Jurgen Klopp’s reunion with former assistant Pep Lijnders at RB Salzburg has been dashed, following the latter’s dismissal from his post as manager.
Lijnders was Klopp’s assistant in eight of the German’s nine years at Anfield but departed at end of last season when his boss moved on from Liverpool. Lijnders chose to pursue his own career in management and was almost immediately offered a role with Champions League side Salzburg.
However, like his previous managerial role at NEC Breda, Lijnders’ time in Austria didn’t go to plan, with Salzburg currently sitting fifth in the Austrian Bundesliga table and trailing leaders Sturm Graz by 10 points.
Salzburg have also been woeful in the Champions League and have picked up just three points from their opening six games in the competition. Therefore, it was no surprise when the news came on Monday afternoon that the Dutchman had been sacked as manager of the Red Bull-owned club.
“We began our announced analysis of an unfortunately unsatisfactory autumn season some time ago. It was clear that we were far from our own expectations and goals in far too many games,” Salzburg said via a statement.
“Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that our team needed a new impetus under new leadership, even though we were still hoping for a turnaround right up until the end. We would like to thank Pep for his work. He invested a lot of commitment and passion and also gave us important impulses for further development.”
The decision in some ways may have spared Klopp an awkward decision when he takes up his role across the Red Bull network in the new year. The 57-year-old will begin a new position as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, an overarching job that will see him work across the four clubs under the Red Bull umbrella.
Klopp will ‘provide strategic vision, supporting individual sporting directors in advancing the Red Bull philosophy’ and ‘support the organisation’s global scouting operation, and contribute to the training and development of coaches’, the soccer organisation explained when the news was announced.
It means Klopp will not be put in the uncomfortable position of possibly firing his old friend. Salzburg had won 10 consecutive titles prior to last season, so its slump to fifth in the table is seen as a massive underachievement.
It also leaves Liverpool loanee Stefan Bajcetic in a difficult position as he followed Lijnders to the Austrian side, along with Bobby Clark, who joined in a permanent transfer for $13m (£10m/€12m) last summer.
Leave a Reply