“Can’t control everything”
Jesse Marsch has defended his approach as the new head coach at RB Leipzig. “I am sorry when I say it this way, but in Germany, the coach tells it how it is, and the players just say: ‘okay,'” Marsch said in an interview with Sport Bild. “My approach is different. We are in constant exchange to find out what is the most important aspect for the group to be successful. I will not go into every detail on how players have to behave, and I am 100% sure that that is the best path. But it is new for a lot of players.” After seven games played in the Bundesliga, Leipzig are ranked eighth in the standings.
“Peter Gulacsi, Willi Orban, Kevin Kampl, Emil Forsberg, and Yussuf Poulsen are great personalities,” Marsch said. “But I don’t think anyone at RB ever asked them what they would do to improve things. That is new, and they have to learn to have a feeling for the team—on the field, in the dressing room, and during their free time, whether they play or not. In my opinion, a player can’t control everything. I have to trust the group, and the group must trust each other to help each other and push each other. That is the only way to fulfill all their potential.”
Marsch is ambitious and underlines his goal to return the club to the Champions League next season. “It isn’t the bottom line, however, to just qualify for the Champions League,” Marsch said. “My goal is to win a title with this team.” It is the first time that the 47-year-old is the head coach of a Bundesliga team, but he denied that he needed more topflight experience among his staff. The American feels that in Achim Beierlorzer, Marco Kurth, and Freddy Gößling, the club is in a good position. “We don’t need additional experience.”
