HANOVER, N.J. and HARRISON, N.J. — With “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” playing in the background, the culture shift around the New York Red Bulls over the past week couldn’t be any clearer. From a drab, at times stoic approach that has dominated the Red Bulls playing style over the past three years, the last eight days under Troy Lesesne have certainly been very different.
It is an outlook that bears a striking resemblance to the successful spell Jesse Marsch had with the club.
Lesesne, named the Red Bulls interim head coach eight days ago, takes over from Gerhard Struber, who wasn’t very popular among many fans. Struber came to MLS with no small amount of fanfare given his pedigree in the Championship with Barnsley and his successful managerial stints prior to that in Austria. Struber’s outlook on the game emphasized a maniacal level of fitness and a direct approach that could lack creativity.
A string of early playoff exits coupled with a style of soccer that didn’t resemble the beautiful game was enough to make Struber unpopular with fans. But after he admitted he fell short in his handling of the Dante Vanzeir situation, there was a complete breakdown between the coach and many fans.
The Red Bulls went winless in the four games after Vanzeir’s incident, and won just once in their first 11 matches to start the season. The decision was made and Struber left the club.
Enter Lesesne.
With his boyish looks, topped off by a head of hair that would make the perfectly coifed Marsch jealous, there is more than a passing resemblance between Lesesne and the man who is the frontrunner for the United States national team head coaching job. Both Lesesne and Marsch have a charismatic presence that exudes a certain confidence — not a cockiness, but a certain assured quality that the Red Bulls desperately need right now.
Even on the sidelines, Lesesne seemed to channel a Marsch quality. In his tailored suit with a narrow tie, the Red Bulls interim head coach is a ball of energy, constantly clapping and encouraging along the bench area.
“I think resetting our cultural values and being really clear about what those are,” Lesesne told Pro Soccer Wire on Tuesday about his message to his team.
“So that that gives us a really good foundation moving forward of the tactics and everything [that is] going to come if we are on the same page about what we value individually and collectively as a team. Then we can start to move forward in a positive way.”
It has certainly been a positive start for Lesesne ahead of his team’s midweek match at Toronto FC. In his first match leading the Red Bulls, his side churned out a 1-0 win over D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup. Then on Saturday night, they beat New York City FC by the same scoreline in a derby match that was simply a war of attrition.
Two wins over two rivals is certainly an impressive statement from Lesesne, who came to MLS in 2022 to be an assistant coach under Struber. Prior to that, he was head coach of USL club New Mexico United after spending several seasons as an assistant with the Charlotte Independence and the Charleston Battery.
His current task is to first stabilize his players, both on and off the pitch. Under Struber, the Red Bulls never seemed like a settled club.
Things were always chaotic on the pitch, with the team pressing and counter-pressing. There was no flow, no rhythm to the team. Individuality was pigeonholed into a greater team construct that may have worked defensively, but limited the team to hopeful long balls pinged forward in a desperate, quixotic zeal to find a target forward.
Goals seemed almost haphazard and often came off turnovers.
On Saturday night, the Red Bulls held possession for just a shade under 32 percent of the match, a number not atypical of the club since their change in philosophy in 2015. Red Bull clubs across the globe don’t value possession, choosing to be more dangerous without the ball, pressing and challenging to create turnovers in transition moments.
It may be an unfair criticism of Struber, an accomplished coach prior to his time in New York, but it seemed at times that all his MLS side was able to do was press. Under Lesesne, there is hope that can be turned around.
The derby match, and to a lesser extent the win over D.C. United just days before, showed that when the Red Bulls had the ball, there was a willingness to take chances. Players switched field with purpose, not merely pumping the ball up the field. Central midfielder Cristian Cásseres Jr. played balls through the lines, attempting to spring runners.
In wide spaces, left back John Tolkin took his marker on in an effort to drive towards goal.
All little moments for sure. But little moments that showed that under Lesesne, the players have been freed within the club’s philosophy to be creative. The Red Bulls will always be a team defined by their global philosophy and style of play, but within that greater framework, Lesesne is willing to unshackle the players in the final third.
“I think the Red Bull identity has to be there. First and foremost, we have to be aggressive against the ball, make teams feel uncomfortable, and then try to create chances out of that,” Lesesne said.
“And then how can we create chances in other phases of play? With the ball in particular, can we evolve that idea a little bit more? It is something that I’ve said often, but that’s what we’re working on right now.”
But while the tactical shift is important and will take time, especially given the lack of training time due to fixture congestion over the next two weeks, the most important and subtle change for the Red Bulls is being played over the team’s loudspeaker prior to training on Tuesday.
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There was smiling and laughing. Players joked around before training and hung around afterward prior to their flight to Toronto. Lesesne too stayed on the pitch, talking with a young player and milling around.
The training session itself was focused but the atmosphere around the club has shifted in just eight days under their interim coach.
Change is the one constant for the Red Bulls, a team that values young legs for all the hard work that their style imposes on players.
Only one player, goalkeeper Ryan Meara, remains from Marsch’s 2015 team that won the Supporters’ Shield. That team remains very much the model for this franchise, a group that collectively pressed the opposition into submission but had a dynamism in the final third that made them dangerous with the ball.
But there was also a collective will and freedom from that group. So perhaps it isn’t a surprise that little changes, such as music before training, are being blended into the atmosphere of the club.
That was Marsch’s first year with the Red Bulls as the team and the entire organization pivoted following the retirement of Thierry Henry. New York went through not just a youth movement but also a change in philosophy that changed their very model to its core.
Lesesne’s task isn’t quite as monumental, but it is clear that the current locker room was in need of a rebuild.
“I think he brings his own energy,” midfielder Omir Fernandez said after Saturday’s derby win over New York City FC.
“I think he’s trying to rally us up and be more together in moments like this. I think we’ve got to give credit to the players and Troy as well for coming together in such a quick notice and being able to get results.”
When Lesesne talks with his team, he does so in a clear and decisive manner. But there is always a buoyancy in his message, mixing clarity of tactics with a boyish enthusiasm. So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that the 39-year-old Lesesne is a keen admirer of Marsch.
After all, Marsch’s playing career saw him suit up for Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley, the two most accomplished coaches in American soccer history. But Marsch took that tactical acumen and mixed it with an upbeat dose of encouragement and vision, which took him to Europe and most recently the Premier League.
When studying for his most recent coaching license, Lesesne’s project was on Marsch. The two spoke frequently on the phone for the project, giving the Red Bulls coach a rare glimpse into not just the mind of the accomplished Marsch, but also his heart.
Calling Marsch a “mentor,” Lesesne details a burgeoning relationship with the ex-Leeds coach.
“He’s someone that allowed me to understand how he works. I did an entire project on him, because I have so much respect for the path that he’s paved for himself and now hopefully more American coaches in Europe,” Lesesne said.
“And then he’s someone that I’ve leaned on when I was considering coming here when I was offered the [assistant’s] job. I spoke to him throughout this time. I’ve spoken to him and he’s always available, and he’s given me great advice. He is the standard and I have a long way to go to measure up to a guy like that.”
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