Pep Lijnders, former Liverpool assistant coach Jurgen Klopp, has been sacked by Red Bull Salzburg less than a month before the German was appointed global head of football operations.
Lijnders was promoted from LiverpoolThe Under-18s joined Brendan Rodgers’ first-team staff in the summer of 2015. The active coach was initially retained by Klopp who took over a few months later and remained in place until he moved to Dutch second-tier side NEC Nijmegengen in January 2018. Like His time at Salzburg Lijnders’ time in Holland was short and not very pleasant.
Red Bull Salzburg finished runners-up to Sturm Graz in the 2023/24 season, signaling a sense of decline after ten straight titles, but the well-financed Austrian giants have had their downward spiral accelerated under Lijnders’ supervision this season.
At the time of Lijnders’ departure, Salzburg found themselves fifth in the First Division, ten points behind league leaders Sturm Graz.
The former Liverpool coach who returned to Anfield after failing in the NEC in 2018 previously After Klopp’s departure last summerHe was able to guide his team to the league stage with the new look UEFA Champions League. However, Europe’s elite have proven to be an unforgiving environment. The Right Backs lost five of their six matches by an aggregate score of 3-18.
Salzburg won their final match under Lijnders, heading into the winter break in Austria with a 3-0 league win over Austria Klagenfurt.
However, the club has seen enough. CEO Stefan Reiter and Sports Director Reuven Schröder issued a joint statement about the season, which was “not satisfactory.”
“It was clear to see that in many of our matches we fell far short of our requirements and goals,” the statement read. He added: “Therefore, we have become convinced that our team needs a new impetus under new management, even if we continue to hope for a turnaround until the end.”
“We would like to thank Pep for his work. He put a lot of effort and passion into it and provided important impetus for our further development.
“We are now looking very intensively for a new coach and will communicate once the decision is made. Obviously we want to start training again on January 3, 2025 with our new coach in place.”
The search for a new coach could be helped by former Leanders coach, Jurgen Klopp. The legendary Liverpool coach announced his controversial decision to take over as head coach Head of Global Football Operations to Red Bull’s wide range of clubs earlier this year ahead of its start date of 1 January 2025.
Klopp considered Lijnders his own Possible successor At Liverpool over the summer, but the Merseyside side eventually opted for Arne Slott. The couple has enjoyed and endured largely contrasting seasons so far.
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