_47.jpg) Marsch in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Jesse Alan Marsch[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1973-11-08)November 8, 1973 (age 51) | ||
| Place of birth | Racine, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Canada (head coach) | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1995 | Princeton Tigers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1997 | D.C. United | 15 | (4) |
| 1998–2005 | Chicago Fire | 200 | (19) |
| 2006–2009 | Chivas USA | 106 | (8) |
| Total | 321 | (31) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001–2007 | United States | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010–2011 | United States (assistant) | ||
| 2011–2012 | Montreal Impact | ||
| 2014–2015 | Princeton Tigers (assistant) | ||
| 2015–2018 | New York Red Bulls | ||
| 2018–2019 | RB Leipzig (assistant) | ||
| 2019–2021 | Red Bull Salzburg | ||
| 2021 | RB Leipzig | ||
| 2022–2023 | Leeds United | ||
| 2024– | Canada | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jesse Alan Marsch (/ˈdʒɛsiˈmɑːrʃ/JESS-eeMARSH;[2] born November 8, 1973) is an American professionalsoccer coach and former player who is the head coach of theCanada men's national team. Marsch played 14 seasons as amidfielder inMajor League Soccer (MLS) withD.C. United,Chicago Fire, andChivas USA, winning threeleague titles and fourU.S. Open Cup titles, as well as earning two caps for theUnited States national team.
In 2010, Marsch retired from his playing career and became a coach, first serving as an assistant with the U.S. national team underBob Bradley that reached the last 16 of the2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He then became the inaugural head coach of theMontreal Impact upon its entry to MLS in 2012. In 2015, after a year-long stint as the assistant coach for his alma mater, thePrinceton Tigers, Marsch was hired as head coach of theNew York Red Bulls and stayed in the role through the first half of the2018 MLS season. In his first year coaching the team, the Red Bulls won theSupporters' Shield and Marsch was namedMLS Coach of the Year. He holds the record formost wins by a coach in franchise history.
In 2018, Marsch was appointed as an assistant coach at GermanBundesliga clubRB Leipzig underRalf Rangnick; the team placed third in the league, was runner-up in theGerman Cup, and competed in theUEFA Europa League. The following season, Marsch was appointed the successor toMarco Rose as coach ofRed Bull Salzburg in theAustrian Bundesliga; he led the club to a league andcupdouble in two consecutive seasons, as Salzburg made successiveChampions League group stage appearances for the first time in club history. He returned to RB Leipzig as club coach for the2021–22 season, leaving by mutual consent in December and joiningLeeds United in February. He was sacked by Leeds in February 2023 and became coach of the Canadian national team in May 2024, where he subsequently led the team to finishing fourth place at the2024 Copa América.
Marsch playedcollege soccer forPrinceton University, where he was anAll-American in 1995 after scoring 16 goals as a midfielder and forward.
Marsch was brought in byD.C. United (their assistant coach was his coach at Princeton,Bob Bradley) in the third round of the1996 MLS College Draft.Marsch spent the next two seasons with D.C. United, but played in only 15 games. D.C. assistant coach Bob Bradley, named to lead the expansionChicago Fire, acquired Marsch soon after theExpansion Draft in exchange forA. J. Wood and a second-round pick in the1998 College Draft. Marsch immediately became a regular in Chicago and remained a mainstay in their lineup through 2005. He helped the Fire to the1998 MLS Cup, giving him three league championships in three seasons. While with Chicago, he also won theU.S. Open Cup in1998,2000 and2003.
After the 2005 season, Marsch was transferred toChivas USA, where Bradley was then coaching. At the time, he left the Fire as the club's all-time leader in regular season games played with 200 (he now sits sixth behindC. J. Brown,Logan Pause,Gonzalo Segares,Zach Thornton andChris Armas). Marsch is one of three players to have played in each of the first 14 seasons ofMajor League Soccer. On February 5, 2010, he announced his retirement after four seasons with Chivas to enter coaching.[3]
Marsch received two caps with theUnited States national team. His first came as a substitute in a scorelessWorld Cup qualifier tie away toTrinidad and Tobago on November 11, 2001;[4] the other came on June 2, 2007, in a 4–1 friendly win againstChina inSan Jose, California.[5]
Following his retirement, Marsch was hired as an assistant to his former college and club coach Bob Bradley with the United States men's national team.[6] Marsch remained with the U.S. program until Bradley's firing in July 2011.
