Austria Under Ralf Rangnick: A Good Start Of The Euro 2024.
After depressing and upsetting months with Manchester United, Ralf Rangnick took charge of the Austrian national team in June 2022, hoping to rebuild and re-polish his reputation as a coach. On the other side, Austria signed a deal with the German coach to bring a team with a clear identity and playing style into reality.
Ralf Rangnick collected a group of players who had been coached the “Rangnick” way in their clubs. Most of Austria's players have been playing (or play) in clubs affiliated with the Red Bull group in Europe and Hoffenheim FC. Two institutions in which Ralf Rangnick instilled his philosophy centered around the Gegenpress concept.
The deal was sealed, Euro 2024 has started, what’s done is done and now it’s time to see results accompanied by performance on the pitch. Austria lost the first game against France. Nevertheless, Ralf Rangnick’s boys showcased they are no slouch of a team. Despite the disappointing result vs the French national team, Austria proved they are a well-settled team tactically with clear ideas on and off the ball.
Austria managed to win their second and third games to secure the first spot in a group that contains mammoths like France: a team full of talents and superstars, the Netherlands led by Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk, and Poland with Robert Lewandowski.
How did Ralf Rangnick and his boys lead their group? How do they look tactically?
Under Ralf Rangnick, Austria builds up their attacks with a 3+2 shape (against France and Poland) in which they involve two center-backs joined by a fullback to form three in the back and the other holds the width high up the pitch. Ahead, double pivots are responsible for taking the team upfront.
In their second game against Poland, the central progression was nearly impossible because of the way Lewandowski’s teammates pressed Austria in the build-up phase. Here, Poland’s players man-mark every Austrian man leaving just Philipp Lienhart free without passing options.
The latter opts for his fellow on his right side Gernot Trauner to find Christoph Baumgartner in the half-space dropping deep, however, Jakub Kiwior following him forced Austria number 19 to play the ball backward and switched it to Phillipp Mwene…
… P. Frankowski jumps over Austria's left back but arrives late because of the distance between him and P. Mwene. He takes advantage of the situation and launches a long ball to M. Arnautović.
Adding to that, Marcel Sabitzer shifts across dragging J. Bednarek with him to make M. Arnautović go into a duel for the first ball.
In another example, Austria constructs the attack by executing the same pattern aforementioned involving this time their goalkeeper. On the other side, Poland presses the same way and leaves Patrick Pentz unpressurized.
He finds the right back near the touchline who’s going to play a long ball to Konrad Laimer out of shot…
The Bayern Munich midfielder goes into a duel for the first ball but J. Kiwior wins it. However, Marko Arnautović’s prediction sense allows him to pick the second ball and pass it to Baumgartner who will notice Mwene running down the inside channel to feed his teammates inside the box.
Fighting for first and long balls played by a player responsible for the first phase isn’t the only way for Ralf Rangnick's men to arrive into the opposition’s final third. They can also play passes on the ground to progress and bypass the press.
For instance, Poland man-marked Austria players participating in the construction phase leaving only the goalkeeper free running out of passing options. However, Adam Buksa, pressing Austria center-back Gernot Trauner without closing the angle on Nicolas Seiwald who’s shifting across, opens the passing lane to him bypassing Poland's high-press…
… Jakub Kiwior ditches the idea of following Christoph Baumgartner because:
he fears Nicolas Seiwald will find Stefan Posch on the right flank which is going to ease the way to feed Marko Arnautović behind the space he evacuated;
Or he’s wary of the angle opened directly from the double pivot to the striker.
Nicolas Seiwald feeds Christoph Baumgartner who drops to the midfield…
Then Austria number 19 decides to go to the left-back Phillipp Mwene. In fact, it’s the left side where Ralf Rangnick boys prefer to combine and rotate to make Marcel Sabitzer or Phillipp Mwene play the cross to the box. Adding to that, Austria left-back Phillipp Mwene and Marcel Sabizter often take advantage of Poland midfielders who are man-oriented in a system of 5-3-2 out-of-possession which leaves Mwene and Sabizter in a 2v1 situation against Frankowski.
Creating Chances:
Ralf Rangnick is one of the advocates of direct, quick, and diagonal football style. Under his management, Austria adopted his playing philosophy which was clear in their second goal against Poland.
Alexander Prass plays the throw-in away from the press to Kevin Danso...
… Austria takes the play to the right side of the pitch (to Patrick Wimmer). Poland shifts the block to the ball side as a reaction. So, Jakub Kiwior jumps over Patrick Wimmer (ball holder) forcing him to play the ball backward. As a result, Lewandowski gives up on following Konrad Laimer and makes up his mind to join the press up top as Wimmer’s body language suggests he’s going to return the ball to the back. However, Austria 23 years old adjusts his body to find his fellow Konrad Laimer free to receive the ball.
The latter switched the play to Prass who will recognise Christoph Baumgartner between the lines.
Marko Arnautović plays an important role here as he feints Dawidowicz and pulls him out of his position, putting Baumgartner face-to-face with the goalkeeper. Austria number 19 knocks the ball to the bottom right of the net.
As we mentioned, Austria relies on long balls if all the doors are closed to the progression from the back. That was their third goal against Poland. Here, Pentz knows his teammates are man-marked by Poland players so he decides to play a long ball straight to Marko Arnautović (out of shot).
