Ayeni Olusegun
Doha
Seven months into the ‘biggest job’ of his career as Red Bull Salzburg coach, Jesse Marsch has proved doubters wrong – especially after the Champions League thriller at Anfield against Liverpool.
The Austrians had gone down 3-0 to the European champions but an unfathomable display in the second half inspired by Marsch’s now famous half-time message led to a three-goal comeback, only for Liverpool to edge Marsch’s side 4-3.
The Austrians didn’t win but a statement had been made.
Though Marsch, an American, had led his team to a memorable debut earlier – beating Genk 6-2, his coaching credentials were further fortified in that match against his coaching inspiration Jurgen Klopp.
The American who became the first from his country to coach a team in the UEFA Champions League, has so far led the Salzburg side to the top of the Austrian Bundesliga, and they are aiming for their seventh straight domestic title while hoping to make some noise in Europe via the Europa League.
"We have set ourselves up for a good four-five months and hopefully we can make a run in the Europa League and our goal is to win the championship in Austria,” Marsch said in Doha recently where Salzburg are based for their winter camp.
"I think we have learned so much in the last six months and that has shaped our expectations.”
Marsch a former midfielder himself started his coaching career with MLS side Montreal Impact before a successful three-year stint at New York Red Bulls where he won the MLS Supporters Cup and Coach of the Year in 2015. A move to German side RB Leipzig as assistant coach followed and then the top job at Salzburg in the summer of 2019 brought to life the European Dream for the American.
"It is my biggest job yet and I don’t look at it as a pressure situation. I just feel fortunate and the expertise I am surrounded by have been excellent. Honestly I say I have been handed a Ferrari and it’s my job not to mess it up.
"It’s really fun to work with young talented players, we have a really good mentality and even in the city, the people have been open to having an American coach lead their club and it helps that I am not an unknown entity, I have been in the Red Bull family for a while,” Marsch said.
Ahead of the 2019-20 season, Salzburg lost almost half their squad to big European clubs. However, the rise of Erling Braut Haaland and Japanese star Takumi Minamino helped raise the team’s profile again but, those stars are long gone to both Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool respectively.
"The transition has gone as well as we hoped and a lot of that is down to the players and the management. We will always have challenges in the transfer window because players will move to the next level. It’s interesting because we knew both Haaland and Taki would play a role in the team moving forward.
"I don’t think anyone expected them to be so big, but if the younger ones keep showing they can exceed the expectations, it will be amazing considering how we have grown.
"Being here in Doha in the last couple of weeks has made us believe we can even do.”
In the course of their training camp here in Doha, Red Bull Salzburg defeated Al Arabi 6-0 as they prepare for the business end of the season.
"I have been to Qatar before and so has the club. Everyone’s comfortable coming here. The training ground is immaculate, the fields are perfect, the gym is fantastic and it’s lovely to walk from the hotel to the training ground. You can also find a good match in the local league and there are a lot of European teams here and the people are fantastic.
"I was able to go to the Souq, Katara – everything being so close makes it an enjoyable experience,” the 46-year-old said of Qatar.
On the World Cup in 2022, he said, "Maybe when the World Cup was awarded, I think it was hard for people to imagine if they could pull it out. I was in South Africa and I saw how they struggled a bit. I think it’s also important that it was moved to the winter so people won’t worry about the weather. I think that the Qatari people should be proud of the advancements being made here.”
The former US national team assistant coach said he hopes the US team makes it to the tournament after a failing to qualify for the last edition in Russia.
"There’s a massive criticism of the US national team system especially the negativity of not qualifying for the last world cup. But the key to the setback for me is, could we learn from why it happened? But i don’t think the nation and football body have learned.
"It’s sad to see but I hope we (USA) find a way to get here and be a part of the 2022 World Cup.”
Doha
Seven months into the ‘biggest job’ of his career as Red Bull Salzburg coach, Jesse Marsch has proved doubters wrong – especially after the Champions League thriller at Anfield against Liverpool.
The Austrians had gone down 3-0 to the European champions but an unfathomable display in the second half inspired by Marsch’s now famous half-time message led to a three-goal comeback, only for Liverpool to edge Marsch’s side 4-3.
The Austrians didn’t win but a statement had been made.
Though Marsch, an American, had led his team to a memorable debut earlier – beating Genk 6-2, his coaching credentials were further fortified in that match against his coaching inspiration Jurgen Klopp.
The American who became the first from his country to coach a team in the UEFA Champions League, has so far led the Salzburg side to the top of the Austrian Bundesliga, and they are aiming for their seventh straight domestic title while hoping to make some noise in Europe via the Europa League.
"We have set ourselves up for a good four-five months and hopefully we can make a run in the Europa League and our goal is to win the championship in Austria,” Marsch said in Doha recently where Salzburg are based for their winter camp.
"I think we have learned so much in the last six months and that has shaped our expectations.”
Marsch a former midfielder himself started his coaching career with MLS side Montreal Impact before a successful three-year stint at New York Red Bulls where he won the MLS Supporters Cup and Coach of the Year in 2015. A move to German side RB Leipzig as assistant coach followed and then the top job at Salzburg in the summer of 2019 brought to life the European Dream for the American.
"It is my biggest job yet and I don’t look at it as a pressure situation. I just feel fortunate and the expertise I am surrounded by have been excellent. Honestly I say I have been handed a Ferrari and it’s my job not to mess it up.
"It’s really fun to work with young talented players, we have a really good mentality and even in the city, the people have been open to having an American coach lead their club and it helps that I am not an unknown entity, I have been in the Red Bull family for a while,” Marsch said.
Ahead of the 2019-20 season, Salzburg lost almost half their squad to big European clubs. However, the rise of Erling Braut Haaland and Japanese star Takumi Minamino helped raise the team’s profile again but, those stars are long gone to both Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool respectively.
"The transition has gone as well as we hoped and a lot of that is down to the players and the management. We will always have challenges in the transfer window because players will move to the next level. It’s interesting because we knew both Haaland and Taki would play a role in the team moving forward.
"I don’t think anyone expected them to be so big, but if the younger ones keep showing they can exceed the expectations, it will be amazing considering how we have grown.
"Being here in Doha in the last couple of weeks has made us believe we can even do.”
In the course of their training camp here in Doha, Red Bull Salzburg defeated Al Arabi 6-0 as they prepare for the business end of the season.
"I have been to Qatar before and so has the club. Everyone’s comfortable coming here. The training ground is immaculate, the fields are perfect, the gym is fantastic and it’s lovely to walk from the hotel to the training ground. You can also find a good match in the local league and there are a lot of European teams here and the people are fantastic.
"I was able to go to the Souq, Katara – everything being so close makes it an enjoyable experience,” the 46-year-old said of Qatar.
On the World Cup in 2022, he said, "Maybe when the World Cup was awarded, I think it was hard for people to imagine if they could pull it out. I was in South Africa and I saw how they struggled a bit. I think it’s also important that it was moved to the winter so people won’t worry about the weather. I think that the Qatari people should be proud of the advancements being made here.”
The former US national team assistant coach said he hopes the US team makes it to the tournament after a failing to qualify for the last edition in Russia.
"There’s a massive criticism of the US national team system especially the negativity of not qualifying for the last world cup. But the key to the setback for me is, could we learn from why it happened? But i don’t think the nation and football body have learned.
"It’s sad to see but I hope we (USA) find a way to get here and be a part of the 2022 World Cup.”