As Leeds United meets Crystal Palace in a relatively unceremonious end-of-season Premier League match, all eyes will be on the managers reuniting an old rivalry that stems from years ago in Major League Soccer.
Jesse Marsch and Patrick Vieira renew what was a tense yearly affair in the United States when both were with MLS rivals, with Marsch leading New York Red Bulls and Vieira in charge of NYCFC. Vieira, the second manager in NYCFC history and Marsch strengthened the history of what became known as the Hudson River Derby.
In typical derby fashion, it got tense. With the two sides often playing to blowout victories, the scorelines fed the fire on the touchlines.
Now, as the pair meet in the Premier League, they have attempted to cool the flames from a half-decade ago. While Marsch and Leeds are still battling against relegation, it seems Everton and Burnley are in a much more dangerous position, while Crystal Palace is four points above in mid-table doldrums.
As a result, eyes turn to the managers and their fiery history. Here's a look back at the venom spit between the two over the years, and what they're saying now that both have positions in England.
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Jesse Marsch vs. Patrick Vieira head-to-head
While Jesse Marsch got the better of Patrick Vieira during their time in Major League Soccer, it wasn't always cut and dry.
Following the first-ever meeting between the sides that ended in the lopsided victory for Marsch, almost every time the home team won. Only twice through the nine matches between the two did the visiting team come away with a win.
However, two times Patrick Vieira won against Jesse Marsch by a one-goal margin, and another by two, but Marsch had a history of blowing out his opponent in this rivalry. Victories by 7-0, 4-1, 4-0, and 4-0 margins all fell Marsch's way, feeding the vitriol between the two.
More often than not, the home
Home team in italics.
| Date | Competition | Marsch team | Vieira team | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2016 | MLS | New York Red Bulls 7 | NYCFC 0 | Jesse Marsch |
| July 3, 2016 | MLS | New York Red Bulls 0 | NYCFC 2 | Patrick Vieira |
| July 24, 2016 | MLS | New York Red Bulls 4 | NYCFC 1 | Jesse Marsch |
| June 15, 2017 | US Open Cup (4R) | New York Red Bulls 1 | NYCFC 0 | Jesse Marsch* |
| June 24, 2017 | MLS | New York Red Bulls 0 | NYCFC 2 | Patrick Vieira |
| August 7, 2017 | MLS | New York Red Bulls 2 | NYCFC 3 | Patrick Vieira |
| August 26, 2017 | MLS | New York Red Bulls 1 | NYCFC 1 | Draw |
| May 5, 2018 | MLS | New York Red Bulls 4 | NYCFC 0 | Jesse Marsch |
| June 7, 2018 | US Open Cup (4R) | New York Red Bulls 4 | NYCFC 0 | Jesse Marsch |
| April 25, 2022 | Premier League | Leeds United | Crystal Palace | ??? |
*Jesse Marsch suspended for this match
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Jesse Marsch vs. Patrick Viera MLS timeline and quotes
First match between two a 7-0 blowout
The first match between the two was a disaster for the former Arsenal midfielder, and it started the rivalry off with a bang.
With the match 3-0 at halftime, it finished in embarrassing 7-0 fashion, with the first-ever Hudson River derby an exclamation mark for the Red Bulls. Viera didn't attack Marsch or his team after, but he was heated nonetheless, and it may have fueled the fire later.
"It’s been a disaster," Vieira said during his half-time media conversation. "I think we didn’t play at all, and nothing more to say. It's been a really bad first 45. We didn't turn up; we didn't play, and we couldn't live with the importance of the game."
After the game, he tried to ring a more optimistic tune, but it fell flat. "It’s always good [better] to lose one game 7-0 than seven games 1-0," he said.
Vieira claims Marsch 'crying' influenced referees
While the two managers split the first two matches between them, the third again resulted in a blowout victory for Marsch and the Red Bulls in July of 2016. In the second half, Vieira was sent off by well-known MLS referee Mark Geiger for repeated protesting of decisions and confronting Marsch on the touchline.
Following the match, Vieira was furious with Marsch's behavior in the lead-up to the match and on the pitch, accusing the Red Bulls boss of "crying" and influencing the officiating.
