American Manager Jesse Marsch Leaves RB Leipzig After Four Months

The former New York Red Bulls manager made the jump from Austria to the German Bundesliga this summer.

RB Leipzig and manager Jesse Marsch "have mutually agreed to part ways" just four months into the American coach's tenure.

Marsch originally signed a two-year contract in April to replace Julian Nagelsmann, who joined Bayern Munich. The 48-year-old won two Austrian Bundesliga titles and Austrian Cups in two seasons coaching RB Salzburg before the move to Leipzig.

However, Marsch's success didn't follow him across the border to Germany. RB Leipzig sits in 11th in the Bundesliga table after its third straight league loss on Friday—a 2–1 defeat to Union Berlin that Marsch missed after testing positive for COVID-19.

And with only one win from five in a tough Champions League group (Man City, PSG, Club Brugge) this season, RB Leipzig won't advance to the knockout stages for the first time since 2018/19.

"I am very grateful to be part of the Red Bull family and to have been given this opportunity," Marsch said in a statement. "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."

Upon Marsch's arrival at the club over the summer, RB Leipzig lost several starters to the transfer market. In total, including the departures of Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer to Bayern and Ibrahima Konaté to Liverpool, RB Leipzig earned $123.2 million off player sales this summer while buying six players for $118.3 million, per Transfermarkt. 

But six losses in the first 14 league games and missing out on the Champions League knockouts proved to be too much for a club that has finished in the top three in the Bundesliga each of the last three seasons and made the UCL semifinals in 2019/20.