Transitions, wheels of fortune and SoccerBot: The world of Ralf Rangnick

From being ironically called 'the professor', to being thought of as one of football's most influential innovators, this is the journey of Ralf Rangnick.

In the late 90s, a German side called SSV Ulm had just won promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. Managed by a bright 40-year-old German who was unknown to the general public, this team was expected to get relegated the same season. A few months went by, and with 16 games played, this team from Baden-Württemberg was unbeaten. It was in the middle of this streak, and off-the-pitch, that the world got its first glimpse at Ralf Rangnick’s innovative thoughts and creative approach.

Sportstudio, a late-night Bundesliga show, invited Ralf Rangnick onto their show to provide some insight regarding his overperforming team and his footballing philosophy. Answering everything in his usual analytical, straight-forward style, Rangnick then went on to explain the benefits of a flat four-man defense. For a country that heavily utilized sweepers, this was quite against the grain. The public was quite divided over the German coach and his demeanor. This, along with the explanation of tactics in detail on national television, led to Ralf Rangnick being nicknamed, ‘Fußball Professor’-ironically by some. Fast forward two decades and almost every team in the German first division is utilizing the principles of this Fußball Professor.

The rise

In the town of Backnang, to the northeast of Stuttgart was where Ralf Rangnick was brought up. Born in 1958, as a player the young Rangnick was a defensive midfielder. His understanding of the game and his aptitude for coaching led to him starting out as a player-coach for his hometown club. Following a successful youth-side coaching career, he was appointed as manager of SSV Ulm in 1997. At the time, Ulm played in the fourth division, the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg (tier IV). Under Rangnick, they went on to get promoted twice and reach the 2. Bundesliga (tier II).

Following stints at Stuttgart, Hannover, and Schalke, Rangnick’s Hoffenheim side was where his true managerial prowess was on display. After a return to Schalke, he then joined the Red Bull group of clubs. Rangnick’s tactical excellence was on full display at Schalke and Leipzig. However, that topic deserves its own article. For now, let’s move onto what this article is really about - Rangnick’s innovation and philosophy.

Complete control

With tactical maestro Helmut Gross, Rangnick introduced many innovations throughout his managerial career.

A small change that had significant benefits was at Leipzig when the players had to mandatorily learn German. The thought process behind this was to remove even the slightest communication barriers. However, it gives us a look at one of Rangnick’s strongest traits; the German coach is a complete control-freak.

Tactically, it meant that along with Gross, he would consider every single possibility regarding the match and cover all aspects of his tactics. But it’s the non-tactical parts, the psychological parts, that are really interesting.

What you see above is the photo of a ‘wheel of fortune’ that Rangnick installed at Leipzig. When a player is late to training or breaks one of the numerous rules that Rangnick has set, they have to spin this wheel and undergo the punishment they land upon. This can range from training one of the academy teams for a day to buying gifts for 60 staff members. Below is the list of punishments written on the wheel, including some ridiculous ones. It’s only natural to wonder whether any player had to undergo the sixth punishment, and who it was.

1. Inflate the balls, take them onto the pitch and clean them

2. Train one of the academy teams on a free day

3. Stadium tour guide

4. No punishment

5. Maintain a training pitch

6. Wear a ballerina tutu for training

7. Mix drinks ahead of training and fill water bottles

8. Work as an assistant in the club shop

9. Serve food in the team cafeteria and clean tables

10. Work as a kit assistant

11. Help load the team bus with crates and bags for away games

12. Purchase gifts for 60 members of staff

Rangnick also imposed restrictions on using mobiles after entering the stadium and being late to any meetings. Mukiele and Augustin were once dropped from Leipzig’s Europa League squad due to the same.

der Visionär

Rangnick’s tendency to control the game, from playing as a defensive midfielder to becoming a highly exhaustive strategist, did have many advantages, which were helped his innovative nature.

As a coach, Rangnick tried to control as much as possible. This inculcated attention to detail in his coaching. Combined with his progressive thinking, his progressive ideas are reflected in his implementation of SoccerBot. This is a 360° curved screen, which surrounds the player. The player is then given a football, and the screen loads a specific match scenario all around him. Leipzig's coaching staff would load a specific scenario, and everything from the reaction time, pulse to the speed of his passes, and how the foot and ball interacted would be recorded.

Sometimes this SoccerBot would be used to check the vision, other times their thinking. Often, players perform differently when under pressure. This simulation would also allow Rangnick to understand each psych and what scares or inspires them on the field.

Tactically, Rangnick’s innovative nature has led to him being a visionary. He is one of the first, if not the first, people to introduce a high-press system in the Bundesliga. At a time when libero's and absorbing pressure and countering were the norm, this German coach was already implementing a flat back-four and intense pressing high up the pitch. His philosophy is one that endorses this system, along with quick and efficient transitions, which leads us to our next point.

Perfecting transitions

Ralf Rangnick's relation with transitional play is such that it shows his progressive tactical thinking, and his approach to teaching his players the same shows his attention to detail.

Rangnick firmly believes that the ball must be won as soon as it is lost and that it must be won as close to the opposition’s goal as possible. Hence, his Hoffenheim, Schalke, and Leipzig side would regularly be seen pressing intensely immediately after losing possession. The principles of gegenpressing follow the axioms that the best chance of winning the ball is within 8 seconds of losing it and that the best chance of scoring a goal is during the 10 seconds after regaining possession.

Fast transitions are something that need a lot of training, cohesion, and verticality. To make sure the squad is adept at this, Rangnick used an innovative training method. Rangnick in training bought two machines with timers. A clock that has an eight-second countdown and another clock that has a 10-second countdown. The first timer is when the players have to recover possession after losing it, and the second shows the time that players have to finish the action with a shot after recovering the ball

Not only did this prepare the players to transition efficiently and quickly, but it also made sure they were able to cope under pressure and unnerving situations.

Fußball Professor

Ralf Rangnick was ahead of his time. Influenced by Sacchi, Lobanovski, and other great coaches, Rangnick is currently not in a coaching role, but his legacy continues to grow. Coaches such as Klopp, Julian Nagelsmann, and Marco Rose are just some pupils of Rangnick’s teachings. In this article, we talked about Rangnick and his innovation and attention to detail. Up next, we will take a look at his tactics, and a closer look at his footballing philosophy.

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