Thank you Jesse Marsch

It’s taken a while to get this piece together with the change of coaches, an offseason to reflect and of course some personal issues, I’ve had to deal with that has taken my time away from the site.

But now we can take a look at the three & a half seasons that Jesse Marsch has come to, and in many ways started a culture change from within the club. We all remember that famous town hall meeting, where Marsch came in along with now General Manager of Toronto FC Ali Curtis.

Throughout that vitriol, fire and brimstone, Marsch has found a way to bring in roses, sunshine and hardware to the masses with the second Supporters Shield in club history, back in 2015. He also had that Miraculous run in the 2017 US Open Cup where he faced and got victories against New York City FC, Philadelphia Union and at the New England Revolution.

He had a comeback extra time victory on the road at FC Cincinnati when they were in the USL, but sadly fell short in the final by a goal to Sporting Kansas City. But the one thing he made sure of, was that he gave the kids who were getting proper minutes with the USL Bulls, a fair chance at making the roster for the top team, as well as becoming starters for the senior side.

But as we have seen Marsch doing wonders with his roster in MLS as well as keeping an eye on what goes on within the USL and USL League 2 Roster (Formerly PDL). How else did Marsch make sure that the club was able to draft Brian White in the 2018 MLS Super Draft, as he kept an eye on him during the two seasons he performed in the short season.

But what about the coaches that was under Marsch while he was here? Well we all know that current head coach Chris Armas has felt fortunate to learn from the master, as he knows how fortunate he is to learn from him. But when it comes to those who are currently leading the USL Championship side, they are very aware of what they had when he was there to give advice and some solid chats.

But what I remember mostly about Jesse Marsch is the fire in his belly. That competitive drive he showed every single time he was out inside his technical area, the quickness he still displayed grabbing the ball when it went towards his area of the touchline and he would quickly bring the ball back into play.

The days at training were fun as well. You can tell he was very serious about his next opponents whether it was in league play, the US Open Cup, or during that CONCACAF Champions League run from the start of last season. But he also showed a fun side when he was joking around, either before or after he spoke to the media.

But the best of the best from Jesse Marsch was a shot of him running away along the near side touchline heading back towards the entrance near the Sons of Ben down in Chester at Talon Energy Stadium when Bradley Wright-Phillips converted the second goal of a two goal victory back in 2017.

That’s when he had to catch a plane back in either Newark international or JFK International airport for his UEFA Coaching license, he was seen on TV running and throwing his fists in the air in celebration knowing that the full three points were in the bag.

So now that Jesse Marsch is apart of the Red Bull Leipzig coaching staff and he has one of his own with him in Tyler Adams, I have no doubt that he will be successful and hopefully can become the first American Manager in the German Bundesliga once Ralf Rangrick does move from the job.

But on a personal note, I always enjoyed talking to Jesse as he has shown passion, his knowledge of tactics, great observation of his opponents and a fantastic sense of humor. I wish him nothing but success with his time in Leipzig.