Pepijn Lijnders (born 24 January 1983) is a Dutch football manager who is assistant coach at

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club Manchester City. Lijnders has predominantly worked as a backroom staff coach, most notably spending two spells as Jurgen Klopp's assistant at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He has also had spells as manager of both NEC and Red Bull Salzburg. In June 2025, he joined Manchester City as Pep Guardiola's new assistant coach.

Coaching career

Early career

Lijnders began his managerial career in 2002 with PSV Eindhoven, helping with youth training and individual player development. In 2006, he moved to

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

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.

Liverpool

In 2014, Lijnders moved to

as development coach under Brendan Rodgers, and later continued with Jürgen Klopp as assistant coach, as well as first team trainer with Klopp.

NEC Nijmegen

On 2 January 2018, Lijnders accepted the managerial job at NEC in the Dutch Eerste Divisie, signing a year and a half long contract. On 17 May 2018, Lijnders was dismissed after NEC failed to gain promotion to the Eredivisie in the promotion play-offs.

Return to Liverpool

Lijnders returned to the Liverpool coaching staff on 5 June 2018. 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 the

title at the end of the 2019–20 season. In 2022, Lijnders published his first book, ''Intensity: Our Identity'', an inside account of Liverpool's 2021–22 season. Later that year, Lijnders defended himself against suggestions that his book had "exposed" Liverpool's secrets. On 26 January 2024, it was announced that, along with Jürgen Klopp, Lijnders would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season. Lijnders was expected to pursue his own managerial career after his departure from Liverpool.

Red Bull Salzburg

On 15 May 2024, Lijnders signed a contract as the new Red Bull Salzburg manager. Early in the 2024–25 season, Lijnders faced criticism after he demoted Austria's national team goalkeeper Alexander Schlager to the bench, fielding Janis Blaswich on loan from Leipzig. Blaswich conceded 12 goals in Salzburg's first three Champions League games. On 16 December 2024, it was announced that Salzburg were parting ways with Lijnders after 29 games in charge of the club with Salzburg chasing a 10-point deficit in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Manchester City

On 10 June 2025, Lijnders was announced as Pep Guardiola's new assistant coach at Manchester City.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

Sport.de Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lijnders, Pepijn 1983 births Living people People from Horst aan de Maas Dutch football coaches Dutch football managers Eerste Divisie managers NEC Nijmegen managers FC Red Bull Salzburg managers Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff PSV Eindhoven non-playing staff Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff Sportspeople from Limburg (Netherlands) FC Porto non-playing staff Dutch expatriate football managers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate football managers in Austria 21st-century Dutch non-fiction writers