Move Over Drake... Jesse Marsch Is Headed To Canada

Canada’s Football Association has announced the next manager for the men’s national team, 50 year old Jesse Marsch. The former U.S. Men’s National Team member will take on his first international team job after a club managerial career that has spanned almost 22 years. 

Marsch began his coaching career within Major League Soccer where he was hired as the manager of the Montreal Impact (now CF Montreal) in the summer of 2011. Marsch would leave the Impact at the end of the 2012 season with an “amicable split”. Marsch would go on to be an Assistant Manager at Princeton University before getting his second shot at a Managerial gig in the professional ranks with the New York Red Bulls. Marsch would go on to win a MLS Supporters’ Shield in his first season (2015) with the club as well as winning a MLS Coach of the Year that season. After three and a half seasons with the Red Bulls, Marsch would leave Major League Soccer to go be an Assistant Manager at RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga under Ralf Rangnick. Marsch left his time in Major League Soccer  after managing a total of  187 games with a record of; 88 wins, 37 draws, and 62 losses. Marsch would win a total of two trophies in MLS with both of the Supporters’ Shields that he earned coming with his New York Red Bulls run. 

Marsch would remain as an Assistant Manager with RB Leipzig for almost a full year before earning another managerial shot, this time his first in Europe. Marsch would take over as Manager of RB Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga. In Austria, he would find his most success as he won two Austrian Bundesliga titles and two Austrian Cups in his two seasons there. In 94 games managed, he would finish with a record of 64 wins, 13 draws, and 17 losses before being hired as Julian Nagelsmann’s replacement at RB Leipzig. Unfortunately, Marsch would only manage the German side for half a season before being let go. He finished with a record at Leipzig of; 7 wins, 4 draws, and 9 losses. Only two months later, Marsch would be given another shot at a managerial gig in Europe as he took over for Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United. Marsch was hired with the intent to try and keep Leeds in the Premier League. He was successful and was able to have the club finish in 17th, avoiding relegation to the EFL Championship. Unfortunately, the next season he would be let go, almost a year from the date of his hire at the club. Marsch finished his career at Leeds with a record of 11 wins, 10 draws, and 16 losses in 37 games. 

Since February of 2023, we haven’t seen Jesse Marsch on the sideline of a soccer game. He’s been involved in some things connected to CBS soccer content, but not coaching. Now, the impressive American manager is back but coaching a rival of his home country. The hire seems smart… Jesse is familiar with the region. As someone who played in and coached in CONCACAF competitions before, he knows the talent and player pool of this region. Personally, I think Jesse is a great soccer mind and one of the best in the region. I can’t see why he won’t have success as manager of Canada and even win the country’s first title since 2000. I would expect to see him bring the 4-2-3-1 formation that we’ve seen him play for a majority of his coaching career. What could a best possible Canada lineup look like in this style?

Cyle Larin

Liam Millar - Jonathan David - Tajon Buchanan

Stephen Eustaquio - Ismael Kone

Alphonso Davies - Kamal Miller - Joel Waterman - Alistair Johnston

Milan Borjan

You could argue any of the names that I listed above; where to play them, who’s better, etc. But at the end of the day I trust a manager like Jesse Marsch. I think that he has all the tools to be able to lead a team to success, and he’s proven that at almost every stop he’s been at. Now winning a title in CONCACAF with the likes of the United States and Mexico bouncing around is tough… but not impossible. We’ve seen both the U.S. and Mexico have trouble traveling to Canada in the past. Also, Canada’s talent pool is doing nothing but growing with young talents such as Ismael Kone, Theo Corbeanu, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Jacen Russell-Rowe and others. With the Copa America this summer and the World Cup coming back into the world of CONCACAF in 2026, this seems like the best possible move to try and ensure some of the best soccer play we’ve seen out of the Canadian male side in a long time.