Gareth Southgate resigned from the England national team on Tuesday, sparking rumors and links to the United States men’s national team, or USMNT. During his stint as the head coach of the Three Lions, Southgate had strong showings in international competitions. He reached the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia before losing to eventual finalist France in the 2022 World Cup. In the Euros, England thrived. It reached the Euro 2020 Final only to lose on penalties and the Euro 2024 Final, which resulted in another loss.
Due to the vacancy at the top of the USMNT, Southgate would be a natural fit. He has international experience with a major side and his resume speaks for itself, even if there is a lack of trophies. Due to strictly his name recognition, Southgate would be the signing that would be a splash for US Soccer. It is not the right move, though. US Soccer should not succumb to the same issues England fell victim to. Instead, there are other candidates US Soccer can turn to.
Ralf Rangnick is under contract with Austria for the next two years. After qualifying for the Euros, Rangnick’s contract automatically extended through the 2026 World Cup. Regardless, this is someone the United States should go out and actively pursue. The current crop of rumors are flashy names, yes. Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Gareth Southgate and even Herve Renard would be enough to make fans excited. Ralf Rangnick, most well-known in the United States for his struggles at Manchester United, carries an identity on the pitch that US Soccer can benefit from.
Rangnick comes from the Red Bull school of teaching, previously serving as the manager of RB Leipzig in Germany for two seasons. There, he honed in on the aggressive nature of coaching that thus extended into his time with Austria. That can be the identity US Soccer develops with Rangnick at the helm.
Rangnick has become the leading voice of Red Bull’s ideology. High-tempo passing and aggressive counter-pressing is a physically demanding style of play. Yet, it is exciting, and Rangnick’s time with Austria has shown that it works. Austria topped a group that included France and the Netherlands. The side’s six goals were second to only Germany, which scored five goals in its opening game against Scotland. This often led to some inefficacies at the back, as Austria conceded four goals in the group stage and two against Turkey in the quarterfinals.
However, this was Austria under the leadership of Rangnick for less than 30 games. In his 27 games as the Austria head coach, he has picked up 16 wins, four draws and seven losses. It is hard to compare these sorts of statistics among managers given the difference in opposition. For example, Gregg Berhalter had a better win percentage than Rangnick during his time with the USMNT. There was, of course, easier opposition in North America.
Berhalter struggled against stronger opposition. Losses in key games to nations like the Netherlands or Uruguay showed how Berhalter struggled against managers who had tactical acumen. Rangnick would be able to compete with them via his progressive playing style.
Moreover, Austria and the USMNT do not have the same talent that Gareth Southgate had at his disposal with England. While Southgate showed he could make the correct substitutions, namely Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins in the Euro 2024 semifinal, he would not have the same options with the USMNT. There is no Jude Bellingham to call on to score a last-minute overhead kick to equalize. With the side’s star striker out, the United States does not have a player who scored 19 goals in the Premier League like Ollie Watkins.
Rangnick had good players with Austria, that much cannot be denied. Yet, he turned Marcel Sabitzer from a role player into one of the best players at Euro 2024. He could very well do the same with the USMNT, while Southgate may struggle in that regard.
The challenge Rangnick would face is adequately adapting his ideology into the USMNT. In other words, the United States may not have the right crop of players to fit the Red Bull model. There is reason to say it would work. Christian Pulisic is known for his ability to press as a forward, and Timothy Weah has defensive capabilities on the other side. Tyler Adams spent time in the Red Bull organization, so he would be a commanding force in the middle of the field to captain the squad. It may be a natural fit for Rangnick given Adams’s time with different RB clubs.
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