Everton is on the hunt for a new manager after Carlo Ancelotti left for Real Madrid. Several candidates have been mentioned as possible replacements like Nuno Espirito Santo, David Moyes, Duncan Ferguson and many others. One name that surely grabs attention is of Ralf Rangnick.
Rangnick has not held any managerial post since 2019 after he moved to the role of Head of development for Red Bull sides across the globe. He is one of the most philosophy driven managers out there and has inspired a bunch of German managers through his philosophy and teachings. He can be credited for being one of the first visionaries for Gegenpressing and popularizing this style.
Everton have been trapped in the malicious cycle of instability with none of the previous four managers – Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva and Carlo Ancelotti – have not lasted more than 18 months at the helm. Two of the aforementioned were fired, one left the job after seven months and one left when Real Madrid came calling.
Everton director of football Marcel Brands has reportedly been overwhelmed with as many as 40 enquiries about the vacant job. The Toffees are studying several managers. Whether Ralf Rangnick is there in Brands’ list or not, he needs to be considered.
Here are three things Ralf Rangnick can bring to Everton:
Ralf Rangnick is known as the father of modern German football
Identity
Now, Ralf Rangnick doesn’t boast a huge trophy cabinet as a manager but what he brings to a team is something very few managers on this planet can offer. He’s popularly known as the father of modern German football. Back in the ’90s, German coaches and teams thought that the sweeper system would allow them to dominate the game for eternity.
Rangnick went against the highly successful method, in a bid to introduce a futuristic system. He worked closely with Helmut Groß, inspired by Arrigo Sachhi’s AC Milan and Valeriy Lobanovskyi of Dynamo Kyiv, building an advanced and innovative system that focused on zonal marking and pressing.
Rangnick arrives at any club with his main aim to instil his philosophy in the team. He’s done it at a Hoffenheim side that lingered in the third division of German football when he took over and he’s also done it at RB Leipzig where he had adequate money but instead focused on injecting his ideas and building the team instead of just buying suitable players for his system.
The German’s sides play high tempo, aggressive pressing football with the focus on recovering the ball within five seconds of losing it. His sides rely heavily on transitions and quick movement on and off the ball. There should be vertical passing towards the opponent’s goal rather than the patient build-up through a closely-knit array of pass networks, as we see in Pep Guardiola’s tiki-taka. Rangnick demands intensity and wants to take the opponents by surprise.
Identity and distinctness reign supreme for Rangnick. Something that Everton have lacked for what feels like an eternity. Ancelotti never instilled a style or system. And when you look back, Ancelotti’s teams do not have a common, distinct style. They are known to win things but each side he managed played separately.
Everton are in need of a clear direction and a philosophy that can be infused in the current crop of players as well as the budding youngsters who would be the players for the club in the future. Rangnick can bring that to Everton.
Marcel Brands has been hailed for his vision and ideas for Everton
Matching vision with Marcel Brands
Ever since Marcel Brands has taken over the role of director of football at Everton, the Toffees have adopted the policy of mostly signing young players with a few exceptions of Fabian Delph, James Rodriguez and Allan but it is worth noting that James and Allan were signings that happened due to Ancelotti’s presence.
If you look at the signings over the last three years, over 75% of the signings have been under the age group of 25. The idea is to not only target short term goals but prepare a team for the future which is why Brands has also overhauled the academy.
Ralf Rangnick also shares a similar vision. When he was called by Red Bull to develop and help their clubs progress, RB Salzburg were dominant in Austria but had an aging team who were hitting the end of their cycle. Instead of blatantly spending money in the transfer market, he placed trust in the youth and focused on developing the youngsters. Within a few seasons, Salzburg had a younger, faster, fitter squad.
Quickly this translated idea to Leipzig as well. The Mane’s and the Keita’s we see today are a product of Rangnick’s systems. Rangnick has left the Red Bull set up but his idea of concentrating on developing young players has stayed. Timo Werner, Erling Braut Haaland, Patson Daka attest to the above notion.
When Rangnick was in charge of Hoffenheim, the German made it clear to their owner that he is going to sign young players only. He wanted to mould them and develop them. He also wanted to create a culture of growth that focused on club’s academies where the burgeoning youngsters could grow and eventually get promoted to the senior squad.
This aligns perfectly with Brands’ vision and Rangnick could further help the club’s youngsters flourish.
Ralf Rangnick’s sides play attractive football
Attractive football
Something that Everton fans will be craving for is attractive, watchable football. There have been times in Ancelotti’s reign when the team looks unwatchable and while most times it was blamed on the lack of quality of players to adapt to Ancelotti’s style, it had become a recurring theme in games when the team tried to play brave, expansive football.
Though the Italian did deliver some exceptional results in few games, masterminding the tactical approach but that happened when the team took a pragmatic approach and rather soaked up the pressure.
Rangnick is a torchbearer for high tempo, attractive football. The fans want to see Everton become more creative and authoritative on the ball. Playing direct football works, soaking up pressure and attacking on the counter is also a successful method developed, look at Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid for instance but that only works if your team has players who can be devastating on the counter.
While Ancelotti’s troops soaked pressure really well, they never looked threatening on the counter often fizzling out before reaching the final third. Rangnick brings a different style to the club, something that will entice the fans and even restore their faith in God if the German can deliver success because, at the moment, Everton fans seemed to be the most cursed people in the football world.
The picture of watching Rangnick in his charcoal coloured rectangular eyeglasses, giving the look of a professor in a buzzing Goodison Park appears beguiling.
Is Ralf Rangnick a strong candidate for the managerial job at Everton?