"I think today [referee Mark Geiger] made more decisions in favor of the Red Bulls because the manager has been crying all the week," Vieira said in his post-match comments. "At the end, he [Marsch] got what he wanted — It didn't just happen like that. This is a plan, this is a way I think [Marsch] wanted to go for. He got fined for it, which means he did something wrong.
"You can accept it or not, but that had an impact on the referee's decisions. It's as simple as that."
"The conversation with Jesse was to stop crying," Vieira said of the confrontation pitchside. "I think his team was playing well but he was quite really frustrated and I feel sorry for him."
Marsch indeed was fined in the lead-up to the match for criticizing league-wide refereeing in favor of star players, calling it an "epidemic" and singling out then-MLS stars Frank Lampard, David Villa, and Andrea Pirlo for supposed special treatment.
"We just feel like we don't ever get the benefit of the doubt," Marsch said days before the game, leading to Viera's post-match anger.
After the match, though, Marsch accused Vieira of refusing to shake his hand in the tunnel, and says it's become a habit.
"He didn't want to shake my hand in the hallway, but I've seen this from him after the game before," he said. "It's not a problem. I'm going to focus on us. The game was decided by players and in every way, our players put a big imprint on the game."
Marsch hates to watch NYCFC win
Following a 2-0 NYCFC win in June of 2017 at Red Bull Arena, Jesse Marsch indicated how much this derby means to him.
With the visitors victorious, Marsch said after the game, "It’s a really bad feeling right now to have them celebrate on our home field." Clearly for the American, the rivalry was the key fuel to his fire.
For Vieira's part, he tried to downplay the rivalry.
"Victory [today] is not more sweeter than the last win in Seattle," he said. "It's a lot easier to claim one game at a time when you're winning."
Vieria angry after final MLS match vs. RBNY
Patrick Vieira was always a calm presence on the field as a player, but something about playing Marsch and the New York Red Bulls brought out the fire in him. After a 4-0 defeat in what would be his final league match against the cross-town rivals, he raged at the lack of effort from his squad.
"If I had the chance to change all the 10 players on the field, I would have done it at halftime," Vieira said in a scathing evaluation of his team's performance.
"I’m really frustrated about the competitiveness, about the desire we had on the field," he continued. "You know, I’m prepared to accept that we can lose games, but the way we lost today with the lack of conviction, the lack of competitiveness is something that I can’t accept."
His only attempt at redemption ended the same way, with a 4-0 U.S. Open Cup defeat, before both Vieira and Marsch made moves to Europe that offseason.
What are Marsch and Vieira saying prior to Premier League match?
In classic manager fashion, the two have tried to walk back their old anger ahead of Monday's matchup, although neither did a terribly good job doing so.
Patrick Vieira on Jesse Marsch with Leeds United
Vieira in particular, when asked about the tense moments between the two, laughed heartily and took a deep breath to think about what he wanted to say before giving his answer.
"I'm looking forward to seeing him again," Vieira said in his pre-match press conference on Friday. "We have a really good respect and relationship, I would say."
When pressed further about the fire between the two, he continued to push the cooling narrative. "I think this is the derby, you know. It was tense, I will say, but always with a lot of respect," Vieira said.
Jesse Marsch on Patrick Vieira with Crystal Palace
On Marsch's side, he began to praise Viera before questions were even asked, congratulating Viera on being inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame as a player for Arsenal. "Well deserved," Marsch said of the induction. "I don't know if you can be inducted twice as a manager as well, but I think he has high potential to be an incredible manager in this league as well."
Marsch continued, at great length, when asked to expound. "When he first made the decision to come to MLS we were all excited to have someone of his stature in the league," Marsch said, before joking with a hearty laugh, "Then when he came to NYCFC, I had to hate him."
Then Marsch got more serious, and more complimentary. "But he's not an easy guy to hate, because first of all from an expertise and work perspective he's very good, a very good coach," Marsch said. "We have differing styles and different ways of thinking about the game, but it made for always interesting matches. We had some heated moments when we were in New York together, but I think over time we grew to really respect each other, we got to know each other more and more.
"One friend we had in common was Gerard Houllier, and Gerard was always there to bring us together when we had these derby matches. I followed him [Viera] and saw him one time in Nice, and I thought he did a really really good job there, and I was really happy for him to see him in the Premier League because I think it's where he belongs."
Jesse Marsch vs. Patrick Vieira: Leeds & Crystal Palace match clashes Premier League managers with rocky history - Sporting News
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