Leeds appoint Jesse Marsch as Bielsa’s replacement
over 3 years in The Irish Times
Leeds United have appointed former RB Leipzig boss Jesse Marsch as their new manager, the Premier League club said on Monday.
“The club can today announce the appointment of Jesse Marsch as the club’s new head coach, pending international clearance,” Leeds said in a statement.
His contract will run until June 2025 and his first game in charge will be Saturday’s Premier League trip to Leicester City.
Marsch’s last move did not go to plan, with the 48-year-old dismissed by Leipzig in December after a poor start to the season.
Yet his reputation, forged mainly during an impressive stint at Leipzig’s Red Bull sister club Salzburg, has not been badly damaged and Leeds now see him as the ideal man to follow Marcelo Bielsa.
Bielsa was sacked by Leeds on Sunday morning after an appalling run of form which saw his struggling side collect one point from the last six Premier League games and concede 20 goals in their past five matches alone.
No club in the top tier has a worse goals against record than the 60 shipped by Leeds and Saturday’s 4-0 defeat by Tottenham at Elland Road proved the final straw.
Prior to his spell at Salzburg Marsch spent three years in charge of another club in the same group, New York Red Bulls, after taking his first head coach job at Montreal Impact. He was MLS coach of the year with the Red Bulls in 2015.
As a player, Wisconsin native Marsch spent his entire professional career in the United States after graduating from Princeton University, playing for MLS sides DC United, Chicago Fire and Chivas USA.
Leeds see Marsch, who has a similar preference for high-octane pressing as his predecessor, as someone who can build on Bielsa’s work. Adding a touch more defensive discipline to an already strong team unit would perhaps be the first priority to stem a worrying slide towards the relegation zone.
The 66-year-old Argentinian remains hugely popular however, after transforming the team’s fortunes following his appointment in June 2018, not only leading them back into the Premier League following a 16-year top flight exile but securing a creditable ninth place last May.
On Monday, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola expressed sympathy for Bielsa, a long-time role model him.
“I’m so sorry for him,” said Guardiola. “His legacy is there, in the Leeds city and club, and I’m pretty sure with the players. His influence is massive.
“Unfortunately all managers are subject to results, and maybe they were not good, but the games played in three or four seasons at Leeds were spectacular to watch and I wish him all he best in future.”
In his press conference, Tottenham manager Antonio Conte called Bielsa a “master”.
“I’m really disappointed, because we’re talking about an important manager and we’re talking about a person who is a master, for many managers, many coaches, in the past and in the present,” Conte said of the Argentinian.
“He is not only a manager with a great vision of football who taught a lot to other people, but at the same time I have great respect for him as a person, as a man, because in every situation he’s showed great integrity, and in football you cannot always find this type of person.”