Heavy news for Canadian soccer today - the official website released a statement announcing that Jesse Marsch will be in charge of the Canadian national team until the curtain falls on the 2026 World Cup campaign. This decision puts the possibility of Jesse Marsch's partnership with the Korean Football Association in instant doubt, as he will no longer be the first choice for the head coach of the Korean national team.
It has been reported that contract talks between Marsh and the KFA have reached a stalemate, with the main point of contention being the remuneration clause. The KFA has set an annual salary cap of just $2.5 million for the new manager, while Marsh's annual salary at Leeds United was a whopping £3.5 million, a huge gap that has become an insurmountable chasm between the two sides.
Originally, Marsh was seen as a suitable candidate for the head coach of the Korean national team due to his deep tactical attainments and familiarity with Korean players. The KFA even abandoned other candidates, such as Turkish coach Güneş and French women's national team head coach Hervé Renard, to push ahead with negotiations with Marsh.
However, reports in the Korean media yesterday claimed that negotiations had broken down, but KFA officials then came out and denied it, claiming that talks were still ongoing. And just today, Marsh has been announced as the head coach of Team Canada.
It has been three months since the departure of former South Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, and it seems likely that the KFA will continue to appoint an acting coach to lead the team, especially for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Singapore in June as well as the South Korean team's civil war.
