Jesse Marsch at RB Leipzig: role model Rangnick

Three years ago, in Hoffenheim, a tall man approached Jesse Marsch.

"Hello Jesse, how are you?" Asked the man.

At Marsch, who was co-coach of RB Leipzig at the time, this caused astonishment, as his counterpart spoke with a perfect American accent.

A compatriot, march thought.

He was right.

The man was Pellegrino Matarazzo, today coach of VfB Stuttgart and this Friday evening (8.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and DAZN) a guest at Marsch and RB Leipzig.

The 47-year-old Marsch, born in Wisconsin, and Matarazzo, a native of New Jersey, are part of a premiere. For the first time, two American head coaches face each other in the Bundesliga. There should be a warm encounter before the game, everyone appreciates each other. “He speaks a much better German than I do. As far as that goes, he's a role model, ”says Marsch, who also thinks a lot about the football teacher Matarazzo.

Marsch grew up in Racine, a small town between Milwaukee and Chicago. His grandfathers came from Germany, they gave him the German surname, but no longer the language. “Unfortunately, at some point they only spoke English at home,” he says. He had to learn German first, just as he had to get to know the Bundesliga. The year as Ralf Rangnick's assistant helped him a lot in this regard.

It is by no means due to a lack of language skills that he has not yet arrived properly as head coach.

At the start, his team lost 1-0 in Mainz - a bitter disappointment.

“We weren't sharp, weren't consistent enough,” says Marsch.

Sharp is one of his favorite words.

Marsch tries to establish it in German usage with the same intensity as he tries to bring his game idea to the team.

He has not yet succeeded in either.

"We would have needed more solutions"

Most noticeable in Mainz was the harmless offensive, which could hardly create any scoring opportunities against a low opponent. “We would have needed more solutions,” says Marsch. This particularly annoys him, as the approach with Ball was one of his favorite topics in the preparation. He wanted to attack faster and more straightforwardly than his predecessor Julian Nagelsmann, who had brought in the positional play more strongly. Again, more like the old, that is: Rangnick's role model wanted to act, with more aggressive counter-pressing and the fastest possible deals. That is his approach.

Marsch is considered a model student in the RB cosmos.

He led the New York branch to success with the in-house style before he was transferred to Europe.

First as co-trainer to Leipzig, then as boss to Salzburg.

So now Leipzig again.

As a player, Marsch was a worker, as a coach he is even more so.

“I come from a classic working-class family, everything that my parents and grandparents had, they worked for themselves.

I took this attitude with me to the football field, ”he once said in an interview with the FAZ

Physical limit area

His players learned how demanding it can be during the preparation. Compared to its predecessors, Marsch has been training very intensively so far. The units are often physically at the limit, in Mainz some players complained about feeling powerless. March defends his approach. “We want a fitter, stronger team. Our goal is to survive this long season, ”he says. Excellent fitness is essential for his type of football, something the players at RB Salzburg, whom Marsch trained over the past two years, had to experience. The American made a name for himself with the Austrian branch, especially in the Champions League. Especially the terrific performance at 3: 4 in Liverpool, when the team caught up 0: 3 and came to 3: 3, was remembered.It was football based on Rangnick's ideal, with high mileage and intensity.

After two years under Nagelsmann, Leipzig's team now has more footballers who feel just as comfortable with possession of the ball. The average age of high performers is also higher. Willi Orban (28 years old), Emil Forsberg (30), Kevin Kampl (30) and Marcel Sabitzer (27) are no longer "suspected" of being talented people with potential for development. Sabitzer recently complained of adductor problems, but the captain announced that he was fit for the game against VfB. “Sabi will be ready. I had a lot of positive conversations with him, he's an important player here, "says Marsch.

The Leipzig coach did not mention what it was all about. It is quite possible that Sabitzer's personal situation was also an issue. His contract expires at the end of this season and it doesn't look like an extension. RB Leipzig does not want to let the service provider go free of charge under any circumstances. There is not much time left for those in charge to still get a fair price for Sabitzer. Transfers can only be made until August 31st. In the past few days and weeks, Sabitzer has been associated with FC Bayern again and again, where Nagelsmann is now a coach. Striker Alexander Sörloth is also for sale. Olympique Marseille are said to be more interested in the Norwegian. For both of them, their time in Leipzig could end now. For Jesse Marsch, however, it should really only begin.