Despite losing the first ball, Arnautović makes Poland’s defender play a miscued pass toward the back where Marcel Sabitzer reads correctly the situation, wins the second ball, and goes face-to-face against Szczęsny.
Ralf Rangnick prefers to play in a system of 4-2-2-2 and makes his front four narrow as much as possible to counter-press in case his team loses the ball. This strategy caused pain on the Netherlands’ side.
Here, Wimmer moves inside whereas Netherlands midfielders are on the ball side to follow Austria midfielders. So, Philipp Lienhart finds Wimmer free near the circle…
…Arnautović's position pins de Vrij and Geertruida which allows Austria left-back Prass to run in the space behind. On the other side, Donyell Malen tucks inside to shrink the space and regain possession. Wimmer plays the ball to Austria’s striker who drops between the lines and drags de Vrij with him. Austria’s players’ movement up front generates space behind de Vrij for Wimmer to exploit however he’s tracked by Schouten…
In the meantime, Arnautović turns with the ball and notices Alexander Prass alone running.
The latter takes the ball and plays it across but the pass isn’t accurate enough.
Austria scored the lead against the Netherlands executing similar patterns. This time the recipient between the lines was Marko Arnautović and Patrick Wimmer pinned de Vrij and Geertruida. To elaborate more, let’s dive deep into the details.
Ronald Koeman sets his team in a 4-1-4-1 mid-block out of possession. Joey Veerman, Jerdy Schouten, and Tijjani Reijnders man-mark Nicolas Seiwald, Marcel Sabitzer, and Florian Grillitsch respectively.
Sabitzer shifts across moving Schouten with him to vacate the space for Arnautović to receive the breaking lines pass from Austria’s center-back Lienhart. Patrick Wimmer pins Geertruida inside and prevents him from following Prass on the left side…
Exploiting the situation, Arnautović finds Prass running who’ll receive the ball and cross it to the box…
Malen intercepts the ball in its way and flicks it to the Netherlands net.
Press To Create:
Jurgen Klopp once said: "No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter-pressing". Ralf Rangnick used to be called the Godfather of Gegenpress, adding to that nearly all Austria players are from RB school or played in Hoffenheim FC. So, they are all familiar with Rangnick's philosophy of intense pressing to win the ball and transition immediately.
Ralf Rangnick usually prefers to set traps in wide areas. He sets his team to lure and force the opposition to go into wide channels then makes his players pounce in one unit to regain the ball as quickly as possible.
Here, Austria man-marked Poland all over the pitch except for Marcel Sabitzer and Christoph Baumgartner who are narrowing inside. Austrian Fullbacks wait for the ball to go near the touchline to jump over and close all the angles over the ball holder.
Kiwior finds Zalewski on Poland's left side and Austria's players shift across and surround him (Above). That allows Posch (Austria right-back) to intercept the ball on its way to Adam Buska (Poland striker) and transition however, Sabizter misses the pass to Arnautović.
In another example, Austria maintains the same shape when pressing, and on the side, Poland is forced to go long and fight for the first and second ball. Nevertheless, Trauner manages to win the ball and heads it down to Seiwald (Austria’s pivot) and then to Baumgartner who carries the ball toward Sabizter.
In the third example, Poland has no choice but to play long away from their zones. But, Austria's defenders usually win the aerial duels. Leinhart catches the ball and heads it down to Seiwald. The latter feeds Marcel Sabitzer who drops deep down the half-space. Austria number 9 arrives in the box and fires a shot that Bednarek intercepts its path.
In Euro 2024, Austria epitomizes what Ralf Rangnick once reported: ”If you win the ball, your best possibility to score is within eight seconds. You can't stop the ball and trap the ball and watch and look and keep the ball again, there is no time for that.”
Not only did Ralf Rangnick’s boys press teams upfront on the pitch to retrieve possession as quickly as possible and transition but they forced them to go long or go toward the touchline to steal the ball or win a throw-in.
After Austria's first goal, the Netherlands plays the ball from the center of the pitch. The action is followed by a swarm of Austrian bees pouncing to regain the ball. Arnautović presses the goalkeeper and blocks the way off toward De Vrij, Sabitzer jumps over Virgil Van Dijk whereas Shmid and Wimmer chase Nathan Aké and Geertruida.
Austria double pivots take charge of Schouten and Veerman which resulted in Tijjani Reijnders free in the middle of the park. Ralf Rangnick's boys’ intensity, aggression, and intelligence in closing angles prevent Koeman’s men from finding Reijnders.
In the group stages, Austria gave shreds of evidence of their development as a team. Ralf Rangnick said after the Poland game: “For long periods, we played like we did in the qualifiers and friendlies before the Euros.”
Marcel Sabitzer affirmed his coach’ saying after they beat the Netherlands: “It’s been almost two years since the coach and his team joined us, and since then we’ve seen a clear development, We were a bit passive against the ball before and we’ve definitely changed that. We’re strong against the ball now. Everyone knows that if they lose the ball, they have to immediately switch over and go on the chase.”
Ralf Rangnick brought into reality a solid tactical team that can go toe to toe against everyone in the Euro 2024. A team that plays direct football based on high-press and counter-press with intensity and aggression. A group of players who can play through a block or over it depending on the situation of the opposition.
Austria will face Turkey in the round of 16. It’s another opportunity to continue leveling up their project as a nation as Christoph Baumgartner said: “we know that if we reach our maximum, we can beat a lot of nations.” The Austrians can be proud of their men and what they achieved in terms of performance and results.