Rangnick looks forward to meeting Sir Alex

Saturday 04 December 2021 22:30

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick is eager to meet Sir Alex Ferguson once again in the coming weeks.

The German is starting to settle into his new role and will be in the Old Trafford dugout for our home Premier League clash with Crystal Palace on Sunday.

For his debut as Reds boss, he will sit in the seat previously occupied by Sir Alex, who Rangnick of course faced twice as Schalke 04 manager in the two legs of the 2011 UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Although the night over 10 years ago went better for the Scot than the German, as United secured a spot in the final with a 4-1 win at the Theatre of Dreams, our new interim boss would still like to chat with the club’s most successful manager. 

Watch Ralf’s first press conference in full Video

Watch Ralf’s first press conference in full

Rangnick talks to the media at Old Trafford on the day he’s officially unveiled as United interim…

When speaking to journalists for the Sunday newspapers, Rangnick revealed that a meeting is in the works, but he has not been able to see Sir Alex yet.

"I would have wanted to already but he came back from New York yesterday and had to stay one or two days at home due to Covid regulations. But I’m very much looking forward to meeting him in the next two or three weeks," Rangnick said.

"Darren Fletcher has already told me that he wants to arrange a lunch or a dinner. I saw him obviously when we played against each other. After the second leg, he invited me into his office at Old Trafford for a glass of wine. At the time he enjoyed it more than I did because we lost 4-1. The team he had and the team we had… the gap was just too big at the time."

After the glass of wine at the Theatre of Dreams, the duo met again four years later in what our interim boss describes as a brilliant experience.

"I met him again in 2015 at the awards for Kicker sports magazine," the German said.

"We had dinner together at the time and it was superb. Once again, I’m very much looking forward to meeting him again in person."

Rangnick was also asked by the journalists whether he will draw inspiration from Sir Alex’s time and feats as United manager.

"The important thing is to stick to and celebrate this DNA that you still have but implement it and transfer it to modern football," the 63-year-old emphasised.

"This is the most important thing and, in fact, it’s pretty easy in football. You need to have an idea of how you want to play football, what you stand for, a certain identity.

"‘How do we want to be seen? How do we want to play? How do our fans want us to play?’ And then make sure you have the best possible recruitment so you can sign the best possible players for this kind of football and at the same time, in the medium or long term, have the best possible manager to train and coach this group of players."

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