Who is Jesse Marsch, the new Leeds coach who differs from Marcelo Bielsa?

Now that the change in the Ellan Road dugout has been confirmed, everyone is wondering, who is Jesse Marsch, the new Leeds coach who differs from Marcelo Bielsa?

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The arrival of the American coach had been an open secret since the Peacocks lost 1-0 to Tottenham, although the need for a new coach had been brewing for weeks. 

After 4 straight defeats and 1 draw in their last 5 games, and leaving the club close to the relegation places, Marcelo Bielsa's game plan was no longer to the liking of the club's board, and they thanked the Argentine coach to welcome the American Marsch.

Who is Jesse Marsch, the new Leeds coach?

The 48-year-old American coach has an extensive coaching background and has been trained in the Red Bull system since his early days, when he started working as assistant coach of the New York Red Bulls, under the leadership of coach Bob Bradley. 

He later held the same position at RB Leipzig when Ralf Rangnick was the club's head coach.

However, he began to attract attention after his work at Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga, a competition in which his team managed to win the national double from 2019 to 2021.

In addition to this, the RB Salzburg participated in the UEFA Champions League at a high level, with players such as Erling Haaland, Patson Daka, Takumi Minamino, Karim Adeyemi and company.

Other teams where he honed his experience as an assistant coach were the USMNT, Montreal Impact of Canada, as head coach, until arriving at the New York Red Bulls. 

How is Jesse Marsch different from Marcelo Bielsa?

In general, both coaches present broadly similar game schemes, but their notable differences arise in the details of their game plan. 

For example, Marcelo Bielsa likes to generate multiple passing options that are as advanced and between the lines as possible, which is complemented by overlapping fullbacks, forcing opponents to apply tighter pressure.

On the other hand, Jesse Marsch has a 4-2-2-2 tactic, which means that any player in front of the back four can play an attacking role, even if he sacrifices his triangle of midfielders. 

However, the strongest difference between the two coaches is in the pressure on the opponent, since while Bielsa wants his players to apply high pressure for 90 minutes all over the field, Marsch's teams apply a more selective pressure. 

His method is known as "counterpressure", which Marsch developed and perfected, and which comes from the German "Gegenpress" style, which the American learned when he was in the Red Bull club system.

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