Canada Soccer has announced that former Leeds United and RB Leipzig manager Jesse Marsch will be the next coach of their men’s national team.
Marsch replaces John Herdman in the full-time role after he departed the national team for Toronto FC of MLS last season.
In a video posted to their Twitter account, the Canada men’s team revealed that they called Marsch via FaceTime to let him know that he got the job.
According to a press release, Marsch’s hiring was assisted by philanthropic contributions from the owners of the three Canadian-based MLS teams: the Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC, and CF Montreal. As a result, the official job title is the ‘MLS Canada Men’s National Team Head Coach’.
In a statement, Marsch said, ‘It is an absolute honour to represent and lead the Canadian Men’s National Team in our preparation for a home World Cup.’
Jesse Marsch has been officially announced as the next manager of Canada’s men’s team
Marsch takes over the full-time role from John Herdman, who left in 2023 for Toronto FC
‘The combination of the new leadership inside of Canada Soccer coupled with the potential of this dynamic player pool has inspired me, and I am ready and eager to take on this massive responsibility.
‘My excitement and anticipation to get started are immense. One of my main goals will be to help unite the soccer community in Canada to support our efforts to be successful on and off the pitch. All In for 2026!’
‘Jesse is a transformational leader who will drive progress for our men’s national team – and for Canadian soccer more broadly – as we enter the most important time in the domestic history of our sport,’ says Kevin Blue, CEO of Canada Soccer.
‘He’s been a successful manager at the highest levels of global football, helped advance a Concacaf nation out of the group stage at the FIFA World Cup, and is an experienced builder who will make a significant impact on the landscape of our sport. I’m excited to welcome him back to Canada.’
While the announcement is a welcome one for Canadian soccer fans, Marsch is about to face a baptism by fire to start his tenure with the national team.
Marsch’s first jobs in charge will be warm-up matches against Holland and France in early June – which will serve as tune-ups for the Copa America this summer.
He then opens the Copa America with a match against reigning champions Argentina, before rounding out the group with Peru and Chile.
It had been over a year since Marsch had his last coaching job. He was fired from Leeds United when the team was safe, but watched on as the team was relegated at the end of the season.
Marsch was most recently the manager of Leeds United, before being sacked in March 2023
Throughout that time, Marsch was searching for his next coaching job and was even one of the final candidates for the US men’s national team gig that was eventually handed back to Gregg Berhalter.
Marsch has past experience coaching in Canada – with his first managerial job coming as the boss of the Montreal Impact (now CF Montreal).
He then managed the New York Red Bulls for three seasons before moving to Red Bull Salzburg for his first job in Europe.
After spending 94 matches in Austria, he was appointed the successor to Julian Nagelsmann at RB Leipzig.
However, he only lasted 21 matches and put up an 8-4-9 record before being sacked before Christmas.
He took over from Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United and helped the club avoid relegation in his first season.
After a decent start to the 2022-23 season, the team ended up falling off and Marsch was sacked with the team in 17th. Leeds would finish the season in the relegation zone.
