Jesse Marsch has quickly moved up the charts since his move to Europe in 2018. Now the American manager is excited for a new start as he takes over German Bundesliga club RB Leipzig this fall.

Marsch made the move official from sister club Red Bull Salzburg earlier this year, returning to the German Bundesliga, where he served as an assistant head coach of RB Leipzig in 2018-19. The 47-year-old Wisconsin native has continued his rise as a head coach in Europe, leading Red Bull Salzburg to a pair of league titles and Austrian Cup triumphs, while also working with several exciting young talents including Brenden Aaronson, Dominik Szoboszlai, Mergim Berisha, and Patson Daka.

Now Marsch takes over for Julian Nagelsmann, looking to help RB Leipzig continue challenging for the German Bundesliga title as well as making deep runs in the UEFA Champions League.

“I am very happy to be the trainer of RB Leipzig,” Marsch said in a press conference. “It is a great honor for me and since my involvement with the New York Red Bulls it has actually always been my dream to be able to call myself the head coach of the RBL one day.

“I think it fits perfectly,” Marsch said. “I know the club, the fans, the squad and the city. I had a great time here three years ago. And now I can feel this special atmosphere again. I’m really up for getting started.”

Marsch excelled in Austria in his two seasons at the helm there, but will have a new challenge with RB Leipzig in one of Europe’s top leagues. The club itself has contended with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund for league titles, while also raising eyebrows in the UEFA Champions League over the past few seasons.

Star striker Timo Werner departed for Chelsea in the summer of 2020, but RB Leipzig still has several top talents including Yussuf Poulsen, Emil Forsberg, Marcel Sabitzer, and U.S. men’s national team midfielder Tyler Adams. Marsch will try to do his best to keep RB Leipzig in the upper echelon of German soccer, despite a quick turnaround this summer.

“The team is simply outstanding,” Marsch said. “We have a lot of very good players here with a great mentality, but all of them still have potential. I’m looking forward to further developing this team. I want to use all of my experience to achieve a good season. Being a good leader for this team is my top priority.

“As a fan of RB Leipzig, I have of course followed the games of the past two seasons,” Marsch said. “I will definitely try to understand what was important for the group during this time – both on and off the field – and continue the philosophy. I have a clear goal: I want to control the opponent intensively and aggressively with our RBL DNA in every phase of the game. Of course, that won’t always be possible. But we will do everything we can.”

RB Leipzig’s competitive schedule still has a little while away from beginning, but the hard work of preparing for the long haul of several competitions has already begun at the club’s facilities. Marsch has gotten to meet several of his new players and start preparing his plans for his tactics and formation.

Despite not managing a competitive match yet for the club, Marsch’s stock remains high within the RB Leipzig organization due to his impressive work in the Red Bull network.

“We are super happy that we were able to sign our dream coach in Jesse Marsch,” RB Leipzig chief Oliver Mentzlaff said. “I met Jesse in the U.S. in 2015 after we needed a new coach at the New York Red Bulls. It was clear relatively quickly that we had the right man in him. We said to him at the time: ‘Jesse, you have to get along with very young players and develop them further, and you don’t have much money to spend.’ He won the championship straight away. In his second year in office, he was able to further develop the team and the game philosophy.

“We have always stayed in close contact. Jesse signaled to me very early on and expressed his desire to train a team in Europe one day. When Ralf Rangnick took over as a trainer in 2018, we hired Jesse as an assistant trainer. He integrated himself well into the club and then did an excellent job at Red Bull Salzburg.”