The coach of the Canadian men’s Soccer team, Jesse Marsch, will be in Quebec at the end of January. This is what he announced to The Press Friday as part of an end-of-year interview.
Posted at 2:57 p.m.
The American, who resides in Italy, will undertake a cross-Canada tour from January 19 to 31, 2025. He will visit the national capital on January 22, and plans in particular to offer seminars there for coaches from Quebec.
An official announcement with more details will come soon.
Marsch and Canada Soccer did a similar activity in Montreal last fall. It was during an international window. Canada only had one game scheduled, in Toronto, a few days later. National team players, such as Alphonso Davies, Moïse Bombito and Mathieu Choinière, therefore took the time to visit amateur clubs in the region.
PHOTO RICHARD RODRIGUEZ, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The coach of the Canadian men’s soccer team, Jesse Marsch
This time there will be no international window, with the next one not taking place until March. Players active in Europe will therefore remain in their respective clubs. We do not yet know if MLS players, who will begin their training camps a little later, will be there.
The coach plans to travel to Halifax, Quebec, Saskatoon, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver to meet the different football communities and the Canadian Premier League (PLC) clubs.
“We decided not to return to Montreal, because we already did,” Marsch told us. And we’re not going to Toronto, because we did that too. »
Marsch “the unifier”
This initiative, in October, was part of Jesse Marsch’s desire to put everyone “on the same wavelength” in Canadian soccer, he told us at the time.
When he was with the Impact in 2012, the “division” he felt in this sport across the country initially made him hesitate to return as coach, he explains today.
The three MLS clubs didn’t get along too well. Communities had different ideas of what they wanted to do. And the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) was not in good shape. I said to myself: “wow, the future of Canadian soccer is complicated”.
Jesse March
Before finally accepting the offer to become Canada’s coach, he said he “met with about 50 teams.” “Many of them weren’t really considered, because I didn’t feel the connection or the symmetry. And when Canada first approached me, I told myself it wasn’t going to work! »
It was November 2023. In February, Kevin Blue was hired as general secretary of Canada Soccer. It was he who managed to convince Toronto FC, the Vancouver Whitecaps and CF Montreal to financially help the federation to reach an agreement with Jesse Marsch. Moreover, his official title is “head coach of the MLS Canada men’s national team”.
“The three MLS clubs agreed to bring me,” Marsch said. That, for me, was an important statement. It gave me leverage to get involved in the community. »
He says he worked “very hard” to become a “unifier” in Canadian soccer. Already, his positive results with the men’s team give him another one of those levers to encourage everyone to row in his direction.
A surprise semi-final at the Copa América is the highlight of a record of 6 wins, 3 draws and 4 defeats in 13 matches since May. Two of these four losses were suffered against Argentina in the Copa. We are talking here about the best selection in the world.
“When the team is doing well, it’s the best thing [pour unifier]. But I try to listen, to be humble, and to be a true representation of what the country, the team and the sport can offer. We still have a lot of work to do, but this part has been incredible. »
And after 2026?
Jesse Marsch’s contract is valid until the end of the 2026 World Cup. He keeps saying how pleasant, “positive” the experience is. Is he already thinking of continuing the adventure beyond 2026?
” Yes ! he says, enthusiastically. I said it in front of Kevin [Blue]publicly. I felt from the beginning that I was going to love this job, and that I would be open to continuing. »
Immediately, he qualifies his remarks.
“Kevin was sitting next to me when I said that. He never said to me: “Come on, let’s talk about it”. From his point of view, we absolutely must do well in 2026. There are no “ifs”, “or”, “buts”. I’m focused on making sure that for all three games, when the whistle blows, the country, the media, the staff and the team are all ready to enjoy the moment. That’s all I care about right now. There will be plenty of time later to discuss what happens next. »
