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FA interested in Ralf Rangnick: Five things about the man on England's shortlist

Red Bull Salzburg's newly appointed sport director Ralf Rangnick speaks during a press conference in Salzburg on June 25, 2012.
Image: The FA is keen to speak to Ralf Rangnick about the vacant England manager's job

The FA is keen to speak to Ralf Rangnick about the vacant England manager's job, but what do we know about the German?

The 58-year-old is currently sporting director at Bundesliga club Red Bull Leipzig and was interviewed by the FA at Wembley following the departure of Roy Hodgson after Euro 2016.

Here's some of what we know about fluent English speaker Rangnick...

He wasn't much of a player…

Like Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, Rangnick's playing career took a back seat as he focused on coaching.

He was a defensive midfielder in the lower leagues for Stuttgart's amateur sides, playing for a number of other lower league clubs afterwards.

xxx during the Bundesliga match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig at Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena on August 28, 2016 in Sinsheim, Germany.
Image: Rangnick is seen as a journeyman in Germany

He didn't progress much further than that, but Rangnick did spend some time playing in England in the late 1970s.

While at Stuttgart University studying English and PE, he spent a guest year at Sussex University, taking in English football on a regular basis.

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He told the Daily Mail in 2011: "I'd see either Arsenal or Tottenham usually. But Brighton and Hove Albion were in the First Division then so I'd go to the old Goldstone Ground. It was one of the best years of my life."

He's been in management a while…

Rangnick started coaching in the early 1980s with Ulm 1846's youth team, before player/coach stints across the German lower leagues.

After retiring from playing, he became a coach at SC Korb in 1988, and then amateur coach at Stuttgart two years later, where he stayed for four years.

His first proper management job came at fourth-tier SSV Reutlingen, where he was successful before another joyous stint at Ulm.

He then got his first Bundesliga chance as boss at Stuttgart, where he stayed for two years before being sacked in February 2001.

xxx (L) of Leipzig is challenged by yyy of Karlsruhe during the S
Image: Rangnick celebrates promotion to the Bundesliga in the summer

Promotion from the second tier at Hannover came next, but after a season-and-a-half in the top flight, Rangnick was sacked again in 2004.

He's had mixed success in the past decade...

Still with us? Good. Rangnick's career has had some ups and downs.

His tour of German football then took him to Schalke, where he replaced Jupp Heynckes in September 2004, losing in the German Cup final to Bayern in his first season and finishing second.

Again, Rangnick's merciless owners reacted to a poor start to the 2005/06 campaign by chopping him in December, leading him to third-tier Hoffenheim, where he enjoyed his most successful spell.

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He led them to back-to-back promotions and a seventh-place Bundesliga finish, but he left the side under a cloud in 2011 after the club sold Luiz Gustavo to Bayern Munich "behind his back".

Rangnick was then back at Schalke as Felix Magath's replacement, leading them to the semi-final of the Champions League with a two-legged victory over Inter, before defeat by Manchester United in the last four.

Then, four months after winning the German Cup with Schalke, he stepped down citing exhaustion, but was back in football in June 2012 as sporting director of Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull Leipzig.

After Leipzig failed to find a new manager in the summer of 2015, Rangnick was given the nod, leading them to promotion to the Bundesliga by finishing second.

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Sky sources understands the FA are interested in speaking to former Schalke head coach Rangnick

Certainly a German journeyman, Rangnick has had undoubted success throughout more than 30 years in coaching, but his lack of experience at the very top is a concern.

He doesn't sign players over 24, including Jamie Vardy…

Rangnick, who signed a 19-year-old Roberto Firmino for Hoffenheim from Brazilian side Figueirense in 2011, has claimed he turned down the opportunity to sign Jamie Vardy in 2014 because he considered the Leicester forward to be too old.

Rangnick, Red Bull Leipzig sporting director at the time, told Sport Bild last year: "In the plane, the agent said to me 'Mr Rangnick, it's a crying shame that you are so radical about who you sign and only go for players who are under 24 because I've got somebody who would be just perfect for you. I can guarantee he would become a national team player under you, but he's already 27'.

Jamie Vardy in action at  Old Trafford
Image: Rangnick turned down the chance to sign Jamie Vardy in 2014

"It was Jamie Vardy." Rangnick also recalled himself replying: "No, he's 27 - we're not doing it."

The German could soon be working with the Leicester striker, and one also wonders how Rangnick would deal with 30-year-old Wayne Rooney's role in the England side.

He was interviewed for the West Brom job by a familiar face…

Dan Ashworth, the FA's technical director, was at West Brom in 2012 when the Premier League side tried to bag Rangnick, who was without a club at the time.

After Roy Hodgson had left to become England manager, Rangnick was reportedly close to signing for the Baggies, only for Steve Clarke to get the job.

OLOMOUC, CZECH REPUBLIC - JUNE 24: FA Director of Elite Development Dan Ashworth looks on during the UEFA Under21 European Championship match between Engla
Image: Dan Ashworth interviewed Rangnick for the vacant West Brom job in 2012, and the England job in the summer

Rangnick was heavily linked again 18 months later when Clarke lost his job, but that went to Pepe Mel.

What he's said

"Aggressive forward defending and pressing. Playing in private possession and directly to the front, lateral and back passes are rather not so much in demand... The aim is to develop teams, no soloists."

Outlining his tactical philosophy in an interview with Die Welt in 2013.

"My team played like school kids in the final half hour. There will be no day off on Wednesday, just more training."

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Peter Taylor explains what it was like to be appointed England caretaker manager back in 2000

After Schalke lost 6-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt in October 2005.

"I just gave my personal, honest opinion. I made it clear that I could not understand why I had not been informed of the negotiations earlier."

After leaving Hoffenheim following the sale of Luiz Gustavo to Bayern Munich, a transfer he did not know about.

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