Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch has encouraged everyone involved in Australian football to “commit to the progression of the sport in the right way” to see the Isuzu UTE A-League follow the same trajectory of Major League Soccer.
The American pioneer is in Queensland with his Premier League side, preparing to take on Brisbane Roar and Aston Villa in pre-season friendless.
He spoke glowingly of his experience so far, his admiration for the “inspirational” methods of Ange Postecoglou at Celtic, proudly about his time in Major League Soccer, where he started his coaching adventure before breaking through in Europe and about the similarities between the sport in our two countries.
“I don’t really attach anything I do to any historical value and more,” he explained, when asked about the responsibility of breaking barriers for football in the US.
“Just stay in the moment and try to do the best job I can for the teams that I work for and to represent the club, the team, the players, everything in the way that we and the fans, certainly in the way we want that to be.
“And the better I can do that, then the more I think that I can hopefully help the sport progress back home and give other American coaches an opportunity to talk about.”
For Australia to be the destination for American Marsch’s first full pre-season with Leeds United is almost a perfect alignment, given the synergies between the sport’s journeys in both countries.
Indeed, Marsch’s work, and approach, as a pioneer for his nation, is not dissimilar to Ange Postecoglou’s for Australia, in Celtic. He also endured a similar baptism of fire upon his arrival in England as Postecoglou did in Scotland, as outsiders.
“Ange, I’m a big admirer of his,” he enthused.
“I think the work he’s done here (in Queensland), in Japan and now in in Scotland has been really, really good. What a great first year he had with Celtic.
“I love seeing people challenge themselves, have clear ideas, have teams that play in a very distinct manner and, then, stay to the identity that they want to represent.
“And so wherever you’re from, whatever style you have, if you can have an identity, I think that is inspiring.”
Leeds take on a Brisbane Roar side on Thursday night re-building under Warren Moon, having just landed former Premier League striker Charlie Austin.
“You can see that they’re a well-organised team and well-coached, so we’re expecting a good match and I know that the level of the players is is good, so it should be a good challenge for us and we’re excited for the match,” he said.
The two coaches exchanged pleasantries on Wednesday, but also found common ground in discussions over coaching and breaking through via American, and Australian football.
“I think we’re commiserating in our in our roles and our jobs. Obviously, we all love the sport. And there are a lot of similarities, what we’re all going through…
“I know from my days in MLS the challenges of of trying to put together teams in some of these leagues that aren’t at the highest level, but that you’re trying to push everything that you do to be as professional as possible and to capitalise on the chance to win championships.”
Marsch, who was Major League Soccer’s coach of the year in 2015 before making his way through Red Bull’s ranks in Europe,
“Carl Robinson (former Western Sydney and Newcastle Jets coach) is a friend of mine and we had some run ins in the MLS; I’ve heard from him what the league is like and watched from afar, when the game’s on, sometimes in the middle of the night in the US or in Europe. It’s been interesting to catch what the levels are watching Brisbane for the preparation,” he said.
He explained: “There’s a lot of comparisons, I think, in what’s gone on in MLS and what’s going on here in the A-League. So I respect a lot the work that they’re doing and everything that they’re trying to accomplish.
“Listen, I think it’s about from the inside trying to do good work; one of the things that MLS has done is, I think year after year just tried to find ways to improve. They’ve done a good job with the expansion, bringing the right kind of ownership in, bringing the right kind of cities into the project.
“Not always the biggest cities, but the ones that maybe are most passionate about the sport, which brings more and more energy. So I think that to bite off the right size challenges and not to try to do everything all at once was the key to what MLS did well. And I think everyone all the teams, organisations, players, ownership, coaches, everyone tried, I think, to commit to the to the progression of the sport in our country in the right way.
“And it’s led us to where we are now.
“Even when I look back and I see that there’s 28 teams, I’m really amazed and I’m proud. I’m proud of the connection I have, the development of the league and and the hard work that we all put in to get it to where it is now.”
But for now, it is Australia, and Leeds United.
“Back home it’s warmer than it is here, which is kind of funny,” he quipped.
“But facilities have been great, people have been great, the hotel has been fantastic, the food’s been amazing. The stadium is great. It sounds like we’re gonna have some great crowds. A lot of Leeds fans down here in Australia connected a lot to the to the past of what the club has been.”
He added: “If I’m down jogging on the beach I’m hearing all Leeds, lots of chants, there’s a lot of Leeds jerseys around town. I heard from the last trip when we were here that the support was massive.”
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