Jesse Marsch has said he is looking forward to taking the “next step” at Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, with the former New York Red Bulls coach saying his eventual ambition is to return to the United States as national team coach.
Marsch, 44, left his role at ed Bulls last week to become assistant to new head coach Ralf Rangnick at Leipzig.
The former U.S. international had been touted as a potential head coach, but on Tuesday told reporters he was delighted to be part of Rangnick’s staff.
“It’s the next step for me,” Marsch said. “Ralf is an intelligent coach with a fantastic philosophy. Our alignment is very good and my role is clear. I can help with my experience and also learn a lot at the same time.”
Marsch will be the second American working as an assistant in the Bundesliga next term, with former U.S. defender Steve Cherundolo, 39, part of Tayfun Korkut’s staff at Stuttgart.
“Coaches like Bob Bradley went to Europe. That was an inspiration for all American coaches,” Marsch said. “I started thinking about my options, and therefore I pursued my next step. It was certainly helpful to know the people here already.”
On Tuesday, local paper MZ said Marsch had been a candidate to become the USMNT head coach, but the 44-year-old said that was not the case.
“The national team was not at issue,” he said. “That was a public discussion, and there were no talks. I hope that I can one day also coach the USMNT. But I am still young, there is still a lot to learn.”
Stephan Uersfeld is the Germany correspondent for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @uersfeld.
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