Jesse Marsch has shared that interim Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick sent him a ‘good luck’ message after Leeds hired the American head coach to replace Marcelo Bielsa.
The Whites sacked Bielsa on Sunday after two wins in 12 games left the Elland Road outfit 16th in the Premier League table. They now sit just two-points from the relegation places, but have played twice more than 17th-place Everton and once more than Burnley in 18th.
Leeds also recorded the top-flight’s worst defence this season under Bielsa, having shipped 60 goals to 29 scored. Only basement boys Norwich City have a worse goal difference as a result at minus-40 to the Whites’ minus-31. The Canaries have scored just 15 times so far.
Leeds opted to hire Marsch as Bielsa’s successor on Monday, with the 48-year-old signing a contract running to 2025. The American moves to West Yorkshire after nearly four-months out of work, having lost his position as RB Leipzig manager in December after 20 matches.
He joined the Bundesliga outfit last summer after two-years in charge of their sister club RB Salzburg. He was also an assistant at Leipzig between 2018 and 2019 as Rangnick’s right-hand man. They finished the German top-flight term third and reached the DFB-Pokal final.
Marsch claims Rangnick sent ‘good luck note’ after Leeds appointment
Rangnick and Marsch remained together after leaving the Leipzig dugout in 2019 with the former appointed the global sports director of the Red Bull family of clubs. The latter also moved to RB Salzburg that summer to work under Rangnick at the Austrian giants.
Marsch has now shared that interim Manchester United boss Rangnick has congratulated him on becoming Leeds’ new manager. He also opened up on how the German helped to shape his philosophy for how the game should be played.
“Rangnick introduced complex football tactical and ideas to me in a way that ignited my passion for being a top manager,” Marsch shared, via Leeds Live. “Thankfully, we are not playing them down the stretch. He sent me a note and that was great. A good luck note.”
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