Twelve years, five coaching jobs and one unwanted nickname later, Jesse Marsch is taking a moment to breathe.
It’s been 10 months since he was fired by Leeds and, for the first time in a long time, he’s content to recharge and recalibrate.
‘Where I’m at in my life right now… I don’t need a job,’ he tells Mail Sport in an exclusive interview. ‘My need is to find the right job and the right situation and the right people.’
Marsch has had no shortage of interest: he came close to joining Leicester and Southampton earlier this year and has had ‘a lot of discussions’ with clubs in the Championship as well as elsewhere in Europe. Some national teams are said to be poking around, too. He even considered jobs in Saudi Arabia, but has been keeping one eye on potential openings in England.
A lot has changed for the Wisconsin native since he departed Yorkshire.
The 50-year-old moved to Italy with his family, joined CBS Sports as a Champions League analyst and now has a podcast with the network as well.
Jesse Marsch is taking his time before taking his next plunge into football management
He became known for his fiery personality during his time at Leeds United from 2022-23
The coach spoke exclusively to Mail Sport over Zoom in a wide-ranging interview
Marsch was replaced by Javi Gracia in February, with the club above the relegation zone on goal difference alone, after a run of four wins in 20 league games. For him, though, the blame for Leeds’ relegation lies at the feet of Andrea Radrizzani.
‘What went wrong is we were a couple results away from really getting everything moving in the right direction, and I believe that everything was already moving the right direction,’ he says, calling Leeds an ‘incredible club.’
‘But in the end, the owner just lost his nerve. And he paid the price for it.’
Marsch’s year in England certainly brought mixed fortunes.
May 2022 saw a dramatic, final-day escape from relegation but ‘Ted Lasso’ jibes persisted throughout, with a post-match huddle and his use of Gandhi and Mother Theresa quotes causing some eyes to roll in England.
Marsch nevertheless holds no regrets about brandishing his unmistakably American attitude in the Premier League.
Marsch said that ex-Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani ‘lost his nerve’ in firing him in February
‘I actually think that being myself helped me,’ he says. ‘I think that, in the end, the limiting factor was that we didn’t get the results that we, frankly, should have often got,’ he said.
‘There’s things that come with doing this job… whether it’s internal, external language, barriers, experiences. And I don’t look at anything as barriers. I look at everything as opportunities. If I go to a new country, I want to acclimate. I want to learn languages, I want to learn cultures.
‘I want to understand why the people for certain clubs think a certain way, I want to represent that the right way in the way that that we play football, I always want to also be true to myself. I don’t want to ever play boring football.’
Marsch’s footballing education and his penchant for a frenetic, high-pressing style was forged within the Red Bull system. He starred as head coach for the group’s New York side in Major League Soccer before taking the same role at Salzburg and later Leipzig.
It was in Austria that Marsch spent six months working with Erling Haaland. The striker soon earned a move to Borussia Dortmund but he hung around long enough to leave a mark on his former coach.
In mid-2019, the forward headed to the Under-20 World Cup with Norway, where he scored a record nine goals in a single game against Honduras. Haaland had earned a summer break but instead preferred to report early for preseason training.
‘Erling asked to come back after 10 days and I was reluctant to say yes. But he was young and he was eager to get into the team,’ Marsch recalls.
‘That was a signal to me that this kid is serious. And then it was probably 20 minutes into the first training session where you could see his energy, his talent, his mobility, his power, his football mind.’
Marsch coached Erling Haaland at Red Bull Salzburg before the striker moved to Germany
The coach has since taken a job with CBS Sports as a Champions League analyst on TV
Now, as one of three voices on ‘Call It What You Want‘ – the podcast he co-hosts with former US internationals Charlie Davies and Jimmy Conrad – Marsch can enjoy stars such as Haaland from a comfier vantage point than the bench.
What drew him to the microphone as he plots his next move?
‘I’m not really sure,’ he admits. ‘I thought it was a chance for me to enjoy some banter and entertainment about football because I’m still football crazy, and yet still try to mix in good content about what’s actually happening with these players.
‘What their experiences are like and try to translate from my experiences: what are the potential things that those guys are going through with their adventures in Europe?
‘I’m still looking forward to being on the touchline again to being involved with teams and players again,’ he added. ‘So, I think this is a way to just keep me active.’
Marsch may be living in Italy now – Tuscany, to be specific – but he still keeps tabs on soccer back home. And he’s not alone after Lionel Messi made his stunning move to Inter Miami last summer.
MLS won’t be stealing local eyes from Serie A anytime soon, but Marsch believes it is seeping into the European consciousness. He recalls seeing Messi’s pink Miami shirt alongside traditional Italian kits during a recent trip to Pisa.
Lionel Messi’s blockbuster move to Inter Miami has increased eyeballs on Major League Soccer
‘The biggest challenge for MLS is not is not the fans, is not the investment. It’s not the level of play. It’s geographic in many ways – (it’s) a big world apart from where we are here in Europe,’ he says. ‘(But) I think that people and players and coaches and everyone in football is realizing that that the league is coming alive.’
It can be easy to forget that Marsch, who has coached two clubs in the Champions League and led one of England’s biggest clubs, began his professional soccer journey in the humble first generation of MLS.
But, as he takes some time away from management, it’s clear he cherishes the journey that’s brought him to this juncture.
‘To have a break, where I can recharge, dedicate myself to the things that are important in my life, so that I make sure when I get back in then I’m fully ready in every way, I think has been really good and really important for me,’ he said.
‘Where I stand, I’m better – I’m a better person, I’m a better coach then I was when I first went to Leeds.’
