Manchester United confirmed the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as its new interim manager on Monday with the German taking immediate charge of the club. Rangnick takes over from Michael Carrick who has held the fort for one week since the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The German tactician has his work cut out for him, reviving a star-studded yet underperforming United side no mean feat. The upside is there is still a lot of time to turn things around and perhaps compete for some titles. Knocked out of the EFL Cup, the Red Devils still stand a chance in the FA Cup and despite not being considered frontrunners, they still stand an outside chance in the UEFA Champions League and the English Premier League.
Interim managers are not a common occurrence at high-flying European clubs but there have been peculiar instances where such appointments have led to unexpected success for the club and manager. Here are three interim managers that ultimately led their teams to silverware.
Guus Hiddink - Chelsea (2008/2009)
Chelsea had to get rid of World Cup-winning coach, Luis Felipe Scolari in February 2009 and appointed Dutch legend Hiddink to take charge of the team for just a little over three months till the end of the season.
Hiddink proved to be an inspired change, leading an underperforming Blues team to FA Cup triumph and a near-miss on the league title. In 22 matches, the Dutch coach recorded 19 wins, five draws and one loss. All the while still maintaining his position as Russia's national team coach.
Hansi Flick - Bayern Munich (2019/2020)
Hansi Flick was a little-known figure when he took over from Niko Kovac as Bayern Munich's coach in October 2019. Flick himself had just joined Bayern Munich in July 2019 as an assistant coach under Kovac before his principal was sacked three months after.
Initially appointed as a caretaker manager, Flick revived the Munich team and took them back to their previous lofty heights. By December, he was offered the job till the end of the season.
At the end of the season, Flick delivered the Bundesliga title, the DFB-Pokal Cup and the UEFA Champions League to complete a stunning treble. The DFL-Supercup, the UEFA Supercup and the Club World Cup followed in 2020 as Flick won the sextuple for Bayern Munich.
Roberto Di Matteo - Chelsea (2011/2012)
The second Chelsea entrant on this list and perhaps the most stunning. Roberto Di Matteo took charge of Chelsea in February 2012 after Andre Villas-Boas was sacked by the Blues hierarchy.
Di Matteo took charge as interim manager and in his first European game, he led Chelsea to a rousing 4-1 victory over Napoli to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the Round of 16 first leg.
This was the start of a magical run under the Italian manager who went all the way to deliver Chelsea's first UEFA Champions League trophy later in May 2012. He also won the FA Cup that season to complete a double-trophy season for the Blues.