Canada coach Jesse Marsch watches as his players make their mark at new clubs
Thanks to star striker Jonathan David's recent move to Juventus, Canada coach Jesse Marsch draws more attention these days when he leaves his Italian home.
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'Being here in Italy, the way I describe it is everyone kind of has their local team and then if you don't like your local team or if you don't have one, then your team is Juventus,' Marsch said in an interview. 'Even here in my little town at the cafe, I get a lot of questions. I didn't even know half of them knew I was a football coach.
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'As soon as I show up for a coffee or some dinner, they're like 'Tell us about Jonathan David?' But he won't disappoint. He's going to do great.'
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The two exchanged texts after David, who joined the Italian giant last month on a five-year deal from France's Lille, opened his scoring account with a spectacular acrobatic volley.
David is one several Canadian players finding their feet with a new team, with perhaps more moves to come before the summer transfer window closes.
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'The fact that a lot of them have hit the ground running (with their new teams) is a very positive thing for us,' said Marsch.
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Ismael Kone is also in Italy, on loan to newly promoted Sassuolo from France's Marseille, while fellow midfielder Nathan Saliba has opened his account with Belgium's Anderlecht.
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Marsch believes the move to Italy will help Kone.
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'He'll play. And I think because they're a lower team, every game is going to be a fight. They're going to have to be very defensively disciplined, not let games get too wide open. And that's perfect for Ismael and his overall development.
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'And then Ismael can be a little bit of a difference-maker on the team with the kinds of plays he can make on the ball and the kind of creativity he cam play with. If he can get the balance of those two aspects of his game right, I think he can help that team be successful and he can be a really good player here in Serie A.'
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Defender Luc de Fougerolles (on loan to Belgium's F.C.V. Dender from England's Fulham) and midfielder Mathieu Choiniere (on loan to Los Angeles FC from Switzerland's Grasshopper Club Zurich) have also switched teams.
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With playing time at Spain's Mallorca seemingly drying up, forward Cyle Larin may be changing clubs. And Minnesota United forward Tani Oluwayesi has been linked to Spain's Villarreal.
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Midfielders Stephen Eustaquio (currently with Portugal's FC Porto) and Niko Sigur (Croatia's Hajduk Split) and defender Derek Cornelius (Marseille) could also make moves, Marsch said.
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'I feel like every time we go out there, I always say, 'got your back,'' he said. 'Playing with him just makes it so much easier. Like I said, with Number 12 next to me, there's a chance. I know I'm gonna block a D lineman, a D tackle, I'm gonna block dudes, three, four times my size as long as it protects 12.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. While Butler and Rourke started building their bond back in 2021 and 2022 when they were both with B.C., this year the entire offensive crew has built a special chemistry. 'It's definitely a tight knit group,' said the running back. 'And I feel like it only makes it better that anybody at any time can make a big play. That's a cool thing. And I feel like guys making big plays only makes us all want to make big plays.' There's still room too grow, too, said Rourke. 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