Marco Schällibaum - Head Coach

Marco Schällibaum is in his first season as head coach of the Montreal Impact in MLS, after officially joining the club on January 7, 2013.

Prior to coming to North America, Schällibaum coached in the Super League – Swiss first division – for 10 years, leading clubs FC Basel, BSC Young Boys, Servette FC, FC Sion, FC Schaffhausen and AC Bellinzona.

Most recently in 2011 and 2012, he was mandated by FIFA to instruct coaches across the world, most notably in Qatar, South Korea and Mongolia.

The last time Schällibaum was behind the bench, he led FC Lugano in 2010-2011, in the Swiss second division, to an excellent record of 19 wins, one draw and six losses in 26 games. During that season, he coached both Impact midfielder Felipe and defender Dennis Iapichino.

Schällibaum started his coaching career with third division side Stade Nyonnais in 1995. He then moved on to the prestigious club FC Basel in 1997, as both the head coach of the U21 side and assistant with the first team. He also coached his first four games in first division in 1999 with the club.

He then became the head coach of the BSC Young Boys for almost four seasons, from 1999 to 2003, leading the team from the Challenge League to promotion into the Super League in 2000-2001, after finishing with the top record of 13 wins, six draws and three losses. He also helped the club qualify for the UEFA Cup, following a fourth place finish in the playoffs in 2002-2003.

Schällibaum took over the reins of Servette FC from July 2003 to August 2004, finishing his first season in Geneva in third spot of the Super League and a berth in the UEFA Cup tournament.

He also was behind the bench, in both the first and second divisions, of FC Concordia Basel, April 2005 to June 2006, FC Sion in 2006, FC Schaffhausen from April 2007 to June 2008, and AC Bellinzona from July 2008 to November 2009.

As a player, Schällibaum played in the Swiss first division from 1980 to 1995, appearing in over 450 games with Grasshopper Zurich, FC Basel, Servette FC and FC Lucerne, including over 50 cup games. He won three consecutive league titles in 1982, 1983 and 1984, along with a Swiss Cup in 1983 with the Grasshoppers.

He represented his country on 31 occasions with the senior men’s national team, from 1983 to 1988, including a number of World Cup and Euro Cup qualifying games, as well as partaking in the Querétaro tournament in 1985 in Mexico and the Tournament of France in 1988.

Native of Zurich, Switzerland, Schällibaum obtained his UEFA Pro coaching certification in 2002 and speaks four languages: German, French, Italian and English.

He is married to Manuela and has three children.