Jesse Marsch has taken over from Marcelo Bielsa as Head Coach of Leeds United.
The American coach comes with a reputation of being a key component within the rise of the Red Bull network. He has managed New York Red Bull, Red Bull Salzburg and most recently the groups number one club RB Leipzig.
His tactics and philosophy have been greatly influenced by the tactics that Red Bull have implemented throughout their network. As Marcelo Bielsa shares some of those ideologies, Marsch should be viewed as the ideal candidate for Leeds United to help build on the footballing philosophy that Marcelo Bielsa has already put in place.
Many people regard the appointment of Jesse Marsch as Leeds United Head Coach as a risk. However, the reality of the situation is that the risk comes from the club’s league position and the timing of his appointment. Not because of his ability to lead the team.
This article provides a tactical analysis of how Leeds United will look to play under Jesse Marsch. We will analyse the tactics and the key principles of his philosophy and show Leeds United what they can expect as he looks to implement his ideas and keep the club in the Premier League.
Pressing Structure
A fundamental part of Jesse Marsch’s tactics is how he instructs his teams to press. The pressing structure he implements comes directly from the counter-pressing style that Ralf Rangnick has implemented across Red Bulls football clubs.
Marsch likes his teams to press with a high intensity, press high up the field and press in numbers. Marsch sees his pressing as an attacking method, often stating his teams don’t press to win to regain possession, they press to score goals.
Jesse Marsch often prefers his teams to press in a 4-2-2-2 shape, although this pressing shape featured more throughout his time at Red Bull Salzburg than RB Leipzig. He prefers the two attacking midfielders to remain as the extra line of attackers and not drop back into midfield. He likes his teams to engage the opposition in their own half with four players.
Jesse Marsch prefers the attacking midfielders to remain as central as possible. This invites the opposition to build up on the outside. When this happens both Salzburg and Leipzig when managed by Marsch, encouraged as many players as possible to attack the ball and counter-press, therefore creating a defensive overload.
