‘My respect for Bielsa is massive’: Jesse Marsch named as new manager of Leeds

Jesse Marsch has been confirmed as the new head coach of Leeds United, after the struggling Premier League club moved swiftly to replace Marcelo Bielsa.

Indeed Bielsa, sacked on Sunday, had barely had time to bid his players a final farewell at the training ground on Monday morning before his 48-year-old successor became only the second American to manage a Premier League team.

Speaking about the appointment, the Leeds director of football, Victor Orta, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jesse to the club and excited for him to lead us into this new chapter. Jesse is someone we identified a number of years ago during his time at Red Bull Salzburg and we believe his philosophy and style of football aligns with that of the club and will suit the players very well. We have a long-term plan and firmly believe he can take Leeds United to the next level and are excited for what the future holds.”

“I think almost every job I’ve had, I’ve followed a club legend,” Marsch told LUTV. “There’s massive challenges to that. I have a lot to prove to our fanbase that I’m the right guy to follow such a hero like Marcelo Bielsa. But I think the key is when they see the team play and they play with passion, heart and they show that they’re also intelligent and clear with the playing model and they’re aggressive, then the fans will tolerate the coach even if they don’t like his accent or if he’s not as popular as the previous coach.

“My respect and admiration for Marcelo Bielsa is massive. How he’s helped transform Leeds United into a Premier League team is pretty amazing. Everything that’s been done has laid an incredible foundation and coming into this moment I just want to try to do everything I can to help take the club into the next phase of our history.”

Leeds are two points and two places above the drop zone but, with key players due to return from injury in the coming weeks, unhappy supporters wanted Bielsa, the man who restored their Premier League place after a 16-year exile, to see the job through.
Chairman Andrea Radrizzani saw things differently, though, and made the change, with Marsch the man enlisted to lead a charge away from the bottom three.

“I think I was identified by the club as a good follow-up to what Marcelo has created,” Marsch added. “I think my style of play, my aggressiveness, the desire I have for teams to be intensive and to run and to make things difficult for the opponent fits with what has been done over the last three-and-a-half years.

“It will be a big challenge to do it in a short period of time and I’ll make sure we evolve in a way that can be successful for what the future may bring but do it now. I have to really identify how to do the important and simple things right away and then build complexity as we continue to move forward.”

Leeds fans must trust the former RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls coach is somewhat more successful than his compatriot, Bob Bradley, proved at Swansea a few years ago but no one is underestimating the task confronting Marsch.

A manager who shone at Salzburg left Leipzig in December by “mutual consent” following an indifferent five months in charge of the Bundesliga club and must now somehow correct an appalling run of form during which Bielsa’s side collected one point from their past six games and conceded 20 goals in the past five matches alone.

Like Bielsa an advocate of an aggressive high pressing game – albeit using a slightly more moderate model than his Argentinian predecessor – Marsch is much admired in the Elland Road boardroom after striking up a rapport with Orta early in 2020.

His priority in a run of games starting at Leicester on Saturday, before two vital home matches against Aston Villa and Norwich, will be to tighten a defence which has conceded 60 top-flight goals this season – more than any other team in the division. In Bielsa’s last two games Leeds sank 6-0 at Liverpool and lost 4-0 at home against Tottenham.

In mitigation Leeds have been without three key players comprising the team’s spine for much of this season and Marsch can only hope last season’s leading scorer Patrick Bamford, the England central midfielder Kalvin Phillips and the centre-back and captain, Liam Cooper, return to action on schedule this spring.

The Leeds chief executive, Angus Kinnear, said: “We are really pleased to have quickly secured the services of our first-choice head coach. Whilst the short-term objective for Jesse is obvious, we believe he has the courage and ambition to build on the strong foundations we have created over the last four years and elevate the performance of the club over the long-term.

“He had a great deal of success with New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg and has demonstrated during our many meetings that he is a great fit with the footballing culture of Leeds United.

“At this challenging time, it is important that the club remains united from top to bottom. The fans have been amazing throughout Andrea’s tenure and we have no doubt they will unite behind Jesse and ensure the team quickly returns to winning with style.”