Manchester United have appointed Ralf Rangnick as interim manager for the rest of the 2021-22 season. As reported on the Red Devils website, the German would be take up a consultancy role at the club for an additional 2 years after this interim period.
However, his debut as United manager has been delayed due to work visa problems. The club are trying to follow the regulatory process for the work visa, but until then, Micheal Carrick will continue at the helm. This also means that the former United midfielder will remain in charge against Arsenal on Thursday. A Manchester United statement said:
“While the club follows the regulatory process around a work visa, Carrick will continue at the helm.”
Previously, Rangnick was working as the Head of Sports and Development at Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow. Now, let us take a look at how appointing Ralf Rangnick as interim manager could benefit Manchester United, by understanding his principles of play and basic tactics.
Formation:
Rangnick essentially uses a 4-2-2-2 shape but has also made use of a 4-4-2, and a 4-4-2 diamond in the past. He also deployed a 3-5-2 setup during his stint at RB Leipzig. While the fundamentals of his game remained unchanged, the 3-5-2 gave Leipzig an additional man in the middle of the field.
Defensive Style:
Rangnick draws inspiration from legendary manager Arrigo Sacchi’s man-oriented and ball-oriented style of defending. As Sacchi said:
“The football I wanted was active also in the defensive phase,”
“The players had to be protagonists through pressing.”
Describing his style of play, Rangnick quoted:
“We like to press high, with a very intense counter-pressure. When we have the ball, we do not like any square or back passes.”
In the Bundesliga, Rangnick employed a high-press with a few salient features. It was very important for all 11 players on the field to understand the movements of one another. Players could not press in isolation. Pressing was effective only if the surrounding sub-actions complimented the player committing a pressure.
Most teams that press well make effective use of passing traps and triggers. Triggers could be opposition centre-backs playing a pass to the wings, a poor first touch or a player receiving the ball on his weaker foot, centre-backs making side-ways passes to each other, or a player receiving the ball with his back to the goal.
One of Leipzig’s most notable pressing traps was to force the opposition to play the ball wide. This would trigger a chain reaction allowing the team to regain possession quickly. A high line of defence was also very important to minimise the playing field. In the words of Johan Cruyff:
“If you have the ball you must make the field as big as possible, and if you don’t have the ball you must make it as small as possible.”
An example is represented below:
A compressed 4-2-2-2 shape. Passive press from centre-forwards, cutting off passes down the centre. Forced pass to the left-back acts as a pressing trigger. All passing options cut off.
Another commonly used example was to create a pressing trap in the middle of the field, as represented below:
Space is left open in the middle to the opposition 6. Upon receiving the ball, he is surrounded by 4 players.
An important part of Rangnick’s tactics was implementing effective side overloads. All 10 out-field players would often crowd a single side of the field. This had a two-fold effect:
- Completely cut out the passing options on the far side
- Allow fewer passing options and less space
In the 2018-19 season, Leipzig made 40 pressures in the attacking third and 80 pressures in the mid-field third every game, the second-highest figures in the league for both metrics. They also had an impressive 111.11 recoveries every 90 minutes, the best in the league.
Attacking Style:
Rangnick noted, “When we have the ball, we do not like any square or back passes.” Separately, he wrote, “If you want to increase the speed of your game, you have to develop quicker minds rather than quicker feet.”
Upon regaining possession, Rangnick aims to transition into attack as soon as possible. Side-ways passes are avoided because they just take more time without moving the ball forward. Under Rangnick, Leipzig aimed to get the ball forward quickly. While the opposition defence was still disorganised, they were easier to unsettle. The wingers attacked spaces in the half-spaces to get into useful positions.
In the 2018-19 season, Leipzig averaged 15.06 shots per game, the third-highest in the Bundesliga. It is interesting to note that they averaged only 33 passes into the final third, 7th highest in the league, but 10.7 passes into the box were the third highest in the league that season. This is a testimonial to their directness in possession. 61 completed through balls was also the highest in the league.
The 8-second Rule and 10-second Rule:
During training sessions, Rangnick utilises 2 stopwatches, one set for 8 seconds and another set for 10 seconds. The defending side is expected to regain the ball within 8 seconds, while the team on the ball has 10 seconds to travel the field and score a goal. In Rangnick’s own words:
“The ticking can be irritating for them at first, but we’ve noticed that this kind of training can affect players in just a few weeks, they adjust their style of play and it becomes an instinct. They look to play forward more quickly.”
The Three Ks:
Talking to Deutsche Welle, Rangnick explained his policy of the 3 Ks; Kapital(money), Konzept(concept), and Kompetenz(competence). He said:
“If those three things come together, then you can be successful. If you only have one or two of them, it’s more difficult.”
Fit at Manchester United:
Appointing Ralf Rangnick as the interim manager is a long-term option for Manchester United. He is someone with a complex style of play and it is difficult to imagine that he could effectively convert a disorganised side like the Red Devils into a competent side in just 6 months, bereft a proper pre-season as well. The January transfer window could see a couple of new signings into Old Trafford which would smoothen the transition.
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And as we have seen in the past, a string of good results and failure to secure a replacement manager could very well result in Ralf Rangnick taking up the United role permanently. Big names and fan favourites in the current setup like Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo will have to either be benched or adjust their game style to fit into the German’s plans. The 2 years as a consultant also seem vaguely defined.
It is always exciting to see a manager like Ralf get linked to a club like United, but several underlying factors have to be considered. What are your thoughts on the matter, how will the German fare as United’s interim manager?
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