Hag will coach the United squad from July 1st.
Rangnick doesn’t have much time until his first game as national coach. On June 3rd Austria will play against Croatia in the Nations League in Osijek. Three days later there will be the first home game under Rangnick’s management, opponents in Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium will then be Denmark.
Rangnick could also meet Yussuf Poulsen, whom he once brought to RB Leipzig as sports director. In his own squad, he knows Marcel Sabitzer (now FC Bayern) very well from their time together at RB. Another home game and more than just a real endurance test is for Rangnick on June 10th, again in Vienna the opponent is world champion France.
Since the beginning of the month there has been speculation that Rangnick will be Austria’s national coach. However, an alleged meeting had been denied by the association a few weeks ago. Rangnick was also under discussion as national coach after Joachim Löw’s farewell announcement last year. He had made a name for himself as a coach and doer at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.
In December 2021 he took over as interim coach at Manchester United, having previously worked as sports director at Lok Moscow. In the 25 games with Manchester so far, however, Rangnick has only won ten games, eight games ended in a draw and seven were lost. The team around star Cristiano Ronaldo is sixth in the table.