In August 2011, Marsch was unveiled as the first head coach of Major League Soccer expansion franchiseMontreal Impact, starting play in 2012.[7] In their first MLS game on March 10, the team lost 2–0 at fellow CanadiansVancouver Whitecaps.[8] The club finished in 12th place with 42 points. After that one season, Marsch left the club in November 2012. Though team management had been emphatic about their satisfaction with Marsch's work, the differences in coaching philosophies between Marsch and the management of the club led to an "amicable" split.[9]
In January 2015, Marsch was named head coach ofNew York Red Bulls, replacingMike Petke.[10] In his first season at the helm, Marsch led New York to theMLS Supporters' Shield[11] and a club record 18 league victories and 60 points and was named theMLS Coach of the Year.[12] After a successful start to his career, the Red Bulls extended his contract in June 2016, offering Marsch a multi-year deal.[13]
In January 2017, Marsch was linked to taking over forÓscar García as the manager of Austrian clubRed Bull Salzburg.[14] However, both New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg denied the reports.[15][16] In July 2018, Marsch left the Red Bulls as the coach with the most wins in the club's history, with a record of 75–32–44.Chris Armas followed as new head coach.[17]
Marsch became assistant toRB Leipzig head coachRalf Rangnick for the 2018–19 season, signing a two-year contract in July 2018.[18] During Marsch's tenure as an assistant for Leipzig, he was tasked with organizing the team's training sessions and preparing them for opponents.[19] Marsch helped lead them to the group stage of theUEFA Europa League, where the team finished third in their group and bowed out of the competition.[20] He further helped Rangnick lead the team to third place in the team's Bundesliga campaign, and to the final of the DFB-Pokal before falling toBayern Munich in the final. Marsch ultimately left the team after one season to replaceMarco Rose as coach of Leipzig's sister club Red Bull Salzburg.
_47.jpg)
Marsch was officially presented as head coach of Red Bull Salzburg on June 6, 2019.[21] In his first season in charge, Marsch led Salzburg to winning the double. The team won theAustrian Bundesliga by winning 68.75% of their games; 12 points ahead of second placeRapid Wien making Marsch the first American coach to win a top flight league title in Europe. The team also won theAustrian Cup5–0 againstAustria Lustenau.
During the2020–21 season, Marsch led Salzburg to their third successive cup win, Marsch's second as coach, in a 3–0 win againstLASK.[22] Salzburg also won the Bundesliga, making it two doubles in a row.
