The expression "working miracles" is oft-used cliche in sports. But in Jesse Marsch's case, it might be apt.
To put it mildly, Canada Soccer was on the verge of financial collapse prior to the former Leeds, RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg's arrival as coach in May 2024.
The organization was operating on deficits for three-straight years, $4 million in 2022, $3 million in 2023 and a projected $4 million this year. Canada's financial turmoil escalated to the point that the men's national team boycotted a scheduled exhibition in Vancouver against Panama in June 2022 and the women's national team threatened to do the same at the SheBelievesCup prior to Canada threatening legal action.
Due to Canada's ongoing financial struggles, MLS's Canadian teams (Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto), along with private donors, had to collaborate to meet the financial commitment required to hire Marsch ahead of the 2024 Copa America.
So far, it appears to be money well spent.
Despite having less than a month to prepare for the Copa America, Marsch galvanized a team that wasn't expected to get past the group stage and stunned the competition by taking it all the way to the semifinals. Now, ahead of two friendlies against the U.S. (Marsch's nation of birth) and Mexico (a long-time rival of the U.S.) the 50-year-old is aiming to build on that success.
"Off the backside of Copa America and those performances, this is a perfect fixture list for us. If we want to be able to make progress and feel good about what we've done, then we've got to be able to continue to test ourselves," Marsch told GOAL. "Clearly US and Mexico, over the last 25 years, have been the gold standard for the support is in the region...I think now there's growing expectations within the team about what these games can look like. So it'll be a big test for us, but we're really excited."
In a wide-ranging interview with GOAL, Marsch discussed going up against the U.S. for the first time as a national team manager, the reported hiring of Mauricio Pochettino for the USMNT coaching role, what his time in Europe meant to him, and what Canada needs to do to continue to grow as a program.