Jesse Marsch: ‘We Americans have been inundated with propaganda since we were young’
Jesse Marsch, Canada men’s coach, said “We, as Americans, have been inundated with propaganda since we were young” as he prepared to face his home nation in Saint Paul on Tuesday; the remarks were made during an interview in Montreal and come after Marsch led Canada to historic highs at this summer’s World Cup and agreed to stay on for four more years.
Peak leaf hadn’t yet arrived in Montreal when Marsch was interviewed in a glass‑panelled hotel mezzanine at the foot of Mount Royal, and he said he would soon travel to Italy where the olive crops at his Tuscan villa were ready for reaping. He described growing closeness between Canada and the EU — including talk of Canada becoming an associate EU member — and said, “I’ve always thought Canada was a little bit more European than the US anyway. Right?” He added, “I like that aspect.” Marsch also spoke of Canada’s changing demography: “There’s a uniqueness to Canada in terms of how truly multiethnic this country has become. You can see that Canada is not just a North American country any more, you know? That bodes well for our sport and for the makeup of our team, the makeup of our fans.”
Marsch acknowledged that some of his sideline behaviour at the tournament became a meme but noted that his contract extension and the public response in Canada have been broadly positive. He said the current international window is the start of the next phase of his Canada project, with goals including “a first trophy in 25 years, cracking and consolidating inside the world’s top 24.” He pointed to a win over Chile in Toronto and a 2-0 win over Peru in Montreal “on Saturday afternoon in games billed as The Homecoming” as a solid start, and added that new caps have been introduced while key players such as Jonathan David at Atlético Madrid have settled into new clubs despite extended injury absences and the awkward non-attendance of captain Alphonso Davies (skipping the window to honeymoon).
On Canada’s political moment Marsch compared the country’s leader to recent US presidents, saying: “My impression is that first of all, he is a really smart guy, but a really normal guy.” He listed US presidents he had met—“I’ve met Clinton, George Bush Sr, Obama, Trump, Biden. Oh, and Carter. Six in person.”—and said, “Carney, compared to all of them, the closest would be Obama. A real air of intelligence, but a real air of being a regular guy.” He recounted a conversation with Carney about football loyalty, saying he joked, “I heard you’re an Everton fan?” and that Carney answered, “Yeah”, prompting Marsch to say, “I’m sorry about that”. He quoted Carney: “Why does everybody say that? Everybody has to pick their team and stick by them.” Marsch added, “I said, ‘I appreciate that you don’t switch from Everton to Arsenal or Liverpool, like everybody else’.”
Asked about the Folarin Balogun episode and reactions in the United States, Marsch spoke at length about American attitudes: “We, as Americans, have been inundated with propaganda since we were young. We’re the No 1 country in the world, we deserve everything, we dominate everything, No 1 in every aspect of life. This is what we’ve been told. So, when things happen and we don’t feel like we’re in control of it … we feel like we deserve to be treated differently because we’re Americans. That is one of the things that infuriates the rest of the world about Americans. And Americans don’t know that if they don’t ever leave the country. “So what I feel when the Balogun ruling happens is that would never happen in any other country in the world, and this is why everyone around the world hates America. That was proven to be so. The US had had a good World Cup, was doing well. All that switched in one moment. But do I think that that’s about corruption and unfairness? The problem is, football is inundated with this kind of stuff.”
Marsch addressed the sideline gif, saying, “I’ve had all kinds of people ask me what it was, was it a meat slicer?” and admitting of his own conduct, “I don’t know what I’m doing sometimes. As soon as I’ve done it, I’m like: ‘Why did I do that? I’m such an idiot’.” He also commented on football’s wider integrity issues, stating, “I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it. Everyone knew.” He recalled his time at Leeds, noting defeats to Manchester City in 2022-23 and that Leeds missed safety by five points, and said that campaign “is not one of the ‘sham’ seasons which were part of the damning verdict against City last week.” Pointing to inconsistencies he added, “When they said they got Erling Haaland for £52m, it’s like: ‘Yeah, OK, sure!’ … I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do? You just put your arms in the air and go, ‘This is football’.”
This international window, Marsch said, signals a transition in his Canada project and the team will now face the United States in Saint Paul on Tuesday, a fixture he expects will generate further questions about his American background and recent controversies.