On October 3, 2016, Bob Bradley became the first American to manage a Premier League side after taking charge of Swansea City. Simply put, it was a very disappointing tenure as his side conceded the most goals in the league within the time period he was in charge and he lasted just 85 days and 11 games. This is the second shortest reign of any Premier League manager in history only behind Les Reed’s disastrous 41 days in charge of Charlton Athletic. This was the last time an American coached in Europe.
Fast forward to today and now Jesse Marsch is in charge of Champions League side FC Red Bull Salzburg. Recently Marsch made his UEFA Champions League debut as a manager against Belgian side Genk (though he did have a few games under his belt as an assistant manager at Red Bull Leipzig).
Erling Háland scored a hat trick in the first half on his own debut in the Champions League. It was an incredibly great match for Salzburg as they smashed Genk 6-2 and are now atop of their group. Though, it will not get easier for them as they are going to play both Liverpool and Napoli next in the group. They still took advantage of the lesser side and got their big victory at home.
“We knew we were going into the match full of confidence,” said Marsch via the club’s website. “We knew too that we could put in a performance of this quality.”
Red Bull Salzburg is also atop of the Austrian Premier League as Marsch is unbeaten with the side. He started with seven consecutive victories in the league before drawing then second-place LASK. They have also scored 36 goals just eight matches into the league as Háland is having himself a breakout season.
If things aren’t going well enough for Salzburg, they also have record numbers on their digital channels amid their Champions League success.
While it is early in his tenure, Marsch has shown that he is not intimidated by the big stage and has given the Salzburg fans a team that plays quality attacking football with confidence, one that doesn’t back down from anybody.
Marsch has the opportunity to end the stigma that Americans can’t manage teams successfully in Europe. Helping the Austrian Premier League holders repeat their league title success and getting them out of their Champions League group would almost certainly do that.
