Leeds United have announced the appointment of Jesse Marsch as their new head coach on a deal until June 2025.
The 48-year-old has replaced Marcelo Bielsa, who was sacked by the Whites on Sunday morning after nearly four years in charge at Elland Road.
The West Yorkshire outfit wasted no time in searching for a new head coach, with Marsch immediately identified as their number-one target by chairman Andrea Radrizzani and director of football Victor Orta.
Marsch, who is known for a high-octane pressing game, similarly to Bielsa, has had four managerial roles across his 11-year coaching career, and here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the American's background and his previous roles in management.
Starting out in the USA
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Born in the city of Racine in Wisconsin, Marsch spent his entire playing career in the MLS between 1996 and 2010, beginning with DC United before moving to Chicago Fire and then Chivas USA. The midfielder also received two international caps, his debut coming in 2001 before earning his second cap in 2007.
Prior to his professional playing career, Marsch graduated from the Ivy League university of Princeton, one of the eight top-rated colleges in the USA, where he studied American history. Marsch impressed as a soccer player for his college, who were coached by Bob Bradley, and in 1995 he was rated as one the top 11 All-American players in the country.
Marsch made over 300 career appearances before hanging up his boots in 2010. He then immediately stepped into coaching and reunited with Bradley as part of his backroom team with the USA national team. Bradley and Marsch coached at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with the USA surprisingly topping their group ahead of England in second, before losing to Ghana in the round of 16.
The following summer saw Bradley sacked and Marsch subsequently left his role as an assistant coach, but he was snapped up by Montreal Impact, who handed the then 38-year-old his first managerial role. Marsch guided the Canadian side to 12th place in the MLS, before mutually leaving his post in November 2012.
Joining the Red Bull franchise
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Marsch then spent two and a half years out of work before joining the Red Bull franchise, where he was named as the new head coach at New York Red Bulls in January 2015. Like at every other Red Bull club, the American was encouraged to implement an attack-minded, high-press philosophy on his new team, a style he has since continued with for the rest of his managerial career.
In his first year with the New Jersey outfit, he steered them to the MLS Supporters' Shield, winning a club-record 18 matches in the process, and they also reached the Eastern Conference final but ultimately fell short with defeat against Columbus Crew. Marsch's success was recognised when he won the MLS Coach of the Year.
Marsch spent another three seasons with New York Red Bulls, competing in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2016 and 2018 and finishing at the top of the Eastern Conference twice either side of a sixth-place finish. Marsch eventually left as the club's most successful manager in July 2018 and became the assistant coach at RB Leipzig under Ralf Rangnick, who is currently in interim charge at Manchester United.
After just a year with the German outfit, in which they finished third in the Bundesliga and returned to the Champions League, Marsch stepped up to become head coach at Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg in 2019, where he enjoyed plenty of success. He won the league and cup double in both of his two seasons with the club and became the first American to manage in the Champions League during his first year in charge.
His brief stint in Europe's elite club competition introduced him to English football for the first time in his career, with two group defeats home and away against holders Liverpool. Marsch also had the pleasure of working with Norwegian star Erling Braut Haaland, who burst onto the scene under his tutelage, netting 28 goals in just 22 appearances before moving to Borussia Dortmund in January 2020.
A short stint at RB Leipzig
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After excelling with Salzburg, Marsch returned to Leipzig in the summer of 2021 with big shoes to fill, following Julian Nagelsmann's departure to Bayern Munich. The American experienced a mixed start to life with the German side, winning his first game in charge 4-0 in the DFB-Pokal against SV Sandhausen before losing their Bundesliga opener 1-0 away at Mainz 05.
Die Roten Bullen bounced back with a 4-0 league win against Stuttgart, but followed that up with three successive defeats against Wolfsburg, Bayern and Manchester City in the Champions League, conceding 11 goals in the process.
Leipzig's hierarchy hoped Marsch would continue where Nagelsmann had left off and challenge Bayern for the Bundesliga title; however, a lack of consistency across all competitions prevented their progress. Between mid-September and mid-October, Die Roten Bullen won, drew and lost two games each, a run which saw them slip down to eighth in the Bundesliga and rock bottom of their Champions League group.
A stronger run of five games unbeaten, including a 2-2 draw with Paris Saint-Germain and a 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, provided Marsch with a much-needed boost. However, three straight league defeats between November and early December saw Leipzig drop out of the top half of the table, 16 points off the summit and only five above the relegation playoff position.
Leipzig's 2-1 away defeat at Union Berlin proved to the be the final nail in the coffin for Marsch, who was sacked on December 5 after winning only seven of his 21 games at the helm.
Oliver Thomas
