'Invaluable' Lijnders and Krawietz sign Liverpool contract extensions

JURGEN KLOPP has paid tribute to his ‘invaluable’ assistants Pepijn Lijnders and Peter Krawietz after they joined him in signing two-year contract extensions at Liverpool to 2026.

Krawietz followed Klopp to Anfield in October 2015, having previously worked alongside him at FSV Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund.

Lijnders joined from Porto in 2014 as U16s coach before progressing into the first-team set-up. He briefly left to take charge of NEC Nijmegen in his native Netherlands before returning in the role of joint-assistant manager in the summer of 2018.

“Of course, as manager many will see me as ‘the face’ of this club and I can understand that, but Pep and Pete’s influence on our success and story together should not – and should never be – undervalued.

“My story with Pete goes back many years now to our time together at FSV Mainz and Borussia Dortmund and I’m so happy it will continue for a few more years.

“What this guy sees on a football pitch is remarkable, really. I don’t know how he does it, but it’s a talent and one that Liverpool FC are better for having.

“I have watched Pete develop as a coach over our years together and since we both came to Liverpool, I have really seen his influence and talent grow and grow. He is an outstanding and priceless coach.

“As for Pep, wow. I have been lucky enough to meet many, many people in football during my time in the game and I don’t think I have ever met anyone with the energy and enthusiasm he has for this game.

“I think I have said in the past, there is nothing he does not know about this sport. His passion for it is remarkable and his enthusiasm in training each day is infectious. Since he came back to us in 2018, it has been a privilege to watch him grow and, for sure, he has a long and successful career ahead of him in football.

“I have said before I am the luckiest guy in the world to work with my players each day – and the same can be said of my staff. Not just Pep and Pete, but all the people at the AXA Training Centre who each day make such a big commitment to trying to make us the best we can possibly be.

“What you see on the pitch from the boys comes from the collective effort that’s made each and every day here. We all share the same passion: to make Liverpool FC the best team and club in the world and that’s really cool.

“As I have said, I am nothing without my staff and what each member of the club brings to this project is what makes us what you see today. This news today is exciting for us all and I am so happy that I will have Pep and Pete alongside me to continue our incredible story together.”

Klopp, who had previously said he planned to take a break from the game when his previous contract ended in 2024, said the club’s ambition had inspired him to stay.

He name-checked Billy Hogan, the club’s CEO, and Julian Ward, who will take over from Michael Edwards at the end of the season, as “leaders who are completely focused on renewal and refreshing.”

“There is a freshness about us as a club still and this energises me,” the German explained. “For as long as I have been here, our owners have been unbelievably committed and energetic about this club and it is clear that right now this applies to our future as much as I’ve ever known.

“In Billy Hogan and Julian Ward we have leaders throughout the club who are completely focused on renewal and refreshing so we can continue to compete at the very highest level.

“We have managed to harness the best of what we have created already at the same time as injecting fresh impetus into our environment. The new AXA Training Centre is a superb home for us and the fact that Anfield will grow even bigger soon with the Anfield Road development, I can’t wait for that.

“We are a club that is constantly moving in the right direction. We have a clear idea of what we want; we have a clear idea of how we try to achieve it. That’s always a great position to start from.”