Pep Lijnders is SACKED by RB Salzburg: Former Liverpool assistant is dismissed after torrid start to life in management… just days before old pal Jurgen Klopp is due to start new gig with Red Bull group

Former Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has been sacked from his role as RB Salzburg manager.

Back in May, the Dutchman followed Jurgen Klopp out of the Anfield exit door to pursue a career in first-team management with the Austrian giants.

However after taking charge of just 16 matches in the Austrian Bundesliga and picking up seven wins – which has left them fifth in the table – Lijnders has now left the club. 

The Austrian side confirmed the news with a statement on Monday that read: ‘FC Red Bull Salzburg are parting ways with Pepijn Lijnders, as he has been released by the club today. Assistant coach Vitor Matos is also leaving our Red Bulls.

‘During the six months under Pepijn Lijnders, our qualification for the UEFA Champions League was a plus. After the successful start to the season, there have been many unsatisfactory performances, however, which have led to FC Red Bull Salzburg being ten points off the top of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga‘.

In a joint statement, Stephan Reiter, CEO and Rouven Schröder, Managing Director of Sport, said: ‘We began recently to analyse, as planned, what has unfortunately not been a satisfactory season so far. It was clear to see that in many of our matches we have been far short of our own requirements and aims. 

Lijnders was the long-term assistant to Jurgen Klopp (middle) during his time at Liverpool

‘We have therefore become convinced that our team needs a new impulse under new management, even if we continued 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 has provided important momentum for our further development.

‘We are now very intensively looking for a new coach and will communicate as soon as a decision is made. We clearly want to start training again on 3 January 2025 with our new coach in place’.

Prior to joining Salzburg, Lijnders had a brief attempt at first-team management in 2018 but did not last long at Dutch side NEC Nijmegen and returned to work alongside Klopp, where he authored a tell-all autobiography called Intensity.

Some fans accused Lijnders of ‘spilling the beans’ with that memoir but he has also been heralded as the brains of Klopp’s tight-knit coaching team alongside long-term ally Peter Krawietz.

Klopp, meanwhile, is preparing to take on a new role with the Red Bull group which marked an end to his career pacing up and down the dugout.

Red Bull own several clubs worldwide, including RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga and MLS side New York Red Bulls. They also sponsor Red Bull Salzburg. Klopp is expected to hold a crucial role, and have a significant amount of influence, in each of these camps.

His decision has however been met with controversy, with Red Bull causing controversy in German football when the company took over SSV Markranstadt and turned the club into RB Leipzig.

Klopp will not be involved in day-to-day operations at these clubs and he will instead act as an advisor on their playing philosophy, transfer strategy and coaching development.

In May, Klopp bid farewell to the Merseyside giants after nine years spent in the dugout

Lijnders went on his own venture however it’s not ended well for the former assistant coach

In layman’s terms, he will spearhead their strategic vision. Red Bull’s vast global scouting operation will also fall inside his wheelhouse.

Recently, Klopp was sent a threatening message by Bundesliga fans as anger over the former Liverpool manager’s move to Red Bull rages on in Germany. 

German Football Association laws state German clubs must operate on a ’50+1′ rule, meaning members – essentially fans – own the majority of shares and can influence decisions such as ticket prices.  

RB Leipzig were accused of exploited the system by having just 17 members with voting rights – most directly linked to Red Bull – and got around a law stating teams must not be named after sponsors by officially calling the club RasenBallsport Leipzig, which translates as LawnBallsport Leipzig.

And supporters of Holstein Kiel who were facing Leipzig in the league on Saturday made their feelings clear over Klopp’s move by unfurling a banner which showed the former Borussia Dortmund caught in the crosshairs, next to a gravestone. 

Klopp was shown alongside Red Bull boss Oliver Mintzlaff as well as football financiers Martin Kind and Dietmar Hopp – with the words ‘The gravediggers of German football’.

The banner was unfurled four minutes into RB Leipzig’s 2-0 win and rolled up eight minutes later. 

This is the latest in a series of protests against Klopp’s move to Red Bull. Mainz supporters released banners with messages such as ‘Have you forgotten everything we gave you?’ directed to their former manager when they played Leipzig in October.

Klopp was shown in the crosshairs next to a gravestone in a banner at a Bundesliga match

Former Borussia Dortmund manager Klopp has defended his decision to join Red Bull

Following that protest, Klopp defended his decision to join Red Bull, aruging that you can’t make everyone happy. 

‘I did not want to step on anyone’s toes,’ he told former Germany, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos’ podcast.

‘I love all my former clubs, but I don’t know what I could have done so that everyone is happy.

‘I am 57 and can still work a few more years, but I did not see myself on the sidelines for now. It was clear for me that I would do something – so then Red Bull came.’