Official: Pepijn Lijnders Appointed as Red Bull Salzbug Manager
Liverpool’s assistant manager to Jürgen Klopp has been announced as the next manager of the Austrian Bundesliga club.
For a time, many believed Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders might be the man to take over for Jürgen Klopp when he left; that the club could be set to make a return to the bootroom ethos that it became known for following the Bill Shankly era.
In the end it wasn’t to be, as there appears to have been a belief shared by all involved that Lijnders would be best served striking out to make a name for himself away from Klopp’s shadow—and away from the heightened pressure of a club like Liverpool.
Few, though, had any real inkling of where he would end up. That makes today’s official announcement that Pepijn Lijnders will be the next manager of Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg something of a surprise, at least for those on the outside.
Even if it’s not a destination that was speculated about previously, though, it’s a destination that seems a perfect fit now that it’s been announced, with Lijnders set to join a multi-club network that shares many of Liverpool’s tactical and data-based leanings.
Further, it’s a network that Liverpool have been perceived to have a friendly relationship with over the years, and one that offers the possibility of internal promotion to a successful manager from Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga to Leipzig in Germany.
It could also be the perfect time to take over Austria’s dominant side, who have won ten domestic titles on the bounce but currently sit second in the playoff round and so don’t control their own destiny heading into the final matchweek of the season.
In some ways, it’s a move that almost feels intentionally designed to keep Lijnders in the long-term picture for the Reds, as if he has success first at Salzburg and then with Leipzig it’s easy to imagine a future where he returns to manage Liverpool one day.
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
Post a Comment