Cristiano Ronaldo didn't know who Ralf Rangnick was but Austria's coach has restored his reputation

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo said he’d never heard of him and Manchester United fans have few fond memories of his short-lived spell as manager of the Premier League club. But Ralf Rangnick is rewriting his legacy at Euro 2024 with his emerging as one of the surprise packages of the tournament. Topping a group that included France and the Netherlands, the Austrians have announced themselves as contenders for the European Championship and advanced to knockout phase on the opposite side of the draw to Spain, Germany, France and Portugal.

Not bad for a coach whose previously solid reputation took a hit after an unsuccessful six months as interim manager of United through 2021-22, which included a run of just three wins from his last 14 games and heavy losses to Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton. “This guy is not even a coach,” Ronaldo said in his in November 2022. “If you are not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United?” While Rangnick’s previous job had been head of sports and development at Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow, his coaching credentials had been long-established in Germany, where he earned the nickname the “Professor”.



So effective was Rangnick’s brand of soccer - dubbed “gegenpressing” (counter pressing) - that it was widely-regarded as having influenced a generation of German coaches including Jurgen Klopp, Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel. “He had a huge influence on all of us at this t.