Men of Influence magazine


For some Leeds fans, Marsch is already starting from a negative position purely by virtue of not being Bielsa.

The Argentine was adored by Whites supporters and embraced by a club and city to which he brought not only brilliant, fearless football but an integrity and humility not often evident in modern football and a unity and purpose rarely seen at Elland Road this century.

His successor will not only have to reckon with Bielsa’s metaphorical shadow but also the more tangible representations of his impact – murals of him across the city and an as-yet-unannounced “permanent tribute” by the club.

Marsch will be helped by the fact he inherits a club transformed by Bielsa – now modern, forward-thinking, with much-improved facilities and a culture in tune with Billy Bremner’s famous mantra ‘side before self, every time’.

However, they are also a side currently in free-fall in the Premier League, having taken just one point from the last 18 available to leave them two points above the bottom three. In February they conceded 20 goals – the most by any Premier League side ever in a calendar month.

It is to Marsch’s credit and a testament to his self-belief that he is willing to step into such a situation, while once again trying to fill massive shoes after his recent failure to do so at RB Leipzig.

Last summer, he was viewed as the right man to build upon the Champions League semi-final, German Cup final and third- and second-place Bundesliga finishes provided by Julian Nagelsmann before he departed for Bayern Munich.

His attempt would last just four months, 20 games in total, 14 in the Bundesliga, of which he won seven, lost nine and left the club 11th in the table.

Much has been said and written about what went wrong, but the common consensus is he was the right man – and a decent, well-liked one with good tactical acumen – at the wrong time.

In an interview on German football television show Doppelpass, Leipzig chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff revealed that Marsch himself had approached the hierarchy twice to question whether he and the club were the right fit.

What attracts Leeds to Marsch, though, are many of the same qualities and ideas that earned him the opportunity at Leipzig – ones developed during a playing and early management career in Major League Soccer in the United States and then honed in the Red Bull stable, partly under interim Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick.



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