re: 2021/22 Leeds United szn long thread: Gracias Marcelo

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“Even when I chose to go to Princeton (a prestigious Ivy League university in New Jersey), it was based solely on the fact that I could use football to get in the door. “I was a good student but not good enough based on grades and tests, not good enough on merit — I wouldn’t have got into Princeton without being an athlete. Football meant that I did.”

Yet here he is today, Leeds United’s head coach in the Premier League, sitting at the club’s training ground on a day that has the first hint of spring to it. We are discussing his childhood and his path in life because, last week, after Leeds’ exhilarating win from 2-0 down against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Marsch said something interesting at his post-match press conference: “With where I’m from, I should never be here. Really, I should never be here.”

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For all the talent he had as a midfielder, Marsch envisaged going to college and then heading on to business school. Something like that. His grades would have gained him entry to various universities — “I was offered a full ride to Duke, Indiana, Virginia, some really good schools” — but as soon as he visited Princeton, he was sold. “I came home and told my parents that was where I wanted to go,” he says.

The problem was Princeton is an Ivy League institution, along with the likes of Yale and Harvard, and expensive to attend. His parents pulled the money together and Marsch worked to raise some himself.

“Nowadays these schools have grants,” he says. “They have endowments worth billions but back then, my parents had to make big sacrifices for me to go there and pay that sort of money. It was a big development in my life, for sure.” His career owes much to it.

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Marsch is grateful for the fact that his coach at Princeton was Bob Bradley, who has gone on to be one of America’s most successful and recognisable football managers. They would later work together when the latter was in charge of the US national team but in the college setting, Bradley (below) was a forward thinker who brought numerous new ideas to his Princeton side. He was easy for Marsch to respect and full of lasting lessons for him.

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I ask Marsch if succeeding at Leeds might open the door for more American coaches to come to Europe. It is the second time he has had that question put to him in the space of two days. “Yesterday, I was asked about me carrying a torch for football in America and, listen, I get it,” he says. “It’s a big deal in the US, but I can’t think about that. I appreciate the support and the interest and if thousands of Americans become Leeds fans then that would be awesome. But I’ve got a job to do. I’ve got to focus on what my job here actually is.”

This is Leeds, after all, a job that does not take prisoners.

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He agrees the impression Bielsa made in nearly four years at Leeds was extraordinary. “Oh yeah, it really was,” he says. “He’s had a massive impact. There was talk about me possibly doing this in the summer (to build for 2022-23) and even then, I knew it would be difficult replacing a legend like him.

“It was never going to be easy, but I believe strongly in who I am. There were challenges, but there were major opportunities too. That’s the way I looked at it.”

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So what is Marsch’s vision at Leeds? What does he think the club’s vision is, assuming they stave off relegation over the next two months? And when he arrived, what needed to be fixed?

“I wouldn’t say ‘fixed’,” he says. “I wouldn’t use that word. I wanted to build on the intensity of the play and open up the environment to more communication because, through those channels, I felt I could clear the air and move forward, taking all the fantastic things Marcelo established with us.

“My aim is to build a playing philosophy similar to what I’ve developed over the years and to integrate the academy in a way that can impact our playing model as well as our business model. Year by year, step by step, I want to take the club closer to competing for trophies. That has to be our goal. “It’s not easy, especially in a league like this, but that’s at the core of every decision we’re making. So, in the short term, stay in the league. Then, long term, build it piece by piece. And by that, I mean continue to build because a lot of really good things were done before I came. I wouldn’t want it to seem otherwise.”

Marsch has made a life and career of going wherever his life or his career takes him.

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Following meetings with consultants earlier this week, we can confirm Patrick Bamford has ruptured his plantar fascia, which is an injury to the sole of the foot. On a positive note, Patrick will not require surgery. Whilst the recovery time for every athlete is different, it is expected that Patrick will be on the side-lines for a minimum of six weeks.

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