Marsch was announced as the new head coach of RB Leipzig starting from the2021–22 season, replacingJulian Nagelsmann.[23][24] Marsch won his first competitive match as Leipzig head coach 4–0 againstSV Sandhausen in theDFB-Pokal.[25] Leipzig then lost their season's openingBundesliga match 1–0 toMainz 05.[26] Marsch won his firstBundesliga match againstVfB Stuttgart on matchday two.[26] Under Marsch, Leipzig lost their opening2021–22 UEFA Champions League fixture 6–3 toManchester City.[26] On December 5, 2021, Marsch and Leipzig announced that they had mutually agreed to part ways.[27] He finished with a record of seven wins, four draws and six losses.[28]
On February 28, 2022, Marsch was appointed as head coach ofPremier League sideLeeds United and signed a three-year deal following the departure ofMarcelo Bielsa.[29] He was the third American national to manage in the Premier League, afterBob Bradley and German-bornDavid Wagner.[30] The British press remarked that Marsch would have to combat prejudiced attitudes toward American soccer coaches.[31][32]
In Marsch's first game as Leeds coach, the team lost 1–0 atLeicester City on March 5;[33] they won at the third attempt eight days later, 2–1 at home toNorwich City.[34] On May 22, Marsch guided Leeds to a 2–1 win away atBrentford to help the club avoid relegation in 17th position; it was the first time since 2011 that a team survived despite being in the relegation zone at the start of the final day.[35]
Leeds only managed to pick up six points in their first 11 games of the 2022–23 season. In their 12th game, against title contendersLiverpool, Marsch guided Leeds to a 2–1 win away from home, their first win atAnfield since 2001 and becoming the first team to beat Liverpool there sinceFulham in 2020–21.[36][37][38] Leeds continued to struggle and only managed six points in their next eight games, which led to Marsch being sacked on February 6, 2023, with the club sitting 17th in the table.[39] The club were relegated to theChampionship at the end of the 2022-23 season.[40]
On May 13, 2024, Marsch was appointed as head coach of theCanada men's national team, the first American to coach Canada. His wages are being partially subsidized by Canadian MLS clubsCF Montréal,Toronto FC and theVancouver Whitecaps as well as donations from private parties due to theCanadian Soccer Association's financial difficulties. His contract lasts through the2026 FIFA World Cup, where Canada will be a co-host.[41][42]
Marsch's debut on June 6 was a 4–0 friendly loss to the Netherlands atDe Kuip, after which he said that it was important to play the best national teams to improve for the 2026 World Cup.[43] Three days later his team drew 0–0 against the number 2 team in theFIFA Men's World Ranking,France, inBordeaux.[44]
At the2024 Copa América in the United States – Canada's first entry in theCONMEBOL competition – Marsch lost 2–0 to World and South American championsArgentina in Canada's opening game, before a 1–0 win overPeru gave him the first victory of his spell.[45] A goalless result againstChile in the final group game allowed the Canadians to advance as runners-up, before beatingVenezuela on penalties in the quarterfinals.[46] After a semifinal elimination by eventual champions Argentina, Canada contested the third place playoff againstUruguay, conceding an added-time equalizer byLuis Suárez and losing on penalties. Marsch said that despite the result, his team were ahead of where he thought they would be six weeks into his post.[47]
After the Copa América, Marsch was linked with the national head coach job for the United States, who had firedGregg Berhalter after a group stage elimination. Marsch said that he had no interest in the U.S. job and would never consider it unless there were changes in theUnited States Soccer Federation.[48] He had previously been a candidate to replace Berhalter after the2022 FIFA World Cup, but the latter was re-hired; Marsch criticized the USSF, saying "I wasn't treated very well" in the application process.[49]
Prior to the2025 CONCACAF Nations League Finals, Marsch stated that he was ashamed of President Donald Trump's calls forthe United States to annex Canada and called the plan ridiculous.[50]
Marsch, son of Larry Marsch,[51] was born and raised inRacine, Wisconsin, where he attendedJerome I. Case High School.[52] He and his wife Kim have three children – one daughter and two sons.[53] Apart from his native English, Marsch speaks fluent German, which he learned at age 44.[54]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Montreal Impact | August 10, 2011 | November 4, 2012 | 36 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 033.33 | [55] |
| New York Red Bulls | January 7, 2015 | July 6, 2018 | 151 | 75 | 32 | 44 | 256 | 175 | +81 | 049.67 | [56] |
| Red Bull Salzburg | June 6, 2019 | June 30, 2021 | 94 | 64 | 13 | 17 | 290 | 113 | +177 | 068.09 | [57] |
| RB Leipzig | July 1, 2021 | December 5, 2021 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 43 | 31 | +12 | 038.10 | |
| Leeds United | February 28, 2022 | February 6, 2023 | 37 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 52 | 60 | −8 | 029.73 | |
| Canada | May 13, 2024 | Present | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 16 | −3 | 040.00 | |
| Total | 354 | 176 | 71 | 107 | 700 | 448 | +252 | 049.72 | |||
D.C. United
Chicago Fire
New York Red Bulls
Red Bull Salzburg
Individual
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
