Soccer-Red Bulls fire head coach Petke; bring in Marsch

(Updates with Marsch appointed) Jan 7 (Reuters) - The New York Red Bulls fired coach Mike Petke and replaced him with former Montreal Impact coach Jesse Marsch, the Major League Soccer team said on Wednesday. Petke, a former Red Bulls player who became coach two years ago, led the New Jersey-based club to the playoffs in both his seasons in charge. "On behalf of the New York Red Bulls I want to thank Mike for his service to the club," Red Bulls recently appointed Sporting Director Ali Curtis said in a statement. "Mike will always be an important member of the Red Bull family." The Red Bulls were beaten by the New England Revolution in last year's Eastern Conference final, falling one game short of reaching the title-deciding MLS Cup. In Petke's first season in charge the Red Bulls had the best regular season record in the league. The club has yet to win an MLS title despite enjoying the services of former France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, who left the club and retired in December after four and a half seasons with the team. The team's other, highly paid, 'designated player' is Australian Tim Cahill whose future has been in doubt since Petke left him out of the starting line-up during the playoffs. Marsch, a former Chicago Fire player, earned two caps for the United States during his playing career and was briefly an assistant coach with the national team. He went on to coach Montreal in their first season in MLS in 2012 but left after just one season. "We strongly believe he is the right candidate to lead our team going forward," said Curtis. The 2015 MLS season, which kicks off in March, will feature a new local rival for the Red Bulls with New York City FC, owned by Manchester City's City Football Group, joining the league. (Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Steve Keating)