When RB Salzburg plays its next league game in February, there will be a new manager at the helm.
Salzburg have won the Austrian Bundesliga 14 times in 18 seasons and finished second in the other four seasons, but enter the winter break in fifth place after a poor start to the 2024-25 season.
this Red Bull executives decide to suspend head coach Pep Lijnders Less than six months after taking the job, it coincides with Jurgen Klopp’s first day as head of global football at the controversial multi-club group.
Pep Lijnders’ short spell at Red Bull Salzburg ends
Salzburg beat Austria Klagenfurt in a dominant manner in their final Bundesliga game on Saturday, but had not won any of their previous six games, losing to Brauweslin along the way. ZZ and Linz and Linz.
This is unfamiliar territory for a club that was built to win and has delivered on its promise ruthlessly for two decades. Lijnders was appointed in July to replace Gerhard Struber, who returned to Austria from the New York Red Bulls and was sacked in March as title hopes faded.
Lijnders served as Klopp’s assistant coach at Liverpool for ten years, during which he coached for four and a half months at NEC in the Dutch second division.
He signed a three-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg this summer but his side have fallen far short of expectations both domestically and in the Champions League, losing five of their first six games. , without scoring any goals. .
Red Bull’s decision to sack him was inevitable, leaving a big question mark over Lijnders’ suitability as head coach given he has been in both jobs for less than a year combined.
But concerns over Salzburg’s failure are more serious than the aborted manager appointment.
Red Bull Salzburg continued to hold the Bundesliga title until last season, when Sturm Graz recovered a two-point deficit to win the title by two points after the league split.
Lijnders’ appointment comes amid the changing status of Salzburg. After years of success on the pitch and being at the center of a diaspora of football’s great players, the prolific line has slowed down.
With RB Leipzig now firmly established in Germany’s top flight, Salzburg’s status with the Red Bulls may be starting to suffer.
Their best and most promising players were either sold outside the group or picked up by Leipzig. This is simply the result of a multi-club model rooted in player development.
Now on the table is a more dangerous question, one that Klopp will need to address in his controversial new role: Were Red Bull still developing these players in the first place?
Salzburg will replace Lijnders between now and February. New York Red Bulls coach Sandro Schwartz is likely to be involved in discussions after leading his team to the MLS Cup final earlier this month.
Klopp’s level of involvement in the recruitment process could reflect his actual involvement in the group’s football operations.
