COLUMBUS -- The MLS Coach of the Year award given to Columbus Crew head coach Sigi Schmid on Tuesday is for the team's mercurial rise from a non-playoff team in 2007 to the best in the league.
The honor covers only this season's success but the way Schmid views it, the recognition is a culmination of three years of hard work since being hired by general manager Mark McCullers nearly three years ago, on Oct., 20, 2005.
Since then the roster has been gutted with just three players left from the 2005 team that went 11-16-5 under Greg Andrulis and interim coach Robert Warzycha. Just seven players remain from Schmid's first team in Columbus that was 8-15-9 in 2006.
"The first year ended up being a lost year with all the injuries, going through all those players and five or six goalkeepers, losing so many man-minutes," Schmid said. "You wanted to build part of that base in year one but you really couldn't build any of the base. We got the base built in year two. In my mind this is sort of like year two of a three-year project because of what happened the first year.
"It's a tribute to the team and the staff for everybody's hard work. It means we've had a good season."
A glimmer of what Schmid was developing was seen last season when the Crew improved to 9-11-10 and came within a win of making the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Still, few expected the leap from that point to a 17-7-6 record and the 2008 Supporters' Shield.
"It's phenomenal. It's a testament to his hard work," midfielder Brad Evans said of Schmid's award. "He's put in his work here with McCullers and his assistants the past few years to bring in players he feels comfortable with it."
The addition of forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto in May 2007 gave the team its first superstar since the departure of Brian McBride before the 2004 season. Schmid then made sure he had the right components around the playmaker.
Forward Alejandro Moreno was obtained from Houston just after Schelotto's arrival and the pair meshed this season -- Moreno had a career-high nine goals, many off Schelotto's league-leading 19 assists.
Schmid trusted young players such as midfielders Brad Evans, Robbie Rogers, Emmanuel Ekpo, Eddie Gaven and defender Andy Iro. He put his faith in goalkeeper William Hesmer, who tied a club record this year with 10 shutouts, and rookie forward Steven Lenhart, the super sub who had three tying goals in the final minutes of matches.
Chad Marshall was pushed by Schmid to take a bigger leadership role and he responded by earning his first MLS Defender of the Year award last week.
"He really has a lot of superstitions and he's kind of a quirky character but he's also someone who knows the game extremely well," said Kansas City goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, a member of Schmid's 2002 MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy. "You talk about young players. He can identify with them very, very well."
The Crew survived a midseason slump to go 8-1-2 in the last 11 games of the regular season, then defeated K.C. in the first round of the playoffs. The Crew play host to Chicago Thursday in the Eastern Conference Championship.
"The team's been consistent throughout the year," said Warzycha, now a Crew assistant. "We've had players develop here under him. I wasn't thinking of anybody else other than Sigi getting this award."
A hallmark throughout the season was the ability to rally. Deficits were as inconsequential as yesterday's weather forecast. The Crew forged at least a tie 10 of the 17 times they gave up the first goal.
"It comes from their spirit," Schmid said. "One of the things we talk about all the time is that the most important thing is the next play. It's something I learned from Bora Milutinovic when I was coaching with him in the World Cup in '94.
"That was always his favorite saying, 'Next play.' It doesn't matter what happens, it only matters what's going to happen. The team has taken that attitude on the field as well. It's, 'If we're faced with an obstacle, OK, we can't change that. Let's move onto the next thing. Let's change the next things we have control over.' That's been our approach all season."
Schmid, who also won the award in 1999 with Los Angeles, is more than the coach. In the popular vernacular of the presidential election, he was a (soccer) community organizer. He could often be spotted hoisting a few at the favorite bars of the supporter groups to drum up interest.
When the three main groups had some disagreements this season after being moved from the north end zone to the northeast corner of Crew Stadium because of the construction of a concert stage, it was Schmid who organized a forum with himself and a few players present to bring everyone together.
Today, the Nordecke (German for north deck) is as vibrant as any supporters section in MLS and Schmid credits them for the 12-2-2 home record in league and cup play.
"He's someone who's a huge asset," Hartman said. "It's not only what he does in the locker room with the players. I'm sure he was a huge impetus for what goes on down there in the crowd in the corner of the field. He really takes it to heart and really, really enjoys the game and loves it and wants to live it and be a part of it for a long, long, time to come."
No comments:
Post a Comment