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Red Bull Salzburg sacks head coach Pep Linders

The team is only fifth in the Austrian championship

Dec 16, 2024 17:55 98

Red Bull Salzburg's head coach Pep Linders has been sacked, the Austrian club announced, BTA reported.

The parting with the Dutchman comes a little more than half a year after he signed with the "bulls". During this period, however, Red Bull's results were far from the desired. The team is only fifth in the local championship, 10 points behind the leader Sturm Graz, and in the Champions League there is only one win in six matches and only a theoretical chance of qualifying for the next phase.

"It was clear that in many of our matches during the season we were very far from our own requirements and goals", Red Bull wrote in their official statement.

For the 41-year-old Linders, this was the second appointment as a head coach in his career. In 2018, he briefly led NEC Nijmegen. For the rest of the time, from 2015 to 2024, he was Jürgen Klopp's assistant at Liverpool.

In addition to the poor results, Linders also incurred the wrath of the team's fans with his decision to bench goalkeeper Alexander Schlager. The Austrian international was replaced by Janis Blasvik, who is on loan from RB Leipzig.

Red Bull Salzburg said they are already looking for a new head coach to start training with the team on January 3, 2025.