Jesse Marsch has earned his first international head coaching gig of his career with the Canada men’s national team and although Marsch was born and raised in the United States, it didn’t stop him from holding back about U.S. Soccer.
Marsch was previously considered for the USMNT head coaching job last June before the federation re-hired current head coach, Gregg Berhalter. A former USMNT assistant coach and player, Marsch held several European positions as manager of Leeds United, RB Leipzig, and Red Bull Salzburg, winning four trophies in Austria.
Now as he prepares for the upcoming Copa America with Canada this summer, Marsch admitted his interactions with U.S. Soccer last summer.
“My respect for U.S. Soccer is big, but I went through a process with them, right? And I’m not going to go into it, but I wasn’t treated very well in the process,” Marsch told CBS’ “Call it What You Want” podcast. :And so, whatever man, that’s in the past now. The minute it was done I was like, ‘Okay, I’m moving forward, and I’m going to figure out what’s right for me.’
“It motivated me again to find the right people,” he added. “And so now I just want to talk about Canada, because I’m excited. I feel like it’s a fan base and a player pool and a nation that resonates with me. I’ve worked there before, I know a lot of the people involved.”
Canada is coming off its first World Cup involvement in 36 years, taking part in the 2022 edition in Qatar. However, the Canadians lost in the final of the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League to the USMNT before also being eliminated by Jamaica in the 2023-24 quarterfinals.
Early pressure will certainly be on Marsch this summer to lead Canada into a deep run at the Copa America, but with Argentina, Chile, and Peru joining them in Group A, it certainly won’t be easy.
Source - sbisoccer.com