Mueez Ajao
– Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has been named Austria boss.
– Rangnick will still take on his consultancy role with United as planned at the end of this season.
– “I’m really looking forward to playing my part in helping United become a real force again,” he said.
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– The 63-year-old German has signed a two-year deal with Austria and will join up with them after the Premier League season ends in May.
– “It is an honour for me to take on the role of manager,” he said.
– “The prospect of contesting the European Championships in Germany with a young team hungry for success fills me with great anticipation.”
– Austria, 23rd in the Fifa rankings, have been without a head coach since the resignation of Franco Foda in March following their failure to qualify for this year’s World Cup.
– “We are very pleased that we were able to win an outstanding expert in international football as team boss,” said Gerhard Milletich, president of the Austrian Football Association.
– “We are all convinced that he is the ideal man and that his vision will advance the national team.”
– United have won 10 of their 25 games in all competitions since Rangnick replaced the sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November.
– United are sixth in the table, five points behind fourth-placed Arsenal with three games remaining.
– Ajax boss Erik ten Hag will take over in the summer, becoming United’s fifth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
– Rangnick left his role as head of sports and development at Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow to move to United, having built an impressive coaching reputation in Germany.
– He set Ulm on course for promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time before spells in charge of Stuttgart, Hannover, Hoffenheim, Schalke and RB Leipzig.
– He won the German Cup and reached the Champions League semi-finals with Schalke in 2011.
