Recently, Germany's Bild newspaper revealed the shocking news that the Austrian Football Association's relationship with the national team has been chronically strained, while at the same time, the Manchester United club is surprisingly interested in recalling former interim boss Rangnick to a new role as sporting director.
The Austrian Football Federation (AFF) is reportedly in a state of disarray, with tensions with the national team having persisted for weeks. The national team head coach, Rangnick, was even more emotional when he said that the president of the FA had not had any communication with him for ten whole weeks and that the two sides had fallen into silence. He even made it clear that he would not consider renewing his contract with the FA after the 2026 World Cup.
On the United side, the club is searching around to fill the void left by the departure of former sporting director Ashworth last week with the club. Multiple media reports in England say United are interested in inviting Ronnick back, though not to return him to coaching, but rather to take on the role of sporting director, responsible for key tasks such as team reinforcements and tactical planning.
However, the report also raises the question of whether or not Ronnick would actually want to return to United? During his interim stint in charge, Ronnick failed to successfully implement his tactical philosophy and was extremely dissatisfied with the management structure at the time. His scoring average for the 29 games he was in charge was just 1.45 points per game, a figure that was almost a record low for any United manager.
Ronnick once likened it to his time in charge of Manchester United, saying, "From a medical point of view, it's like an open-heart surgery, where the problem is so obvious that you don't need a magnifying glass to recognize it. For me, it's not enough to just do some fine-tuning or minor cosmetic surgery. It takes more than just a little alteration here and a little tweak there." The comments also revealed his disappointment and dissatisfaction with United's management at the time.
In addition to Rangnick, former Crystal Palace sporting director Friedman and Atletico Madrid director Berta have also emerged as potential candidates for United. United will have to weigh these options carefully to ensure that they find the best sporting director for the team's future development.
