FC Barcelona is looking for a new coach for the coming season. There are many candidates and another German is also associated with the top European club.
Club legend Xavi announced his departure from FC Barcelona at the end of January at the end of the season. Since then, there have been new names being traded by the Catalans almost every day. The list of candidates is correspondingly long: Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Luis Enrique from Paris Saint-Germain, Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, Roberto De Zerbi from the Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and ex-Bayern and national coach Hansi Flick were among others named . But Flick is probably not the only German on the Catalans’ list.
According to a report in Spanish daily Sport, Barca president Joan Laporta is said to be a fan of Ralf Rangnick’s work. The time at RB Leipzig in particular is said to have left an impression on the Barca boss.
Rangnick will be with Austria at the European Championships in the summer
Rangnick currently looks after the Austrian national team (ten wins in 18 games) and led the team to the 2024 European Championship in Germany. As a result of the successful qualification, Rangnick’s contract with the Austrian Football Association was automatically extended until 2025, meaning that the 65-year-old would not be free for new tasks.
Before his engagement in Austria, Rangnick worked as an interim coach at Manchester United from December 2021 to summer 2022. In 29 games for the “Red Devils” he averaged 1.45 points. In the Bundesliga, in addition to Leipzig, Rangnick also coached Schalke, Stuttgart and Hoffenheim, among others.
Rangnick would be the third German in the Catalans’ coaching bench. Hennes Weisweiler (1975/76 season) and Udo Lattek (July 1981 to March 1983) had previously trained the 27-time Spanish champion.