10 facts you might not know about prospective Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick

#5 Rangnick won promotion to the Bundesliga with Hannover 96

Ralf Rangnick during his time as the coach of Hannover

Ralf Rangnick was appointed as manager of Hannover 96 in May 2001. Hannover 96 were a Bundesliga 2 side at the time and Rangnick transformed the side immediately. They won the second-division league title that season and earned promotion to the Bundesliga.

He led them to a 11th placed finish in their first season back in the Bundesliga. However, they couldn't built on it in the subsequent season and their form nosedived. This led to Rangnick being sacked from the club in March 2004.

#4 He resigned from Hoffenheim because the club sold Luiz Gustavo behind his back

Rangnick took over as coach at Hoffenheim in the 2006-07 season. He earned back-to-back promotions with Hoffenheim to take them from the third division to the Bundesliga. They finished seventh in the Bundesliga table in the 2008-09 season.

However, Rangnick resigned after the club sold midfielder Luiz Gustavo to Bayern Munich behind his back. Hoffenheim were eighth in the Bundesliga when Rangnick signed off as manager following a 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in the 2010-11 season.

#3 Rangnick achieved promotion to the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig

RB Salzburg v RB Leipzig - UEFA Europa League - Group

Ralf Rangnick fashioned RB Leipzig's rise to the top of the Bundesliga. After Alexander Zorniger resigned as the head coach, Rangnick announced that he will take over as head coach of the club in the 2015-16 season. He secured promotion to the Bundesliga before letting Ralph Hassenhuttl take over in 2016.

Rangnick became manager of RB Leipzig once again in July 2018. He led the team to a third-placed finish in the Bundesliga and also took them to the final of DFB Pokal which they lost to Bayern Munich.

#2 Ralf Rangnick has coached Thomas Tuchel

Ralf Rangnick and Thomas Tuchel

Ralf Rangnick coached Thomas Tuchel as a player at Ulm. In February, Rangnick said this about Tuchel:

“Thomas [Tuchel] became a coach through me. He was my player at Ulm & had to finish his career because of knee problems. I gave him a job as our under-15 coach. He didn’t even intend being a coach, he was working at a bar in Stuttgart.”

#1 Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp consider Rangnick their mentor

Ralf Rangick was the coach of FC Schalke when current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp won his first Bundesliga title with Borussia Dortmund. Klopp has spoken highly of Rangnick in the past and even said he might be the best German coach.

“One of the best, if not the best German coach.”

Thomas Tuchel, Jurgen Klopp, Ralph Hassenhuttl and Julian Nagelsmann are all coaches who consider Ralf Rangnick as one of their mentors.