The manager of Manchester United, Ralf Rangnick has revealed that he knows how the manager of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp plays ahead of Manchester United vs Liverpool Premier League clash.
Ralf Rangnick and Jurgen Klopp will face each other for the first time in the Premier League when Manchester United visit Anfield Stadium later tonight, April 19, 2022. The Premier League game will kick off at 20:00.
Before now, Rangnick and Klopp were rivals in German Bundesliga, especially between 1999 and 2015 when the two coaches were working in Germany.
During that period, Rangnick coached Hannover 96, Schalke 04, 1899 Hoffenheim, and RB Leipzig. On the other hand, Klopp coached Mainz 05, and Borussia Dortmund during the same time frame.
The meeting point between Jurgen Klopp and Ralf Rangnick (head to head)
It is believed that the turning point in Jurgen Klopp’s coaching career happened in 2008 when he was the manager of Borussia Dortmund and Ralf Rangnick was the coach of Hoffenheim.
In one of the games in 2008, Hoffenheim defeated Dortmund 4-1. After the game according to Rangnick, Jurgen Klopp asked Rangnick to teach him how to make his team play “high-pressing, counter-pressing football with fast, proactive counter-attacking”. The Manchester United’s interim coach taught Klopp the high-pressing football philosophy which Klopp has adopted since then.
During their time in Germany, Jurgen Klopp and Rangnick faced each other 13 times in all competitions. In those meetings, Klopp managed to beat Rangnick twice.
Five of the meetings ended in Rangnick’s win while 6 ended in a draw. Their meeting at Anfield on Tuesday is the 14th time Klopp and the 63-year-old tactician will face each other.
Despite having an edge over Klopp, Rangnick described the 54-year-old German tactician as one of the best coaches in the world.
“Before [when] he came to Borussia Dortmund or started his coaching career at Mainz, he developed the club on a level, this is what modern management is all about.
“He’s one of the best, if not the best coach not only now the past couple of years. If this should be a role model, it’s no coincidence he came and they finished ninth, thereafter they made the necessary adaptations, they brought in the right players, built a squad and that’s why they are where they are.”
Rangnick has six of his players at Liverpool, hence, he knows how Jurgen Klopp wants to play
Coach Ralf Rangnick will lead Manchester United to face a Liverpool side that has at least six players the United coach has worked with during his days in Germany.
The players who have become prominent members of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side are Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, Naby Keita, and Takumi Minamino.
Rangnick believes that the fact that Klopp has six players that had played under him is proof that he knows how Klopp wants to play.
The veteran coach said: “Jurgen has built that team over the last six-and-a-half years. Six or seven of those players used to be my – or our – players. We signed them for our clubs when nobody knew them and again it’s no coincidence that this is probably the club with the highest number of players from our former clubs. Their approach, their style of football, and the way they want to play are pretty similar…
“I didn’t say how much influence I had on those players but it’s pretty obvious a big club like Liverpool, one of the best clubs in Europe, have six former players – it’s probably the highest number of players that nobody knew by the time we gave them debuts.
“This has got to do with a similar idea of football. Jurgen and me have known each other for a long time, I know how he wants to play, having six players from former clubs of mine is not a coincidence.”
🗣️ "Six or seven of those players used to be my players."
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 18, 2022
Ralf Rangnick admits he hasn't been surprised by the quality of the Liverpool squad because of the players recruited from his former clubs 👇 pic.twitter.com/Njiy25R4gp
Why is the match so important: Jurgen Klopp won’t let United gain points from Liverpool
Manchester United need to beat Liverpool to improve their chances of qualifying for the 2022-2023 UEFA Champions League campaign.
United are currently sitting on the 5th spot on the league table with 54 points in 32 games, three points below 4th placed Tottenham Hotspur, and on equal points with 6th placed Arsenal which have a game in hand.
Any defeat at this point will greatly jeopardize United’s chances of qualifying for a Champions League spot ahead of next season.
On the other hand, Liverpool cannot afford to lose the Premier League game. A defeat at the hands of United on Tuesday night might bring an end to their hope of overtaking Manchester City.
Note that Liverpool are currently sitting on the second spot on the league table with 73 points in 31 games, a point below first-placed Manchester City.
Ahead of the clash between Liverpool and Manchester United, coach Jurgen Klopp said: “Massive history, big fights in the past – big fights since I’m here. We lost strange games against United, we took a while to win there. Some players had to learn to deal with it because of how much it means to them. But we should have learned – we’ve had enough time to do that.
“This time it’s an incredibly important game for both teams. Both teams are fighting for being in the Champions League next year – or more, we will see.
“United won their last game. They were not overly happy with the performance, but the results from other games opened the door again. That’s the Man Utd we will face – they will go for it and we have to make sure that, if they want to qualify for the Champions League, they have to do it without our points. But an intense 95 minutes will have to be played.”
📺 Jurgen Klopp on his relationship with Ralf Rangnick:
— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) April 18, 2022
"On hold!" 🤣 pic.twitter.com/1w4M9fWa24
