Jesse’s a real ‘bite yer legs’
LEEDS fans may be mourning the departure of Marcelo Bielsa – but Norman Hunter would have approved of the man brought in to replace him.
Jesse Marsch wasn’t a man to be messed with during his playing career.
As David Beckham found when the pair clashed in an MLS fixture between Chivas and LA Galaxy back in 2007.
Marsch felled Beckham with a brutal challenge shortly after he’d arrived from Real Madrid.
But, according to Alexi Lalas, the former USA star who played with and against the Leeds boss during his MLS and international career, Marsch was never one to respect reputations.
A bit like Leeds legend ‘Bite-yer-legs’ Hunter.
“He would kick anything that moved – but in a good way!” laughed Lalas.
“He honestly would. He was the sort of player you hated playing against because he was such a pain in the ass – he was the sort of player you also loved having on your side.
“He was stubborn, competitive, beautifully arrogant – and I think that has carried through into his coaching career.
“He recognises that he’s in the combat business.
“He’s incredibly adept at being able to recognise when to harness those qualities to his advantage, and when to tune it out.
“I think he’s got to show that he has something. That doesn’t mean winning every single game, but he has to show fans that he has something Leeds can grasp onto.”
And many senior figures in the USA are already viewing Marsch as the perfect man to lead the country in four years’ time into their first World Cup on home soil since 1994.
Lalas added: “When we talk about potential USA managers of the future, particularly with 2026 coming, he’s always part of that list.”