Ralf Rangnick and ‘home advantage’ turn Austria into Euro 2024 dark horses

LEIPZIG – Turkey have felt at home at Euro 2024 because of a huge expat population in Germany, but it is Austria who will be in familiar surroundings for their last-16 clash in Leipzig on July 2.

Under the leadership of Ralf Rangnick and his trademark brand of energetic football, Austria have been the revelation of the tournament so far, topping a group that contained giants France and the Netherlands.

After impressive coaching spells at Schalke and Hoffenheim early in his career, Rangnick’s “gegenpressing” style inspired a generation of German coaches, including former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Germany’s current boss Julian Nagelsmann.

Rangnick is reaping the rewards of the structures he put in place in building the sporting organisation behind Red Bull’s football empire in Salzburg and then in the German city of Leipzig. Seven of the Austrian players either currently play for Salzburg or Leipzig or have done at some point in their career.

“If you finish first in your group, then that’s a very good achievement... I had a lot of good and beautiful moments there,” said Laimer, who spent six years of his career with RB Leipzig before moving to Bayern Munich.

“Now we have had a little more time and spread out the preparation a little bit more. It’s always good when you have the time to adjust to your opponent, it feels like a long time since the last match.”

That synergy between coach and players has allowed Austria to play the high-pressing game that has become the norm among Europe’s top clubs, but is difficult to implement at international level due to a lack of time on the training ground.

Non-playing captain David Alaba hailed Rangnick’s “enormous” impact on the Austria, telling Uefa.com: “He and his coaching team work at a high level. We are really happy to have him. He already changed many things, and you can see his hallmark very well in our games.”

Such is his status in his homeland, Bayern had tried to poach him on the eve of the tournament to be their coach next season. However, Rangnick turned down the offer to continue his adventure with Austria beyond the Euro and into the 2026 World Cup.

That glee is borne out by results they have achieved together.

An unfortunate 1-0 defeat to France in the group stage, decided by Maximilian Wober’s own goal, is Austria’s only defeat in their last 10 games. That run includes a 2-0 friendly win over Germany and a 6-1 destruction of their next opponents Turkey in March.

Austria’s prize for topping a devilishly difficult Group D has landed them on the perceived easier side of the draw.

A hostile Turkish crowd and the burden of greater expectation awaits in the last 16, but Rangnick’s men will take some stopping on what he has described as a “homecoming” to the Red Bull Arena.

“Very far, very far,” said Alaba on how deep in the Euro 2024 Austria can go.

“We have the potential; we have the quality within the squad. We know how strong we can be if we play as a unit... That’s why we take it game by game and focus on that to deliver what we came here to do.”

However, the Real Madrid defender urged caution as expectations continue to rise.

“We don’t let this get to us. We don’t get distracted. It’s important to stay focused. We have our own expectations, our own demands as well within the team. And we want to live up to them, of course,” he said.

Turkey are also riding some momentum after a late victory over the Czech Republic, which livewire attacker Baris Yilmaz credited the thousands of raucous fans for.

“They are our second family. We only hear their voices on the pitch, they motivate us a lot. We are going to take it step by step and hopefully we will win (the round of 16) game too,” said Yilmaz.

Vincenzo Montella’s side, who will be without their suspended captain Hakan Calhanoglu, are not motivated by revenge as defender Zeki Celik made reference to Turkey’s 6-1 loss in March.

‘‘I see this more as just another match rather than a chance for revenge. We want to win this match; even if it’s 1-0, it needs to be ours. We need to eliminate them and move forward,” he said. AFP, REUTERS