Pepijn Lijnders enjoyed great success as Jürgen Klopp’s assistant coach, but his time as head coach was short-lived. Now the Dutchman is returning to an assistant role – this time under Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City has had a weak season. Guardiola’s team almost dropped out of the Champions League in the group stage and was finally eliminated in the play-offs against Real Madrid. When the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace was lost 0-1, it was clear that the season would end without a title for the 2024 champions.
At least Manchester managed to qualify for the Champions League with a 2-0 win at Fulham a week later, but ManCity still feels obliged to reshuffle its coaching team. Not in the head coach position, but one level below: on Monday, the club announced the signing of two former coaches from Liverpool FC.
Lijnders unlucky in Salzburg
One of them is Pepijn Lijnders, Jürgen Klopp’s former assistant. The Dutchman, who joined the Reds in 2018 and was part of the team that won the Champions League in 2019 and the English championship in 2020, left Liverpool together with his boss in the summer of 2024. Lijnders joined RB Salzburg, this time as the main man on the sidelines.
However, it was already over for the 42-year-old in December 2024. After 16 matchdays, Salzburg was only fifth in the Austrian Bundesliga.
In addition to Lijnders, James French is also joining Guardiola’s coaching team. The set-piece specialist previously spent 13 years at Liverpool.
In the Club World Cup against Juventus
ManCity has also already made moves in the transfer market. Rayan Ait Nouri is joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers as the new left-back, with more big-name transfers expected to follow.
The upcoming Club World Cup will show how well the new framework is working without long-time figurehead Kevin De Bruyne. In the US, Guardiola’s team will face Moroccan club Wydad AC, Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates, and Italian record champions Juventus Turin in the group stage starting on June 14.