Jesse Marsch, during a recent Sirius XM interview, showed visible frustration over the division that’s enveloped the US after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis. The head coach of Austrian club RB Salzburg sees protests that address police brutality and race, and then political forces that inspire frustration for many.
But Marsch also views soccer as a diverse, accepting vehicle that can bring people of all creeds, backgrounds and beliefs together.
“Being part of football, it’s all about multiculturalism, and that’s in the US, that’s in South America, that’s in Germany, that’s in Austria,” Marsch said. “I don’t care where you are, it’s a multicultural sport and there are people from all different countries and languages and backgrounds. And that’s, for me, one of the beauties of our sport, is combining all these different ideas of life and trying to create a mentality of what a team is.”
Of course, the challenges of uniting, for example, a 30-man MLS roster are drastically different than millions of people across an entire country. The former New York Red Bulls boss recognizes that, but also encourages people to embrace diversity.
He took a six-month trip around the world with his family to experience different cultures viewpoints, all to broaden his perspective on how others live. Marsch, who made 321 regular-season appearances in MLS, hopes people can welcome the same outlook.
“We have people from all over that come together, and where I’m from in Wisconsin, there have always been, I think, differences between the way people think in cities and the way people think in the country land,” Marsch said. “That’s always been sad for me. The respect that I have for all kinds of different people, what they’ve gone through, where they’re from, what they bring to table, what their personalities are, trying to get to know people.”
Check out the entire interview above for Marsch’s thoughts, which arrive shortly after he guided Salzburg to an Austrian Cup title.
