Pascal Jansen today held his first press conference as the new Head Coach of New York City FC, talking to members of the media via Zoom about a range of topics about his new role and his new team.
The manager most recently of Ferencvárosi TC in Hungary and AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands comes off as level-headed, determined, and laser-focused on succeeding this season and in the coming seasons while leading New York City FC.
Jansen is in the thick of his first preseason, with four Coachella Valley Invitational friendlies kicking off this week. He had a lot to say over the course of his 20-plus minute chat with the press, about things like his decision to come coach in the United States and in Major League Soccer, his goals leading NYCFC, and his track record as a coach who excels at developing young talent.
We've attempted to highlight the biggest talking points and the choice quotes to emerge from our first chance to talk to Pascal Jansen, so read on for our 5 Takeaways from his first NYCFC presser.
1. Reaching the 'next level'
A lot of talk around Jansen since his hiring has been about how different, or how similar, his NYCFC will look in 2025 with a very similar roster to Nick Cushing's 2024 team. The personnel and style of play might not be that different in Year One with Jansen in charge, but his overarching goal for 2025 is clear: "What I said to my guys once I got in: We have to take it to another level in order to be more successful," Jansen told the press.
Oliver Strand
How does Jansen expect to get this New York City squad to the next level? "Looking for a higher intensity is something that I'm aiming for. A little bit more flexibility in how we defend and how we attack, and to try to get more stability into the team," he said when asked about his expectations for the new squad.
There's also a focus on changing the team's mentality. Jansen says he wants NYCFC to have a "bulletproof mindset" where the team is "Always being aggressive, going out to win the games. A bulletproof mindset makes you work from a standard that you feel like you can handle anything in any stadium under any circumstance," Jansen said.
2. Developing the youth
Any talk of New York City FC leveling up under Jansen comes back to the team's collection of highly-regarded young players. Jansen received praise from NYCFC Sporting Director David Lee for his track record developing young talent, and Jansen himself said "I have a track record of working with youngsters and was able to help these guys get to the next level and even beyond that once they had their backpack filled in the Eredivisie." That's a reference to his years coaching in his native Netherlands, including with AZ Alkmaar as the Dutch club developed players like Milos Kerkez, now of AFC Bournemouth in the English Premier League.
Now at NYCFC, Jansen sounded pleased with the young players at his disposal, but also stressed that patience with inconsistent play was part of the process. "Inconsistency comes along with young players, so getting them to a level where they have more consistency in their game and in their development, it needs time...with the things that I have in my system, in my ideas, I hope I can help them out and bring them to the next level," Jansen said.
Jansen is clear that he'll apply his own ideas and methods to developing the team's young players like Agustín Ojeda and Julián Fernández, but he also acknowledged the value of the experience his young team gained in 2024. "Last season they were young. This season they're still young, but they have the advantage of last season already in their backpack. So it's going to help them during this season again," the manager said.
3. Finding value in continuity
Jansen confirmed that the trio of assistant coaches from Nick Cushing's staff – Rob Vartughian, Mehdi Ballouchy, and Leon Hapgood – are sticking around this season as part of his coaching staff. "I'm very happy with the three of them staying with me...they have knowledge about the squad, knowledge about the league. So that is going to be very helpful for me, to understand it even better than I understand it at this moment."
It's not just experienced MLS coaches Jansen is leaning on, as he also praised the veteran, more experienced members of the New York City squad for easing his transition into this new team. Jansen said of Maxi Moralez, "I can see on a daily basis already how important he is, helping out every player, not just the young players, but every player, in order to become that better player and help us be more successful."
Jansen also tried to push some of the focus away from the team's youngsters, stressing that "If you're 16 or 17 years of age, or 37, it doesn't matter. You have to be able to have impact on the team and make a good contribution to what the team needs."
4. Still learning, still evaluating
Does Jansen have enough impact-making players currently in place to help accomplish his and the team's goals in 2025? The coach sounded like he was still in the process of evaluating the ins and outs of his current roster. Jansen said of his work so far this preseason, "This period is about getting to know my players and making sure that I have a good perspective on what they can or cannot do, and where I'm able to help them. We're still in that phase, and I take it day by day in order to see where the adjustments or the tweaks need to be."
Sporting Director David Lee said those tweaks will eventually involve new signings – the MLS Primary Transfer Window remains open until April 23 – but Jansen deferred a question about potential new additions to his roster, saying that was Lee's purview as Sporting Director.
5. New York fans won't faze him
New York sports fans are notoriously tough to please and keep pleased, but Pascal Jansen seemed to relish this challenge. When asked about fans expecting to win and perhaps voicing their displeasure when NYCFC doesn't win, Jansen said "Demanding fans is something I love, and I'm looking forward to meeting them. Because I think the fans are huge parts of a club that's trying to grow to the next level and be very successful."
It doesn't sound like the inevitable #JansenOut social media complaints during the team's first tough spell of 2025 will bother the 52-year-old manager much. "Being a successful team requires a fan base that demands a lot. The high standards that they're looking for is similar to what I'm looking for, so we can shake hands on that one," Jansen said.
