Jesse Marsch is set to take charge at his third club in the Red Bull Global soccer network, and German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig will be hoping he enjoys just as much success as he has at his two previous assignments.
RB Leipzig has announced the hiring of Marsch as its new head coach, confirming that he will take over for Julian Nagelsmann ahead of next season following Nagelsmann’s hiring as Bayern Munich manager for the new campaign.
Marsch returns to RB Leipzig, where he served as an assistant coach under Ralf Ragnick for a season, after spending the past two seasons as manager at Red Bull Salzburg, which he is poised to lead to a league and cup double for the second straight season.
The RB Leipzig job is arguably the most high-profile position ever given to an American manager, with Marsch joining the short list of American managers to secure head coach positions at teams in Europe’s top four leagues, a list that includes Marsch’s mentor Bob Bradley, who briefly served as manager at then-English Premier League side Swansea City in 2016.
The 47-year-old takes over an RB Leipzig side that reached the UEFA Champions League semifinals last season and is poised to finish in second place in the Bundesliga for the first time after a pair of third-place finishes. Prior to that, Marsch enjoyed success as head coach of the New York Red Bulls, which he led to the 2015 MLS Supporters’ Shield, and coached for the first half of their 2018 Supporters’ Shield-winning campaign before leaving to join the RB Leipzig coaching staff.
Marsch will become the second American-born coach to serve as head coach in the Bundesliga, following Pellegrino Matarazzo, who is in his first season in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart after helping guide Stuttgart to promotion from the 2.Bundesliga last season. German-born former U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder David Wagner also managed in the Bundesliga, guiding Schalke in the 2019-2020 season.
The move to RB Leipzig will also reunite Marsch with USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams, who Marsch coached with the New York Red Bulls, giving Adams his professional debut and the first starting role of his career.
As an American soccer fan and especially a fan of RBNY, very proud.
Congratulations to Marsch. He deserves this job and I have no doubt he will do very well at Leipzig. BTW, Marsh was the first player to lift the MLS cup 3 times in succession (DC, DC, Chicago) though he was not a starter for DC.
I’m hopeful Marsch to lead us in ’26 cycle no matter how well we do in ’22. I don’t believe giving a manager more than one cycle is a good idea. Unless your name is Jogi Low. 🙂
If everyone really starts clicking under GB’s system
and we make to the quarterfinals in ’22
do you still give him the boot?
.
In reality he’s only going to be in place for two years effectively by the time that rolls around, with his late hire and a covid year, so I don’t think there will be any burn out by that point.
IMHO, this is as important as Pulisic scoring in the semis of the Champions League and having Americans playing for Juventus and Barcelona when it comes to gaining respect for American soccer.
Gary, makes me happy to say, I agree with you
Hopefully true, but it all depends whether Marsch (1) is successful and (2) his appointment paves the way for others, the way the success of our young players has heightened European interest in MLS academy players, etc. If Marsch bombs a la Bradley at Swansea (though I doubt it), this could still be a setback rather than a big step forward.
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Hirings are like transfers — they are a validation of potential, but they are not, in themselves, achievements. The potential still needs to be fulfilled through results.
He is clearly a strong motivator. So, for me, his biggest test will likely be can he match up tactically/technically? But I’m still rooting for him tho, right? I mean, he’s entered the frontier!
Great news!! I hope the front office of Leipzig allows him to coach Salzburg to a league title before the move. 2 doubles 2 years in a row, in the Austrian Bundesliga, would look 2 good on the ‘ol resume.
I bet he takes Brendan Aronson eventually.
not sure if this is a bridge too far but with his winning resume he’s the man to test it.
Glad to see RB Leipzig is giving Marsch the chance. With his RB experience, hopefully he and the Bundesliga team are on the same page . . . not like poor Bob Bradley and his stint at Swansea.
If your average result is a 3-1 loss which is half a goal worse than the guy you replaced you are going to get fired whether you have a good relationship or not. I mean outside of MLS of course.
If he can put together a year where they grab a league title, he will be on the radar of the top teams in the world. Huge opportunity for him.
this is the coolest, makes me feel proud as an American soccer coach all these years. My new favorite team
Wow! RB believes in this guy. This is a big moment for American soccer.
Yes!