The rivalry between the United States and Canada in the soccer world has entered a new phase.
Former Princeton midfielder and men's soccer assistant coach Jesse Marsh '96 has been named head coach of the Canadian men's national soccer team, as announced in a Canada Soccer press release Monday morning. The hire is effective immediately, and the rest of Marsh's staff will be announced in the coming weeks.
“One of the main reasons I took this job is because I think these players would benefit from the way I think about football,” Marsh told the Daily Princetonian.
With a donation from the owners of Canada's three current Major League Soccer (MLS) teams, Vancouver Whitecaps, CF Montreal and Toronto FC, his official title will be MLS Canada Men's National Team Head Coach.
Marsh will replace Mauro Biello, who will serve as the Maple Leafs' interim head coach starting October 2023, after longtime head coach John Herdman resigned in August to join MLS side Toronto FC. He will be his successor.
Marsh last served as manager of former Premier League side Leeds United until his sacking in February 2023. Since then, he's been named to several high-profile jobs, most notably the opening game for the U.S. men's national team last summer. .
Asked about the transition from club management to the national team, Marsch emphasized the importance of taking advantage of the time spent together as a team. In a calendar year, most national teams spend just over two months together.
“I think we really focus on making sure we're as accurate as possible in everything we do and taking advantage of every moment we have together,” Marsh told “Prince.” Told.
“One of the tendencies of national team coaches is to try to squeeze everything into a small box that we can share with them. And that can sometimes lead to information overload, which can do more harm than good.” It is.”
After graduating from Princeton University, where he was an NCAA All-American, Marsh played 14 seasons in MLS as a midfielder, winning multiple titles including three MLS Cups and four U.S. Open Cups.
He began his coaching career as an assistant on the U.S. team that finished first in its group and advanced to the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. To date, his only managerial experience in Canada was with the Montreal Impact from 2012 to 2015.
After this he continued on a small scale with Red Bull's multi-club network. He started his career with New York Red Bulls in 2015 and took the biggest job of his career in 2018 as manager of RB Leipzig in the German top flight. That season, he finished in third place and the club qualified for the UEFA Champions League. He then joined sister club Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and became the first American manager to win Europe's top league in 2019.
“The fun of working with the team is to take all of the gifts, talents and personalities of these players and incorporate them into one ideology within the concept of what we want to be,” Marsh told Prince. told.
After a brief return to RB Leipzig, the two sides parted ways at the end of 2021. Marsh soon joined Leeds United and helped the club remain in the Premier League after a heroic 2-1 win on the final matchday. . It was the first time since 2011 that the club had avoided relegation despite being in the relegation zone before the final round. In the Premier League, the bottom three teams are relegated to his second division of English football (also known as the Championship).
Currently, he is the 20th head coach of the Canadian side and will be coaching Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David. While this excites the American coach, Marsh is looking forward to working with the younger, less established players and seeing what they can bring to the table.
“We are excited to be able to acquire young and talented players like Ismael Kone and Bonbito,” said Manager Marsh. “I think there's a good balance between some of the players who play in MLS and some of the players who play in Europe, some of the older, more established players and some of the younger, very talented players.”
“I would say that we are first closely evaluating the player pool and then trying to decide which players we need to invest in the most in this first stage.As you know, we are already looking at past games. “We've been trying to evaluate all the different players over the course of a month and a half,” Marsh added.
His first games will be two friendlies against soccer powerhouses Netherlands (June 6th) and France (June 9th), which will be played in early June.
“When you're in a country like Canada, you don't get many opportunities to play against opponents like this,” Marsh said. “We want to start establishing a certain way of playing and we're going to continue to develop that within the team. But even in these situations, we want to play bravely and experience playing against the best opponents. I think that will help ensure that we can meet the challenge.”
As a result, the Canadian national team will participate in the 2024 Copa America, which will be held in the United States. Marsh's first official game with the Maple Leafs will be on June 20th against the Argentina team led by Lionel Messi, the reigning world champions and currently No. 1 in the FIFA rankings.
“Until I get into the team a little bit more and start working with them and see how they react, I think it's a little too hard to really paint a picture of what it's going to look like,” Marsh said. When asked about his expectations heading into the summer tournament, he said, “I'm really excited about these challenges.”
March's contract runs through the summer of 2026. That means, barring a big surprise, Marsh will be on the touchline during the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Tactically, Marsh's coaching style emphasizes high-tempo attacks and aggressive pressing. With a young and athletic roster, Marsh is excited to get the most out of his players.
“I'm going to take them outside of their comfort zone in a way and challenge them to do things at a faster tempo than maybe they've ever done before. And it's going to force them to think faster. But if it's I think that's how players develop – when you put them in environments and situations where the game moves faster than what they're used to and they have to adapt.”
Coaching a national team often comes with very high expectations from the passionate fan base that surrounds the team. For Marsh, being able to respond and perform at a high level in the most pressurized environments will be central to the team's success.
“I like to think I'm good in pressure situations and I'm at my best in the most difficult times,” Marsh said. “I want to have and coach a team that has the same identity. So that's what we have to work on from day one.”
As the team prepares for a busy summer ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Marsh's message to Canadian fans is simple.
“We need their passion and support. We're going to get the team on the pitch. It's going to be fun to watch. It's going to be explosive and highlight the qualities of these players. It will be.”
“Let's shine as much of a spotlight on our country, our players and our teams as possible so that we can make the whole country and the world proud.”
Hayk Yengibarian is Prince's deputy sports editor.
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