Jesse Marsch: I became a Hungarian national team fan because of Szoboszlai

Red Bull Salzburg head coach Jesse Marsch has worked with Hungarian national team midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai for a year and a half.

“I've had the pleasure of coaching a lot of really highly talented young players. I've developed a very good relationship with them, but I feel I had the strongest bond with Dominik. We've talked a lot, watched videos together, and discussed in private what the next step could be to improve. His personality always radiated strength, but he was under a great deal of burden at a very young age because he already knew at the age of 17-18 that he was the hope of Hungarian football. My job was to be patient with him while always challenging him perhaps more than the other players. He had to understand what this responsibility means – how to fight for the national team, how to fight for his club, how to focus on daily activities and not to pay attention to what others say about him. I think in the 18 months I've worked with him he's matured into a man. When I saw him on the national team, I also became a fan of Hungarian football because I truly believe in Dominik. It's obvious that Dominik has done well in the national team in the recent times. I think that's when he started to realize what it means to become a big player mentally. So that's what he's moving towards for every day. As talent goes, there aren't many better players that can play his position – some are strong, some are technical, some are good at tactics, and some defends well or runs a lot. However, Dominik is special because he has all of these skills combined, and it's only up to him who much of them he can max out. It's his responsibility how intensive and aggressive he'll work and play. A bit of misfortune in the story is that he started his career at Leipzig with an injury, but we hope he'll get better soon and I'm sure it'll be good to watch how well he plays.”

The 47-year-old trainer had also been asked what he thinks of the idea of a European Super League, which would be a closed-system series rather than the current Champions League. How could this affect clubs like Red Bull Salzburg or Ferencváros?

“Obviously it's not good for those smaller leagues and clubs. But I understand the power of money in European football where television ratings matter a lot. If Liverpool is playing against Real Madrid, everybody watches it – I do too, so I understand what's all behind it. But I, as a football fan, am curious of every team. We Americans love surprise teams while in Europe such clubs are basically unknown, as if they were nonexistent. We were also one of those teams, but we've managed to move forward at the pace we wanted. So, my answer is, I wouldn't like the Super League. I'd also like to see surprise teams in the Champions League. For a club like Red Bull Salzburg, it's obvious that it's almost impossible to win the series. However, it helps the club to gain a lot to experience of what it's like to be part of a tournament this big. This is also very useful to me just like to players such as Erling Haaland and Dominik Szoboszlai, who are the future of European football, and it is very important for their development that they have experienced what it is like to be in the Champions League at such a young age.”

Marsch added: it's almost impossible for his club to reach the same heights as Szoboszlai's new team, the German RB Leipzig.

“Leipzig's story is incredible. I was there and I was able to experience it first-hand. The fact that they have reached the Champions League semi-finals from the German fifth division in 10 years is impressive. Of course, there's a lot of money invested into the project, and they can play in the topflight. There's also a vision in Salzburg too of how to move up step by step. It was a very important first step to even be in the Champions League. It shows we are a young team – in key moments we still lack which is natural. My job is to improve them. But the next step would require a little more investment to buy more experienced players, which in turn would go totally against the club's current philosophy. So, we know exactly who we are here, but as a coach, when you lose in international games, it is so incredibly painful. My job is to make the most of the team, to find a way for improvement in mind with the current philosophy. We still have the opportunity, because in the Champions League, we were still fighting until the last round to advance, and we ended up finishing third in the group. In the eighth finals we could've gotten team like Manchester City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Juventus..."

Finally, the virus-in the-world topic came up: Marsch revealed how he's living through the situation as a coach.

“First, football's not so important, but also I still want to do my best in my job during this difficult time as well. I have to be more creative to do this. For example, when we resumed work after lockdown, we could only work in small groups at first. Then we had to play in empty stadiums, and then sometimes there could be fans at matches. If someone produced a positive test, we followed different guidelines such as where we go, what and how we do things. It's a challenge for me as well. After all, we want to continue improving while priorities have changed, and I want to empathize with everyone in this situation. It is a manly challenge, but I think it's not just for me but for everyone in the world. Human relationships are appreciated more.”

Translated by Vanda Orosz