(Reuters) – Leeds United’s newly appointed manager Jesse Marsch said the sports comedy-drama series ‘Ted Lasso’ has not helped shed the stigma around American coaches working in England but the 48-year-old is determined to succeed with his new club.
The highly popular ‘Ted Lasso’, which won multiple Emmys in 2021, chronicles an enthusiastic American coach trying to rally a struggling English team.
Marsch, who replaced Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds this week, is the only American manager in charge of a Premier League team this season.
“Yeah, I think there is probably a stigma,” Marsch told reporters on Thursday. “I’m not sure Ted Lasso helped. I haven’t watched the show, but I get it. People hate hearing the word ‘soccer’.
“More and more in the (United) States, we are adapting to what the game is here in England… I can understand that they don’t think we have the experience that can be created here in Europe. Frankly, they are right.
“It was the reason I came to Europe, learned German and tried to adapt to a new culture. This is the fifth country I have coached football in and it takes me out of my comfort zone at times, challenges me to grow and learn new things.”
Marsch previously led Red Bull Salzburg to two league and cup doubles in Austria before joining Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. He faces a tough challenge at Leeds who have been in free fall since December.
The Yorkshire club are 16th in the league, hovering two points above the relegation zone.
“The only way I know how to do things is to go all-in and help the people to maximise what we are every day,” Marsch added.
“That sounds like Ted Lasso from what I have heard!”
Marsch’s first game in charge will be Saturday’s league trip to Leicester City.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
