Pep Guardiola's assistant Pep Lijnders has revealed that Jürgen Klopp jokingly threatened to take the Manchester City assistant role if he didn't join him, a move that came as a surprise given the former Liverpool boss spent nearly 10 years working under Klopp at Anfield. The German was initially hesitant about leaving his former club but was won over by Guardiola's conviction and vision for the team.
Lijnders joined Guardiola's coaching staff in the summer and will be working alongside the Spaniard for Sunday's match against Tottenham, with the German looking forward to the challenge of beating their former boss. The move has sparked some nostalgia among Lijnders, who had three title battles with City while working under Klopp.
The Manchester City assistant praised Guardiola's intensity and game understanding, describing him as "intense" and "brilliant". He credited the Spaniard's ability to connect with his players on an emotional level for his success. Lijnders also acknowledged that he had concerns about leaving Liverpool, a club where he spent nearly a decade working under Klopp, but ultimately felt it was the right decision.
When asked about his return to Anfield next Sunday, Lijnders downplayed the significance of the match, saying it would be "special" for his family rather than himself. However, he remained focused on his goal of beating City's former boss and the team that had been their rivals for so long.
Lijnders joined Guardiola's coaching staff in the summer and will be working alongside the Spaniard for Sunday's match against Tottenham, with the German looking forward to the challenge of beating their former boss. The move has sparked some nostalgia among Lijnders, who had three title battles with City while working under Klopp.
The Manchester City assistant praised Guardiola's intensity and game understanding, describing him as "intense" and "brilliant". He credited the Spaniard's ability to connect with his players on an emotional level for his success. Lijnders also acknowledged that he had concerns about leaving Liverpool, a club where he spent nearly a decade working under Klopp, but ultimately felt it was the right decision.
When asked about his return to Anfield next Sunday, Lijnders downplayed the significance of the match, saying it would be "special" for his family rather than himself. However, he remained focused on his goal of beating City's former boss and the team that had been their rivals for so long.
I mean think about it... Lijnders had a comfy gig with Klopp at Liverpool but chose to take a risk and join Guardiola instead. That says a lot about ambition, right? 
But here's the thing - sometimes we gotta step outta our comfort zone & chase something better. It's easy to get caught up in nostalgia for what could've been, but Lijnders is focused on the future now 
. His decision shows that he's willing to take calculated risks & trust his instincts. That takes a lot of courage! 
anyway glad to see lijnders making it big with manchester city and now he gets to beat his old boss klopp that's gotta be sweet 
I'm loving Pep Lijnders' honesty about Jürgen Klopp's joking threat 
! Like, I get it, Pep Guardiola is a total game-changer, but 10 years is a looong time to be with one club, you feel? 
Anyways, I think Lijnders made the right call, City's squad is so fire 
and he gets to work with Pep on Sundays. Can't wait for that match against Tottenham, it's gonna be a real nail-biter 
️!
. btw, have u seen the lineups for sunday's match against Tottenham? think man city got this one in the bag 
. Lijnders has had an epic journey from working under Klopp for years to joining City, it's like a dream come true 
now pepe is goin to be like the ultimate spy an infiltrate Klopp's old squad aka Liverpool an beat dem 3 times 
. and I gotta give it to him for being honest about feeling the doubts at Liverpool...it takes guts to make a move like this 
, but at the end of the day lijnders seems like the right guy for man city and i think they've made an excellent move in bringing him on board 
And now we're supposed to believe that Jürgen Klopp "jokingly" threatened to take the Manchester City assistant role if Lijnders didn't join him? Sounds like a pretty strong bluff to me... 
think its gonna be a pretty intense match! anyway, i think pep lijnders made the right move leavin jürgen klopp behind, dont get me wrong klopp is a legend but pep guardiola is just that good 
and lijnders seems like a smart cookie, he knew when to make a change. its cool to see him goin full force against his former boss, i wonder what klopp would say about it 
. So they're basically playing mind games with each other now. I mean, Jürgen Klopp jokingly threatening to take the assistant role from Lijnders? That's just too funny 
.
, it's no wonder he had 3 title battles with City while working under Klopp. Lijnders seems like a really down-to-earth guy too, I love that he played it cool about the match against his old club and said it was more special for his family 
. I mean, Klopp jokingly threatening to take the Manchester City assistant role? That's not something you hear every day. It sounds like an excuse to get back at his former boss. And what about all the times Klopp was 'won over' by Guardiola's vision? Yeah right, it's probably just a convenient story to keep people from snooping around too much 
. Lijnders seems like a smart cookie, but I think he's being played 
.