Pep Lijnders has shot to fame in recent years, being the mastermind on the training ground behind Jurgen Klopp in one of the club’s most successful spells.
Lijnders has recently published a tell-all book titled “intensity” in which the coach reveals the stories behind Liverpool’s quadruple chasing 2021/2022 campaign.
In the book, the Liverpool coach reveals that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta tried to tempt him away from Anfield when he took over the London club in 2019.
Lijnders: "Mikel had said he felt: 'There was just a difference playing Liverpool before and after you came in.' This was the biggest compliment I ever got from somebody." https://t.co/QcEC5Hl7rg
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“We were together years earlier on the Pro Licence course, [though] his request came out of nothing. Mikel had said he felt: ‘There was just a difference playing Liverpool before and after you came in.’ Stated Lijnders.
“This was the biggest compliment I ever got from somebody, I think, but I politely said no to him.”
Lijnders has been vital to Liverpool’s success over the last few seasons, so the fact he is being approached by some of football’s biggest names will come as no surprise to fans of the Reds.
The Dutchman has been touted to take over from Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool’s manager once the German calls it quits; a fellow counter-pressing king, Liverpool certainly has many more great seasons to come.