A look at Leeds manager Jesse Marsch

 

Jesse Marsch has been the Leeds manager since February, guiding them to safety at the back end of last season following Marcelo Bielsa's departure. Since then, over the summer Marsch has imprinted his own identity through the departures of former fan favourites Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha, and the arrivals of new stars Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson and Luis Sinisterra. Following Leeds' impressive start to the season which was only made more impressive following the Sunday demolition of Chelsea, I thought it important to look at the man behind this enthralling Leeds side.

Who is Jesse Marsch?

Marsch was born on November 8th 1973 in Racine, Wisconsin, USA. He went to Princeton University playing for the Princeton Tigers until 1996 when he joined D.C. United through the MLS draft. Marsch spent 14 seasons playing in the MLS for D.C. United, Chicago Fire and CD Chivas USA. Marsch while an outstanding sportsman during his career wasn't a standout, it became apparent early into his managerial career that he had a great understanding of the game. Marsch began his managerial career as the assistant manager to Bob Bradley for the United States men's national team. It wasn't until 2015 and Marsch's role at the New York Red Bulls that he became recognized as a prospective top coach. During his 1276 days in charge of the New York Red Bulls, Marsch averaged 1.71 points per game. After this, Marsch moved to Europe and worked alongside mastermind tactician Ralf Rangnick at RB Leipzig for what must have been pivotal for Marsch in creating his football identity. Following this, Marsch moved to RB Salzburg and managed there for 730 days averaging 2.18 points per game. During his management tenure at RB Salzburg, he won the Austrian league and the Austrian cup twice. This success allowed him to move up the ladder again to RB Leipzig, a move which didn't particularly work for him as he only lasted 157 days in that role. However, in February 2022 he moved to Leeds and managed to save their season keeping them from relegation. Excellent recruitment has meant Marsch has started the season taking 7 points from the 9 available, this is the joint second-best record in the league.

What does a Jesse Marsch team look like?

Leeds so far this season have lined up in a 4231 formation, although Marsch places little emphasis on formation, saying that the team should be interchangeable due to the constant press he expects, he wants his players to be able to play a role anywhere on the pitch. Traits of Marsch's 4231 at Leeds have been playing with two number 6's, this helps to limit the opposition and their ability to play football, this is coupled with a front four which is energetic, quick and very fluid. This is a very exciting Leeds side that Marsch has created.

As a coach, Jesse Marsch follows the Red Bull coaching philosophy of implementing pressing and counter-pressing, stating in a webinar that effective pressing is so important as "a team's chances of regaining possession drop dramatically, 8 seconds after losing it". This is coupled with the fact that he states "a team's best chances of scoring are within the first 10 seconds of winning the ball". These two quotes are perfect, to sum up, what Marsch expects from his teams, he wants them to counter-press immediately when they lose the ball and then progress the ball forward as quickly as possible in order to maintain the best chances of scoring. This was evident in the game at Elland road against Chelsea the past weekend, with the first goal, Brenden Aaronson lost the ball and immediately followed this by counter-pressing which ended up forcing an error from the Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, remarkably there were only 7 seconds between losing the ball and winning it back, then the goal going in. 

Jesse Marsch as with the philosophy of Red Bull sides prefers to build his teams around a core of young players, he believes young players are a better fit for his philosophy, for Marsch playing the youth is as he stated in a Sky Sports interview "about them establishing themselves and then us challenging and instructing them on how to grow", Marsch has demonstrated his commitment to youth as Leeds have the 6th youngest average age of starting XI in the premier league so far this season. Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams all fit into this philosophy, Tyler Adams is a player in particular who could be described as a Jesse Marsch player in midfield, having previously played under Marsch twice at RB New York and RB Leipzig, Marsch showed his faith in Adams by bringing him to Leeds in a summer transfer. Marsch described Adams as a "special player and a special athlete" in a tactical webinar and since the move, Adams has shown himself as a pivotal cog in the system. Smarter Scout has rated Adams 89/100 for disrupting opposition moves and 84/100 for recovering a moving ball, these stats alone show how effective he has been in winning the ball back for Leeds. 

Continuing in this vein, Marsch could break ground as an American succeeding in European football, possibly even changing the stigma around Americans and football in general.