Robert Warzycha will be in a familiar and comfortable role when he takes charge of the Columbus Crew on a temporary basis Saturday, when they take on the Chicago Fire at Crew Stadium.
The former Crew standout midfielder will move up from assistant coach to the head man for the match while Sigi Schmid is in California attending the wedding of his stepdaughter.
"The wedding is at 5:30 (Pacific time); right about halftime. I might be the only guy at the wedding with an earpiece in," Schmid joked.
He needn't worry. The coaching staff knew this was coming and started preparing shortly after the Crew defeated Colorado 2-1 on June 28. Schmid headed to California after Wednesday's practice.
"We talked about this for a long, long time," Warzycha said. "After the last game we talked about this upcoming game and what kind of lineup we are going to have if they are not going to be injuries. Tactically we know what we are going to do. Because Sigi is not it's going to be here is something different. We want to play like the previous games, try to score the goals."
Warzycha knows it will be a one-and-done, unlike the last time he was in charge. He made his debut on July 16, 2005, four days after replacing the released Greg Andrulis. Ironically, Warzycha's first game was against the Fire in Soldier Field.
The match ended 1-1 and Warzycha took a team that was 4-10-2 when he started to a 7-6-3 mark the rest of the season.
"The results turned and the team actually did a lot better in his short time as coach. That proved he was pretty good," said midfielder Duncan Oughton, who along with defenders Frankie Hejduk and Chad Marshall are the only players left on the team from that period.
Warzycha's .531 winning percentage is the best among all Crew coaches.
"We all have full confidence in Robert," defender Danny O'Rourke said. "When he was interim coach he was very successful. He's played at the highest level so we have the greatest amount of respect for him so we'll be all right."
The key for Warzycha and assistants Mike Lapper and Vadim Kirillov is to leave well enough alone. The Crew have two wins and a tie in the past three matches, getting eight goals in the process.
Improved flank play from youngsters Robbie Rogers and Emmanuel Ekpo has created more space and consequently better opportunities for Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno. Barring late injuries, the lineup will likely remain unchanged from the Colorado match.
"The decisions that have to be made on the field are crucial decisions," Warzycha said. "Hopefully, me and Mike and Steve (strength and fitness coach Tashjian) and Vadim can handle this for one game. If (Schmid) thinks he can go to California to relax we're going to call him in the middle of the wedding. He better have a phone next to him."
When asked if turning the team over to Warzycha for a match is akin to handing the keys to the car to one of his four children, Schmid replied, "I have a lot more confidence in Robert than my kids when they first started to drive, that's for sure. I told Robert if we win it goes on my record. If we don't win it goes on his."
Neither Warzycha in his limited stint nor Schmid the past two seasons has been able to down the Fire in Columbus. The last Crew win at home in the series was a 2-0 victory on July 3, 2004, in the Andrulis era.
"Wow. That (stinks). We need to change that," said Oughton when informed of the record. "Obviously, the last three or so years we haven't had particularly great seasons but, still, for one team to come in here like that isn't good."
If all else fails, there could be Plan B, as in "Bob the free kick specialist" as Crew fans called Warzycha soon after his arrival in 1996.
"We're changing lineup, personnel, everything," Lapper said. "Robert's going to put himself in the lineup. I may be head coach that day."
O'Rourke joked that there's a good chance Warzycha would put himself in. "Especially if it's late in the game and we have a free kick. You might see him take off the suit and have shin guards on ready to go. He's still got it."
Judging by the post-practice restart drills the 44-year-old Warzycha does with a few players, there is no doubt about that. However, his playing days are over except for an occasional appearance in a reserve match to fill out the roster.
His focus is on helping the Crew but with an eye on possibly becoming a (permanent) head coach somewhere in MLS.
"If you ask other assistant coaches in the league, yes, everybody at some point wants to be head coach, obviously," he said. "It has to be the right time, the right situation. You can't just go crazy and do something stupid. There's got to be a right way."
When the Crew was struggling through a second losing season in 2007, general manager Mark McCullers intimated that Warzycha would likely someday coach the team. Any notion of that has been put aside for now with the Crew in prime position to make the playoffs for the first team since 2004.
Warzycha would love to eventually be the head coach in the city that embraced him and his family when they came from Poland a dozen years ago but knows he might have to go elsewhere.
"I'm very patient. I want to win the championship this year and think about coaching next year," he said. "You look at other coaches in the league; look at Sigi -- his wife is in California and he is here. If there's a situation the way I like somewhere else I would leave right now if I got permission from the Crew to go."
A move could be easier in the coming years from a family standpoint. His oldest son, Konrad, will be a sophomore soccer player at Ohio State this fall and his other son, Bartosz, will be a freshman at Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va. Warzycha and his wife, Eliza, will likely be empty nesters after daughter Olivia, 16, graduates from high school in a couple of years.
"Obviously, it would be easier to move if everybody is in college," he said.
Warzycha then contemplated the weightiness of what he just spoken, smiled and added, "That's the main reason why I have to start looking for another job -- three in college."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
