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Marsch steps down as Montreal Impact head coach

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

After guiding the Montreal Impact through a solid expansion season, Jesse Marsch has stepped down as Impact head coach.

Marsch and the Impact came to a mutual agreement on Marsch’s departure. The announcement came on Saturday morning, a week after the Impact ended a season that saw them set a new MLS record for wins in a season by a Canadian team.

“Although we have the same goals, we did not share the same philosophy,” Marsch said in the Saturday morning press conference.

Marsch helped the Impact overcome a terrible 1-5-2 start to 2012 and the team eventually contend for a playoff spot. He integrated new signings Marco DiVaio and Alessandro Nesta excellently on a Montreal side that was outstanding at home but struggled on the road.

There is no word on who will replace Marsch as Montreal head coach. Assistant coaches Denis Hamlett, Mike Sorber, Mauro Biello and Philippe Eullaffroy will remain with the club and serve as interim head coaches until a permanent replacement is hired.

So what’s next for Marsch? Chivas USA is expected to make a coaching change, and while rumors in Mexico have already reported that Robin Fraser will be replaced by Efrain Flores, nothing has been confirmed officially yet. If the Goats have not hired a new coach, they would have to consider Marsch, a former Chivas USA team captain who spent four seasons there as a player and who made a strong impression in his one season with Montreal.

What do you think of this development? Think the Impact will take a step back in 2013? Where do you see Marsch winding up next?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Reading between the lines of what was said in the press conference, I got the sense that there was a division in the clubhouse. Not sure who was against him, but one can ponder.

    While I agree that Nesta seemed a bit over hyped, DiViao and Ferrari played quite well for the team. And even Nesta wasn”t bad at all. Nesta, Ferrari, Rivas, Camara, Brovsky, Iappichino for a pretty good defensive base. With Thomas and Gardiner gone, and Ouimette ready to jump in, we might see a couple defensive replacements that will make this the true strength of the club.

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  2. How about Jurgen Klinsmann, his advice certainly helped Toronto . . .. ohh , … uhm. Still whatever, Jergen Klinsmann!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  3. Playing devil’s advocate here, may Montreal wanted to play that 4-3-3 high press flowing style. Marsh seemed to favor the pragmatic approach. I just don’t understand how this wouldn’t have all been sorted out before they hired him. Your philosophy of how the team would play on the field seems to be something you’d talk about while interviewing your prospective coach. Wouldn’t it? lol

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  4. i see montreal getting a european coach or even a top south american coach- bring Bielsa or even dunca.As for the canadian teams i see whitecaps being the best and thats because the west has better teams and not the east. The east needs a galaxy and a sounders to take the east to the next level. The east has SKC which could be the sounders of the east and Red Bull are the galaxy of the east.

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    • Are you kidding? The East outperformed the West in inter-conference play this year.

      All 5 Eastern conference playoff teams were separated by 7 points. Vancouver backed into the playoffs with a solid 10 pts less than Houston had and 23 less than SJ.

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  5. Montreal impact looks like a very ambitious club, but that will kill them as well. Take it slow impact, because the east really sucks and why kill your chances of being the top dog in the east.

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    • Yeah… by the roster freeze deadline in 2013, their entire starting lineup will be past-their-prime Italian stars and the average age of the roster will be 35.

      My theory–which has no concrete evidence–is that Saputo’s more concerned with slapping big names on his roster than building a lineup that fits the system Marsch wanted to implement.

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      • Maybe you’re being delusional. The Sounders posted a 12-7-11 record their first season, made the playoffs and won the US Open Cup … setting league attendance records which they continue to break season after season. Sigi’s still there, as well as the same core of players.

        It can be done, but maybe not in Canada.

      • Not if you sign a bunch of veterans.

        Not if you played on the expansion Fire. You know…the Bradley expansion team that won a title.

        I’m interested what the philosophy difference was. You’d likely be one side or the other of signing 4 O30 Italians. He might not have liked being a Serie A retirement home.

        The last good run at Chivas was under Bradley. I don’t think they need another Fraser type experiment in Marsch. They need a proven coach.

      • When the Fire, along with Miami, came into MLS in ’98, they were one of only 12 teams. There are plenty of other reasons that expecting an expansion team now to do what Chicago did is unrealistic, but even just simple math says it would be much more difficult.

      • All due respect but they had and gave up Ching and EJ. They then signed a bunch of Italian veterans. This was intended to be a “win now” type effort.

        If you look at what Philly did its first year, I think playoffs isn’t delusional. Nor do I believe a title has to be in light of history. It’s a salary cap league where new teams get an expansion draft…..

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