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Canada Coach Jesse Marsch Tears Down U.S. Men's Soccer With Brutally Honest Quote

Tom Dierberger

New York Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch encourages his team against Columbus Crew SC during a 2018 game.
New York Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch encourages his team against Columbus Crew SC during a 2018 game. / Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

Jesse Marsch, the coach of the Canada men's national soccer team, was rumored to be a potential candidate to land the same job in the United States after Gregg Berhalter was fired this week.

The fit would make sense. Marsch, after all, grew up in Wisconsin, played 14 seasons in the MLS and earned two caps for the U.S. national team as a player in 2001 and '07. But the 50-year-old coach made it extremely clear Friday that he has no interest in the job opening.

"I'm not leaving this job. I have no interest in the U.S. job," Marsch said Friday during a press conference ahead of Canada's third-place matchup against Uruguay in Copa America. "And to be fair, unless there's a big shift in the organization, I don't think that I'll ever have interest in that job in the future.

"I'm really happy here. I couldn't be happier, actually, in terms of what it's like to work with the leaders in the organization and what it's like to work with this team."

After calling it a career on the pitch as a player in 2009, Marsch joined the U.S. men's national team as an assistant coach in '10. He has made two stops in the MLS as a head coach with the Montreal Impact and New York Red Bulls, and served as the boss for the Premier League's Leeds United from 2022 to '23.

Marsch was hired as the coach of the Canada men's national team in May as the first American to take the job. In his first major tournament as the Canadian coach, Marsch steered his team to a semifinal matchup against Argentina, where they lost 2–0.

The USMNT reached out to former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp this week to discuss the head-coaching role, but he reportedly turned down the opportunity.

The Americans apparently can cross Marsch off their list of candidates, as well.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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