Kim and Jesse Marsch use World Cup to make difference in fight against cancer

Kim and Jesse Marsch couldn't possibly have foreseen how their world would change in the summer of 2021.

Jesse, after a decorated career in Major League Soccer and trailblazing role with Austrian powerhouse Red Bull Salzburg, was just weeks into his new job as manager of RB Leipzig, one of the Bundesliga's top clubs.

He'd worked his way through the Red Bull coaching pipeline, from the MLS side in New York, to the sister outfit in Austria - where he won back-to-back domestic doubles and became the first American coach to manage a team, and win a game, in the UEFA Champions League - and then to the crown jewel of the energy drink conglomerate's soccer empire in Germany.

"Kim often says you can't connect the dots going forward, you can only connect them going back," Jesse, now the head coach of the Canadian men's national team, told theScore.

Jesse and Kim, together since they were high schoolers in Racine, Wisconsin, and now with three children - daughter Emerson and two sons, Maddux and Lennon - were adventurous and in perpetual forward motion. They'd always been a family that "gets shit done," Kim told theScore, laughing before rephrasing slightly. "We get stuff done."

Active, health-conscious, and with no history of cancer in her family, she was "knocked to the floor" after a routine mammogram and subsequent biopsy revealed she had breast cancer.

When the doctors delivered the news, she had to check the file to confirm it was actually her name written on it. Such was her disbelief.

"'There's no possible way that my body did this to me,'" she remembers thinking at the time.

Tests and scans ensued. The cancer, to their immense relief, hadn't spread. Kim, who stresses the importance of frequent testing for early detection and also the willingness to be vulnerable and accept support from others, is on course to be considered in remission in August.

"Right now, I'm in a really good place," she said, taking a breath. "I'm lucky. I'm lucky."

Motivated by his wife's journey, Jesse is partnering with the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) to launch "Soccer for Cancer," a national campaign announced Tuesday that aims to empower the country's vast soccer community, across all levels, to raise funds in the fight against cancer.

"I think everything that's been happening with soccer the last five years, and certainly in the lead-up to this summer, it's now a new opportunity for the sport to have more of an outreach," said Jesse, who approached the CCS about a collaboration in the hopes of using the sport's growing platform in Canada ahead of the World Cup to help educate and inform.

"Do not think you are invincible," Kim offered as one of the primary lessons from her diagnosis. "And I truly felt that. I know younger people do, especially, but I was heading into my 50s thinking that I was invincible."

A different outlook

Her journey has inevitably given Jesse a keen sense of perspective. Soccer, football, or anything else you call it, is still just a game. Even at this elite level.

"It sounds trivial, but it's the truth. I'm often paid a lot to do these jobs to try to help teams win and to help fans be excited about their projects and their teams. But in the end, it's a game," Jesse said.

"I'm still very competitive, and I know my job is important to a lot of people, and I want to do the best that I can, but I think the perspective I have now overall in life, what it means, in some ways it's empowered me to be more free and passionate about the things that matter and less stressed about the overall wins and losses. I try to stick to that."

Those continued learnings have been to his benefit since being hired in 2024 by Canada, where he's managed to build an intense connection with his players on a human level. Impressive - and crucial - for any manager, but particularly so considering the limited amount of time international coaches have to actually work directly with their squads in any given year. Fashion a strong bond, and you're already ahead of the game in a setting where it's notoriously challenging to create a club-like camaraderie.

Everything he's done in that space, and continues to do, is with an eye toward this summer, when he'll lead Canada into what is inarguably the most exciting moment in the history of a now thriving men's program: a World Cup played on home soil, as Canada co-hosts the supersized 48-team tournament alongside the United States and Mexico.

The 52-year-old coach has the same vigor and enthusiasm speaking about the CCS campaign as he does talking about his ascendant young squad, which he's described as a perfect fit for his coaching philosophy.

A philosophy that's been shaped, in part, by Kim, a social worker who has long strived to take care of everyone around her.

"Her humility and selflessness, I think has been important in my overall personal development and certainly even my development as a player when I played, and understanding how to be a leader as a captain and then as a coach. The empathy and selflessness that you embody has helped me be better at my job, that's for sure," a reverent Jesse said to Kim.

Take, for instance, an incident involving Ismael Kone in September 2025, when the midfielder was visibly frustrated and exchanged words with his coach after being substituted during a 3-0 friendly win over Romania.

It's not an uncommon sight in the sport, but not every bench boss handles the situation well. Some can actively make things worse. Tactics are one part of the equation. Managing people, and their emotions, is quite another.

"The reason why you invest in people - not just players, but people - is because when there are differences of opinion ... we can look each other in the eye and be open and honest with each other and move forward in the right way," Marsch told reporters after that episode, explaining that he and Kone talked through the matter and used it as a learning experience.

Kone, one of the team's genuine gamebreaking talents and a uniquely skilled ball-carrier within the squad, has started all but one match for Canada since then - not including the recent January training camp that was put in place only for North American-based players - and he's also made significant strides with Italian club Sassuolo in the intervening months.

Building connections

Marsch, of course, isn't exclusively an "arm-around-the-shoulder" kind of bench boss. He's fiery on the touchline - see, for example, the red card (and subsequent ban) he received for remonstrating with the referee during last year's Nations League clash versus the rival United States.

He's been described by former players as the type who can inspire his squad to "run through a brick wall." Kim, asked about his standout traits, highlights Jesse's "audacity" along with his drive and confidence; he hasn't been shy about setting a high bar for Canada going into the World Cup, for instance.

Those qualities have been evident throughout Marsch's 28 matches as Canada's coach. But interpersonal connections, something he's honed throughout his career, continue to be a guiding principle.

"One of the reasons I came here was because I thought that the combination of my football, and the leadership and the things that I care about in terms of the mindset of a team, were going to be perfect for this group," said Marsch, who guided Canada to its best-ever spot in the FIFA rankings when it reached No. 26 last year. The Canadians currently sit 29th ahead of World Cup tuneup matches against Iceland and Tunisia later in March at BMO Field in Toronto.

"I've been very rewarded by them and who they are, and they've been rewarded by me and who I am," he added.

Now, looking back, Jesse and Kim can properly connect the dots.

"I've probably made a bunch of decisions in the last five years that, maybe under different circumstances, I wouldn't have made the same decisions," he explained. "But I'm very thankful because it's led me to this job with Canada, where I think it's maybe the best fit of my career and a job that I'm enjoying as much as any other I've had and working with a team that I totally believe in.

"Where we sit right now and how we feel about life and our job and our family and everything else, we feel fortunate to be in the situation we're in, and we're looking forward to not just the summer but the future in general."

For more information on the Canadian Cancer Society's new "Soccer for Cancer" campaign, tap here.