Ralf Rangnick enjoys dream start as Austria manager after leaving Man United | OneFootball

Ralf Rangnick enjoyed a dream start to life as Austria’s national team manager following his departure from Manchester United.

The 63-year-old was unable to get a tune out of Man Utd’s players after replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November 2021.

Dubbed ‘the godfather of gegenpressing’, Rangnick was appointed on an interim basis until the end of the 2021-22 season. He was then set to stay on at Old Trafford in a consultancy role.

However, shortly before the end of the season it was announced that Rangnick had been appointed manager of Austria.

Rangnick planned to combine managing Austria with his consultancy role at Man Utd, but it was agreed last week that it was in the best interests of all concerned if the German coach left Old Trafford.

Some United fans were unhappy with the news. They felt that Rangnick, who wasn’t afraid to speak openly about the club’s issues in press conferences, needed to stay behind the scenes for the club to stand any chance of returning to the top of English football – regardless of Erik ten Hag’s appointment as manager.

But combining the two roles would have been extremely difficult for Rangnick, if not impossible.

How did Rangnick get on in his first game as Austria manager?

Frustrated United fans might be feeling even more annoyed after seeing that Rangnick recorded a hugely impressive 3-0 victory over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League on Friday night.

Goals from Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch and Marcel Sabitzer saw Austria hammer the 2018 World Cup finalists in Croatia.

“Of course Ralf Rangnick has discovered his tactical genius after leaving United,” one fan tweeted, alongside a screenshot of the full-time score.

Arnautovic’s goal shows that Austria are already producing some great football under their new coach.

“The players were full of energy,” Arnautovic said after the match, per the Manchester Evening News. “Croatia are an excellent team, but we played a great match. We turned our chances to goals and deserved this win. We want to return to the top.”

Rangnick, meanwhile, told reporters: “We had problems in the first 25 minutes, but getting the lead just before the break did us good.

“In the second half we played really well and scored two wonderful goals.

“We could even have scored more. I am very satisfied.”