Columbus Crew SC announced during their 2-0 win on Saturday over Atlanta United that Sigi Schmid will be the third person inducted into the club's Circle of Honor.
Schmid was Crew head coach from 2006-08, where he won an MLS Cup-Supporters' Shield double in 2008, also winning MLS Coach of the Year that season. He will join former Crew players Brian McBride and Frankie Hejduk in Columbus' Circle of Honor at MAPFRE Stadium, with his name to be displayed as a permanent fixture in the stadium.
Schmid died on Dec. 25. Members of his family will be present at the Circle of Honor induction event, which will take place on June 29 during Columbus' home game against Orlando City.
“It is with great pride that we are able to announce that Sigi Schmid will become the third member of the Crew’s Circle of Honor, said Crew SC president Tim Bezbatchenko in a statement. “In working with the Haslam and Edwards families, we wanted to properly recognize the impact Sigi had on this organization and there is no higher recognition and no better place to celebrate Sigi’s legacy than the Crew’s Circle of Honor. Sigi helped bring an MLS Cup title in 2008 which was incredibly monumental for both the club and Columbus. From a personal standpoint, I had the pleasure to get to know Sigi and work directly with him and I know he is greatly missed in the soccer community. We look forward to welcoming his family to MAPFRE Stadium on June 29 as we believe supporters have a special opportunity to pay respects to an important member of the Black & Gold family.”
In an MLS coaching career that spanned nearly 20 years, Schmid managed three clubs -- the LA Galaxy (1999-2004, 2017-18), Columbus and the Seattle Sounders (2009-16) -- and won two MLS Cup titles, three Supporters' Shields, five U.S. Open Cups and a Concacaf Champions Cup while becoming the winningest manager in league history. Also a successful college coach at UCLA, Schmid was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2015 and the MLS Coach of the Year award has been named in his honor.
