Contrary to speculations to the contrary, Ralf Rangnick sees no reason at all to leave RB Leipzig after the cup final against Bayern Munich (Saturday, 25 May, 8 p.m. here in the live ticker). “I don’t know how many times I should repeat from the bottom of my heart that I feel very comfortable here, that I am still under contract here for two years and absolutely intend to continue working here,” said the RB trainer and sports director in an interview with SID.
Media reports had recently reported on an internal power struggle. After the end of the season, Rangnick would like to take on a wider range of responsibilities and, for example, take more care of the Red Bull locations in New York (USA) and Bragantino (Brazil). Oliver Mintzlaff, Managing Director of RB, does not like this idea very much.
“It’s not about power struggles, but about the best solution for our future club orientation and further development,” Rangnick said. “The fundamental question is whether to leave the field of activity as it was before, or whether I should also get involved in global issues. If we want to develop faster, that could make sense.”
For the cup final, the coach sees a good chance to overthrow the record champion, but at the same time knows how difficult the last game of the season will be for his team: “You need a perfect day. That’s what it’s all about, preparing the team to play a perfect game on 25 May. We were good in the Bundesliga game, but not very good. We have to put a scoop on it when we own the ball, but I absolutely trust our team to do that,” Rangnick said before the game on Saturday.
Not only did Rangnick vehemently reject the rumors about his person in an interview with the SID. The coach also criticises the discussion about Niko Kovac in the strongest terms: “It is absolutely disrespectful when you speculate with a coach who has completed his first year there and previously worked very successfully at Eintracht Frankfurt and who now has the chance of winning two titles about whether he will stay at all or be replaced by another,” the Leipzig coach clarified.
