(Football news) RB Leipzig after the loss against Union Berlin announced that head coach Jesse Marsch have mutually parted ways after a very poor start to the Bundesliga season. In April, the 48-year-old signed a two-year deal and took over from Julian Nagelsmann who left to take the Bayern Munich job. Leipzig this season have suffered six defeats in their opening 14 Bundesliga matches and three losses from their five Champions League matches which prompted club CEO Oliver Mintzlaff to act on their poor form and sack the first American manager.
Jesse Marsch spent 14 years as a player in Major League Soccer and had impressed everyone as the manager of New York Red Bulls, who he had led them to the Supporters' Shield in 2015 before moving to FC Salzburg as the then club director Ralf Rangnick showed faith in him. At Salzburg he led them to back-to-back Austrian Bundesliga titles as he inherited a squad with the likes of Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konate, Marcel Sabitzer and Erling Haaland. He arrived at Leipzig with a wonderful pedigree as the board backed him this summer with signings of Andre Silva, Ilaix Moriba, Angelino, Josko Gvardiol and Mohamed Simakan but still couldn’t find the perfect balance and combination with such a young and talented squad.
The club has announced that assistant coach Achim Beierlorzer will now take charge of the first team until a permanent replacement can be found as Marsch may look to find different endeavours this season. Being a Ralf Ranginck prodigy, he just may be asked to join the United coaching staff knowing his playing philosophy is pretty similar to him, although this is a distant possibility for him right now, he would still like to coach a top level team soon enough.
Mintzlaff said in a statement."It was not easy for us to part company with Jesse Marsch, because I hold Jesse in high regard as a person and as a coach. It is a shame that things didn't work out as we had hoped with this setup, and that this step has now become necessary. Unfortunately, the development we were hoping for and the results needed to achieve our goals for the season have not been achieved. We are currently running short of our own expectations and with this decision we want to create a new impulse. Regardless of this, however, I also see our players as having a duty and I expect our team, which is very strong in sporting terms, to show its potential and quality on the pitch more consistently than it has done recently."
Jesse Marsch in his statement said “I am very grateful to be part of the Red Bull family and to have been given this opportunity! Up until the very end, I remained hopeful that after a troubled start to the season and inconsistent performances, we would find more cohesion and stability as a group and turn our fortunes around. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to do that — after a discussion with Oliver Mintzlaff, we came to the joint decision to make a change in the coaching position. I keep only positive thoughts in my mind and wish for the club, the team, the staff and all the fans that RB Leipzig finds its way back to its old strengths very quickly and, given the quality in the team and in the club, I am sure that the club will achieve its goals."
