American coach Marsch makes mark with Austrian title
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY » Jesse Marsch came to Europe to make a name both for himself and for every other American soccer coach.
He managed that in a big way.
Marsch led Salzburg to this season’s Austrian league title, the most significant trophy won by an American coach in Europe.
“My main emphasis in coming to Europe — of course, ambition was a part of it — but it was more to see if my idea of leadership could thrive in this competitive setting of our sport,” the Wisconsin native, who also played at Princeton University said. “And, you know, I mean, it’s very sink or swim in Europe.”
In his first season as coach of Salzburg, Marsch had little trouble staying afloat despite a raft of problems. He had to contend with both the coronavirus shutdown and a mid-season rebuild after the club sold Erling Haaland to Borussia Dortmund and Takumi Minamino to Liverpool.
Marsch also became the first American to coach a team in the group stage of the Champions League, and he drew plenty of praise for his team’s all-action style in European soccer’s biggest club competition.
Against Liverpool in October, Salzburg bounced back from a 3-0 hole in a battling 4-3 loss at Anfield. Footage of his halftime talk was widely shared on social media. In a mix of German and English, laced with expletives, he urged the players not to show Liverpool too much respect.
“In some ways, Liverpool was the worst possible draw we could have, not just because of their quality, but because they play similarly to us,” said Marsch, who made two appearances with the U.S. national team as a midfielder in the 2000s.
“We could surprise them maybe by the quality that we had, but not really surprise them by the way we play or the speed at which we play or the intensity at which we play, because they do the same, but probably better. But at the same time, it was an incredible strategic challenge to match up against such a great team.”
Salzburg’s game is built around high-intensity pressing, just like Liverpool. And the results are rarely dull — since June 7, Salzburg has won games 6-0, 5-1, 7-2 and 5-2.
Quite the statement, especially coming after an 11-week break in which Salzburg’s players had to stay matchready with a mix of home fitness exercises and socially distanced training sessions.
Marsch also took a keen interest in his players’ personal lives and mental well-being.
“I made a lot of phone calls. They were more just about seeing how guys are doing, making sure their families were safe, making sure they were doing OK and cooking and everything that they had to do,” he said. “And I think it actually brought the group together and made us stronger.”
The virus also cost league rival LASK Linz some points — the leaders at the time of the suspension were deducted points for holding training sessions in violation of league rules.
But Salzburg’s nine-game unbeaten run since the restart negated any advantage that would have given them.
“Our plan was to win the league as if LASK had the points,” Marsch said. “So we wanted to be emphatic.”