This was not the coach who moped glumly around Old Trafford for six months in one of Manchester United's more unusual managerial phases. Skipping along the touchline, punching the air, losing his glasses, leading a lap of honour inside Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, Ralf Rangnick was in the form of his life. And make no mistake, with the tune Rangnick is getting out of this Austrian side, he has a tournament dark horse on his hands.
This was, arguably, as impressive a performance as Euro 2024 has seen so far and Rangnick had every right to be pleased. And if confirmation was needed that he has energised and organised this Austrian team, it came from the outstanding Christoph Baumgartner, the official Man of the Match and scorer of Austria’s second goal. Baumgartner, who revealed that he could not take a nap before the game because he felt so much pressure, said: “The coach believed in me.
He made it clear that I can make the difference in big matches. He has faith in me. “The coach had a few words for me at half-time and after I scored, I was just overwhelmed.
I wanted to show him that I am extremely grateful. I am extremely happy that he is still here with us. Rangnick was typically understated after the statement victory, saying: “Since I was coach with Austria, that was the most important match and that is why I am so happy not just with the result but with the performance.
We played well for long periods and controlled the second half.” How far can Austria go at Eu.
