Ralf Rangnick has been appointed as the new manager of the Austria football team. The 63-year-old will stay on at Manchester United for the rest of the season before departing for his new role.
He be combining that coaching role with duties as a consultant at Manchester United once his time as interim boss of the Red Devils comes to a close, as per the original interim deal.
The German coach took the reins at Old Trafford on an interim basis in November 2021 following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and a brief stint in caretaker charge from Michael Carrick.
He was only ever intended to be a stop-gap, seeing things through to the end of the current campaign, and it has now been revealed that he will be splitting his time between England and Austria from the summer of 2022.
Rangnick to stay on at Man United as consultant
Rangnick has told United’s official website of the decision to take on two positions. “I will take over as national team manager of Austria at the end of the season but will continue my consultancy with Manchester United.
“I’m really looking forward to playing my part in helping United become a real force again.
"It is an honor for me to take on the role of [Austria] manager. The prospect of contesting the European Championships in Germany with a young team hungry for success fills me with great anticipation.”
The German outlined what his new role will entail, saying it will focus on player recruitment and development. "For me, the most important bit is recruitment now," Rangnick told the media on Friday.
"This is, for me, the most vital point, that we bring in the best possible players and speak about that, who could that be. It's not only identifying those players but meeting them, convincing them to join this club, even though we will not be playing in the Champions League.
"This is what I see as the most important bit. Again, also, with regard to top talented players for the academy, identifying those kind of players."
Rangnick said he has not spoken to new incoming manager Erik ten Hag yet about how the two will work together. "What I can tell you and confirm is I will definitely continue with my consultancy role at the end of the season and for the next two years and I'm very much looking forward to that," Rangnick said prior to the midweek match against Chelsea.
"We haven't spoken, Erik and myself, but we have spoken with the board about the content, the profile of the job, the content of that consultancy role, we spoke about that and that's why I can now confirm I will definitely continue with that."
What did Austria say about new boss Ralf Rangnick?
Gerhard Milletich, president of the Austrian Football Association (OFB), has said of bringing in an experienced tactician: “We are very pleased that in Ralf Rangnick we have been able to recruit an outstanding expert in international football as team manager.
“We are all convinced that he is the ideal man and that his vision will advance the national team and the OFB.”
Rangnick will be moving into international management for the first time in his career.
He does, however, boast prior experience of life in Austria having worked as director of football at Red Bull Salzburg between 2012 and 2015.
The squad he will be inheriting, which includes Real Madrid star David Alaba, failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
It does, however, have UEFA Nations League fixtures approaching in June and will be raring to go by the time qualification for Euro 2024 begins in March 2023 – with a draw there set to take place on October 9.
Serwas Ralf #Rangnick! 😁👋🏻
— ÖFB - oefb.at (@oefb1904) April 29, 2022
Serwas beim ÖFB! 🦅🇦🇹#GemeinsamÖsterreich #NewBoss #DasNationalteam
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ℹ️ Alle Infos: https://t.co/rBvZhoD9a1 pic.twitter.com/RP5B2QP7Og
What did Man United say about Rangnick's new role?
Manchester United's official release regarding the news had little more than base-level facts regarding the announcement.
There were no quotes from anyone employed at Manchester United besides Rangnick himself in the release.
"This will be Rangnick’s first role in international management, although he was the director of football at Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg between 2012 and 2015," the release read.
"Ralf performed the equivalent role at RB Leipzig and was Lokomotiv Moscow’s manager of sports and development prior to joining United as interim manager in December 2021. His managerial CV includes two spells each at Leipzig and Schalke, as well as Bundesliga experience with Hoffenheim, Hannover and Stuttgart."
Ralf has been appointed as manager of Austria from the end of 2021/22, but will remain at United in a consultancy role.#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 29, 2022
