From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min
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Lijnders in 2024 managing Red Bull Salzburg | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 January 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Broekhuizen, Netherlands | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Red Bull Salzburg (head coach) | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 2015–2018 | Liverpool (assistant) | ||
| 2018 | NEC | ||
| 2018–2024 | Liverpool (assistant) | ||
| 2024 | Red Bull Salzburg | ||
Pepijn Lijnders (born 24 January 1983) is a Dutch football manager who was most recently the head coach of Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg.
Lijnders began his managerial career in 2002 with PSV Eindhoven, helping with youth training and individual player development. In 2006, he moved to Porto and helped develop their youth academy, working under guidance of Vítor Frade and Luís Castro. During his time in the club he worked under Jesualdo Ferreira, André Villas-Boas, Vítor Pereira and Paulo Fonseca.[1]
In 2014, Lijnders moved to Liverpool as development coach under Brendan Rodgers, and later continued with Jürgen Klopp as assistant coach, as well as first team trainer with Klopp.[2]
On 2 January 2018, Lijnders accepted the managerial job at NEC in the Dutch Eerste Divisie, signing a year and a half long contract.[3][4] On 17 May 2018, Lijnders was sacked after NEC failed to gain promotion to the Eredivisie in the promotion play-offs.[5]
Lijnders returned to the Liverpool coaching staff on 5 June 2018.[6] He was part of the coaching staff that helped Liverpool win their sixth UEFA Champions League on 1 June 2019, their first FIFA Club World Cup on 21 December 2019, and their first Premier League title, their nineteenth Top Flight Winner Trophy, at the end of the 2019–20 season, their first in 30 years.
In 2022, Lijnders published his first book, Intensity: Our Identity, an inside account of Liverpool's 2021–22 season.[7] Later that year, with the club struggling for form the following season, Lijnders was forced to defend himself against accusations that his book had "exposed" Liverpool's secrets.[8][9]
On 26 January 2024, it was announced that, along with Jürgen Klopp, he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.[10] Lijnders was expected to pursue his own managerial career when he leaves.[11]
On 15 May 2024, Lijnders signed on as the new Red Bull Salzburg manager with a contract valid until June 2027.[12] Early in the 2024-25 season, Lijnders faced criticism after he demoted Austria's national team goalie Alexander Schlager to the bench, fielding Leipzig loan Janis Blaswich. Blaswich allowed 12 goals in Sazburg's first three Champions League games.[13] On December 16th 2024 it was announced that Salzburg were parting ways with Lijnders
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| NEC | 3 January 2018 | 17 May 2018 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 39 | 29 | +10 | 50.00 |
| Red Bull Salzburg | 1 July 2024 | 16 December 2024 | 29 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 44.83 |
| Career total | 51 | 24 | 11 | 16 | 89 | 71 | +18 | 47.06 | ||