Jesse Marsch has explained the Zoom call that made him realise why he wanted to become the next Leeds United manager. The American coach replaced Marcelo Bielsa in the hotseat at Elland Road last month following a poor run of results which had seen the Whites drop to 16th in the Premier League.
Having guided Red Bull Salzburg to two Austrian Bundesliga titles and two Austrian Cups, Marsch has accumulated a impressive record over the course of his managerial career. He has also previously coached Montreal Impact and New York Red Bulls in the MLS, where he was named as the Coach of the Year in 2015.
Marsch's final job before he joined Leeds was at RB Leipzig, replacing Julian Nagelsman in the dugout. Although he lasted just 21 games and six months, circumstances were difficult at Die Roten Bullen and the two parties mutually agreed to part ways in December.
READ MORE: Flynn Downes profiled as Leeds United linked with 'incredible' Swansea City midfielder
However, the 48-year-old decided to return to the game with the Whites on Monday, February 28 - a day after Bielsa was sacked from his post. It was a decision that was made quickly by the Leeds board and Marsch has opened up about the initial first chat he had with Orta back in 2020.
"The reason I came here is because two years ago the sporting director Victor Orta, during the first lockdown, set up a zoom call with me, Marsch told SiriusXM. "He said that 'we scout players and we scout coaches.
"'We always need succession plans for every position within the club and we need one for our manager as well. We evaluated our top 42 managers in Europe, their style of play, management style, and when we crunched the numbers, your name was at the top of the list'.
"He showed me the data of what Bielsa did with the team, how the team had played and showed me the data of what my teams were like and he said we think you're the perfect next manager for us. So, I was incredibly flattered at the time, I had never seen anyone do any evaluation of that on me and how I might fit somewhere and I was naturally really, really impressed.
"The more I got to know Victor and the more I got to know the project here at Leeds, I got more and more excited. That's the most important thing to understand is how do you in life find the connections that give you the opportunity to be yourself and put your principles into practise.
"That's what I have learned about this business, the more like-minded people that I can work with, the easier the job will be. And I am very lucky to have that here at Leeds."
