Canada head coach Jesse Marsch has accused U.S. Soccer of not treating him well when he interviewed for the U.S. men’s national team job last summer.
Marsch was named Canada men’s national team head coach earlier this week, taking charge of one of the USMNT’s biggest rivals just a month before the Copa América kicks off.
Things could have been different, though, had U.S. Soccer opted to hire the Wisconsin native last year when the federation had a vacancy in its men’s program.
In the midst of the interview process, Marsch’s agent went public to declare that his client would not be getting the job. The following day, U.S. Soccer announced that Gregg Berhalter had been rehired for another cycle as USMNT head coach.
Speaking on CBS’s Call It What You Want podcast on Thursday, Marsch didn’t get into the specifics of what went down last summer, but made it clear that he came away from the process with a bad taste in his mouth.
“My respect for U.S. Soccer is big, but I went through a process with them, right? And I’m not going to go into it, but I wasn’t treated very well in the process,” he said.
“And so whatever, that’s in the past now. The minute it was done I was like, ‘OK, I’m moving forward, and I’m going to figure out what’s right for me.’
“It motivated me again to find the right people. And so now I just want to talk about Canada, because I’m excited. I feel like it’s a fan base and a player pool and a nation that resonates with me.”
Before starting his head coaching career, Marsch worked for U.S. Soccer as an assistant with the USMNT on Bob Bradley’s staff.
Prior to being hired by Canada, Marsch had been out of work since being sacked by Leeds in February 2023. Since then, he has been working as a pundit and has not been shy about offering criticism of Berhalter.
Marsch has a contract with Canada Soccer through the 2026 World Cup, but said he could see himself staying even longer if things go well.
“I know my task is to get us to 2026 and have an incredible performance,” the 50-year-old said. “But you know, I think I’m going to love this job. I think I’m going to love the experience and the people that are working here, and I don’t think it’ll be out of the question for us to consider what it could look like long term.”
[lawrence-related id=70218,70019,55469]