German football team RB Leipzig has named American Jesse Marsch as its new coach who will take over next season.
The Bundesliga club said Thursday that Marsch will switch from sister club Red Bull Salzburg on a two-year contract until June 2023.
Marsch will take over from Julian Nagelsmann, who agreed Tuesday to replace Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich. Flick is expected to coach the German national team after Joachim Low steps down following this year’s European Championship.
Marsch, a former player who made two appearances for the United States national team, was the first American to coach a team in the Champions League. He helped Salzburg win the Austrian league and cup double last season and could repeat the feat this year.
Marsch is following a well-worn path from Salzburg to Saxony. Leipzig signed Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai from Salzburg last December in the 18th transfer between the two clubs funded by energy drink company Red Bull.
Marsch formerly worked as an assistant coach at Leipzig, helping it reach the German Cup final and finish third in the Bundesliga in 2019. The 47-year-old American previously coached MLS team New York Red Bulls from 2015-18. He was coach of the year in 2015.
"Jesse knows the club, the city of Leipzig and, above all, the club and playing philosophy,” Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff said. "Alongside his qualities as a coach, Jesse is characterized above all by his positively ambitious style, which he uses to motivate and engage the people and around the club.”
Nagelsmann said he was happy that his successor was found so quickly and he backed Marsch to continue the club’s development.
"I see how Salzburg play and I’ve heard how he worked as an assistant to Ralf (Rangnick),” Nagelsmann said. "He’s a very emotional coach with a good connection to his players.”
Leipzig is in second place in the Bundesliga and virtually assured of playing in the Champions League next season.
