I turned down Leicester thinking I was going to get the USA job. But they rehired Gregg Berhalter, having previously made it very apparent I was going to get it' Jesse Marsch on missing out on the USMNT job

Jesse Marsch prepares to lead Canada at the summer World Cup and reflects on moments that shaped his career. After an 11-month spell managing Leeds United ended with the club one place above relegation, he became a candidate for the Leicester City job. He turned down Leicester because he believed he was about to land the USA coaching role. Marsch traces his ambition to World Cup involvement in 1991, when he was in the US under-18 setup and helped Bora Milutinovic during the senior team’s Chicago visit. He later served as assistant to Bob Bradley at the 2010 World Cup, aiming to build experience toward becoming US national coach.

"Back in the spring of 2023, the former USMNT midfielder was coming off the back of an 11-month stint in charge of Leeds United that ended with the Whites one place off the relegation places ahead of the run-in. Marsh quickly emerged as a candidate to take over at Leicester City following the departure of Brendan Rodgers, with the 52-year-old explaining that he turned down the opportunity as he believed he was set to land the USA job."

"In 1991, Bora Milutinovic was the coach for the US senior team and I was in the under-18s, Marsch tells FourFourTwo. The senior team came and played in Chicago, and the physio for my team was also physio for the seniors he invited me to training, the match and the post-game."

"Marsch spent 11 months at Leeds United (Image credit: Getty) I went back to the hotel with the team, then helped Bora pack! He had to get a plane, needed someone to help and asked me, so I went upstairs and helped him pack, then saw him off in the taxi. At the time, I thought that was really cool!"

"Then at the 2010 World Cup, I was assistant to Bob Bradley I liked the idea of gaining experience by helping him, and adding to my resume so that maybe some day I could be the US national coach. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. I was more thinking about working my way to being national team coach rather than going to Europe, because that just wasn't a viable option for most Americans then."

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