Sigi Schmid has served as head coach at two different stops in his MLS coaching career and brought Supporters' Shields and MLS Cup titles to both. Now arriving at his third, Schmid hopes to make the new team in the Emerald City his crowning achievement.
MLS expansion club Seattle Sounders FC turned weeks of speculation into reality Tuesday, introducing Schmid as the first head coach in club history. The Sounders begin MLS play in the 2009 season.
"There are many reasons for me wanting to come to Seattle," Schmid said. "First, I feel very comfortable with our management team. I believe we all want to play an entertaining, successful brand of soccer, and to make this a world-class franchise."
Schmid, named the 2008 MLS Coach of the Year after guiding the Columbus Crew to both the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup championship, ranks second on MLS's all-time wins list with 113, trailing only current U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley. He declined a new contract with Columbus in October that reportedly would have made him one of the league's highest-paid coaches.
Now, Schmid, who lives in nearby California, will bring a championship pedigree to Seattle.
"We believe Sigi is a perfect fit for what Sounders FC sought in hiring its first head coach," Sounders FC Majority Owner Joe Roth said. "Sigi is a proven champion in this league and beyond, with an extensive and impressive coaching resume, and a track record for getting the most out of his teams."
The 55-year-old Schmid is one of the most decorated coaches in American soccer, standing as the lone head coach to win MLS Cup titles in multiple cities. After leading UCLA to three national championships during a standout collegiate coaching career, Schmid was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy in 1999 and led them to the 1999 MLS Cup, earning Coach of the Year honors along the way. He'd go on to lead the Galaxy to a Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup championship in 2002 before joining the Crew in 2006.
"Sigi is a proven winner and there are many reasons why success follows him," Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer said. "He has a keen eye for talent and a knack for fitting those talents together to make an even stronger group. Players want to play for him."
Schmid relayed the difficulty for him in leaving Columbus at his introductory press conference, but also expressed his excitement at approaching a new coaching challenge.
"It's a great feeling to be here and to help start the Seattle franchise," he said. "It's like having a house, sometimes it's easier to tear it down and start from scratch rather than to add on to something you already have. I enjoy challenges. It was, too, to remind people in Columbus that I could build a team and I feel confident we'll build a good team here."
Schmid's first game at Seattle's helm will come on March 19, when the Sounders kick off the 2009 MLS season against the MLS Cup 2008 runner-up New York Red Bulls at Qwest Field.
