Newcastle's new boss once axed a Liverpool legend — and lost that argument

Liverpool's Premier League season opens at St James' Park on 23 August against a Newcastle United side with a brand new man in the dugout. Matthias Jaissle has replaced Eddie Howe, which makes the fixture a competitive debut for two head coaches at once — the German on Tyneside and Andoni Iraola at Anfield.

There is no shortage of subplots. Alexander Isak returns to his former club for the first time since a move to Merseyside that nobody on either side has entirely forgotten, and World Cup winner Victor Munoz could make his Liverpool debut against the club he was widely expected to join before the Reds intervened.

Who is Matthias Jaissle?

The 38-year-old is not yet a familiar name to English audiences, but he is very familiar to Newcastle's owners. Jaissle spent the past three seasons at PIF-owned Al-Ahli, taking a newly promoted side into the Asian Champions League in year one, then winning the competition for the first time in the club's history in 2024/25 and retaining it last season — the first coach to do so. Before that, he won two Austrian Bundesliga titles with Red Bull Salzburg.

“It is an incredible honour to become head coach of Newcastle United. This is one of the biggest clubs in European football, with a unique history, identity and supporter base.”

The Firmino episode

One Liverpool great knows Jaissle better than most. Roberto Firmino joined Al-Ahli after leaving Anfield in 2023 as a marquee signing of the German's first season, a reunion of sorts given the pair were team-mates at Hoffenheim years earlier.

The relationship turned cold. With Al-Ahli signing Galeno from Porto in January 2025 and running one over the limit on overseas players, Jaissle left Firmino out of his Saudi Pro League squad in February — a brutal call for a player of that stature.

“It was a difficult decision for the club and based on the rules. We appreciate him and he dealt with it professionally. He's still one of our leaders.”

The last laugh

Firmino remained eligible in continental competition, and the response was pure Bobby: seven Champions League appearances, the captain's armband in every one of them, four goals and six assists. He scored and assisted in the quarter-final against Buriram United, scored in the semi-final win over Al-Hilal, and set up both goals as Al-Ahli beat Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 to be crowned champions of Asia.

It did not save his future at the club — he agreed an early exit and signed a two-year deal with Al Sadd in Qatar — but it settled the football argument in the most Firmino way imaginable.

Jaissle's record is hard to dismiss, and Newcastle have hired a serial winner. Liverpool's job on 23 August is simply to make sure his English debut is a miserable one.