COLUMBUS -- The good news for Robert Warzycha is he's taking over a team that won the MLS Cup last month. The bad news is he's taking over a team that won the MLS Cup last month.
Warzycha, named the Columbus Crew's fifth head coach on Monday, knows the pressure will be on him to replicate the magical run of 2008 when the Crew went from a non-playoff team to winning their first MLS title by defeating the New York Red Bulls 3-1 on Nov. 23 under Sigi Schmid, who was named head coach of Seattle Sounders FC last week.
With most of the major players returning, anything less than another MLS Cup title would be viewed as Warzycha's fault.
"It's a unique situation coming off a championship season but I'm proud to have been a part of this building process in earning our first MLS Cup," he said. "I believe we are in position to defend the championship and be a strong contender next year.
"One of biggest things is whether I can make the players play up to their ability, whether I can get the best from them on the field. I think I can do that. Motivation is going to be very, very important."
Warzycha, who becomes the organization's fifth head coach, is no stranger to leading the Crew. He was the interim head coach after replacing Greg Andrulis in mid-2005. He took a team that was 4-10-2 to a 7-6-3 record the rest of the way.
"He was given serious consideration for the permanent post at that time," Crew president/general manager Mark McCullers said.
Instead, the Crew went outside the organization for the first time when they hired Schmid for the top spot. Warzycha remained as the No. 1 assistant, as he was under Andrulis.
"Robert has been part of building teams that have collectively won two MLS Supporters' Shield (2004 and '08), one Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (2002) and most recently an MLS Cup championship," McCullers said.
Warzycha just completed his seventh season as on the coaching staff and sixth as a full-time assistant. Warzycha retired from the Crew in 2002 and still holds the team record for career assists (61).
"Robert bleeds black and gold. There's nobody who cares more about this organization than Robert," said McCullers.
Warzycha joined the Crew in June 1996 after making 47 appearances for the Polish national team as a well as a three-year stint (1991-94) in the English Premier League with Everton. He quickly earned the nickname "Bob the Free Kick Specialist."
"As a player he was literally a coach on the field. He has a player's perspective, which is invaluable. He has the respect of our entire organization," McCullers said.
The Crew expect to retain most of their starters, although MLS 2008 Defender of the Year Chad Marshall is contemplating a deal to play in Germany. He has been offered a contract by the Crew as well. Also, the Crew lost midfielder Brad Evans to Seattle in the expansion draft.
"It's going to be a different voice but one we're very familiar with and one that the players respect," Crew forward Alejandro Moreno said of Warzycha. "I am sure Robert is going to have his own style and certain way of doing things but overall he knows what the players are all about. He knows the players that perform on the field and do the things that need to be done in order to get results and he respects us as well.
"It's a logical choice, one that makes a lot of sense to all of us. We hope can respond and perform on the field for him. We respected him as the assistant coach and now he'll be the guy making some of the tougher decisions. Perhaps when tough decisions are made some people are happy, some people aren't happy. That's the challenge of being a head coach. It's something he can handle very well."
McCullers said Warzycha's background brings a new dynamic to the head coaching job.
"Our players know he has been a player at the highest level, which is something new for this position in our organization," he said. "We have a guy who's been in their shoes and has an understanding what's needed to be successful. They respect that."
Warzycha is of the same ilk as the German-born Schmid. Both have a hard-nosed Eastern European perspective that puts honesty, sometimes brutally, at the forefront and has accountability high on the agenda, too.
When Warzycha was interim coach he once benched veteran defender Frankie Hejduk for what he considered conduct detrimental to the team and the rumbling was that if Warzycha had become head coach instead of Schmid that Hejduk would have been traded.
However, time heals all and there is no rift between the two. Hejduk has since gotten married and settled down (for him) while becoming the Crew's captain and a respected leader on the field and in the locker room.
"One of the things Robert has learned over his six years as an assistant is how to deal with different personalities to get what you want out of them. It's an important skill for a coach to have," McCullers said.
Warzycha said his time alongside Schmid has been invaluable in that regard.
"You have to find the same language with different players. There's a lot of different personalities you have to talk to," he said. "As years go by you get maturity and you learn every day. I had a mentor in Sigi who is a very successful coach. I learned a lot from him."
The Crew will hire an assistant coach to replace Warzycha. Second assistant and former Crew player Mike Lapper will likely be a candidate although McCullers said the search is on outside the organization as well. Lapper was offered a spot on the Seattle staff but turned it down. If he were to become the No. 1 assistant the Crew would fill his spot.
"We're developing a short list of potential candidates but we haven't reached out to any candidates yet," Crew technical director Brian Bliss said.
The ex-Crew player and former interim head coach at Kansas City has taken himself out of the running to be an assistant.
"I'm not on that short list but that's not to say that may not happen in the future. The timing is not right," Bliss said. "If I leave that position (technical director) to go to that position then you've got to fill this one. Right now the key buzzword is 'continuity' and less change will be beneficial to the club. At some point I want to get back on the field."
Goalkeeper coach Vadim Kirillov and the support staff from the 2008 season is expected to remain with the Crew.
McCullers said he interviewed three candidates for the head coaching position, but it was really Warzycha's to lose. He used three criteria:
"Are there any coaches with MLS experience out there that are available to us? Are there any current MLS assistants we'd be interested in? Are there any college coaches that we would rate higher than Robert? The answer to all those is no," McCullers said.
"Equally important to his technical expertise, Robert Warzycha embraces the club's culture by having the utmost in character, integrity and values."
Warzycha received a standard two-year, guaranteed contract with the third year at the option of the team. His salary was not disclosed.
It was important for Warzycha to remain with the Crew and in the community. He his wife, Eliza, raised their three children in the Columbus suburb of Dublin and the oldest, Konrad, is a sophomore on the Ohio State soccer team.
Bartosz is a freshman soccer player at Marshall University in West Virginia while Olivia is finishing high school. Bartosz was discovered to have cancer late in 1998 and the outpouring of support from Crew fans plus the medical care available were major reasons the Warzychas decided to stay in Columbus rather than return to their native Poland. Bartosz' cancer is now cancer-free.
"My family and I spent the last 12-1/2 years in Central Ohio with the Columbus Crew and I'm looking forward to the next chapter in leading the club," Warzycha said. "I've been through a lot with this organization. I've experienced highs and some lows but this organization is dear to my heart since it's the only one I have been part of since the beginning of the league.
"I have grown as a coach over the past six years both as an assistant and as interim head coach in 2005. I am confident I am ready for this next challenge. I've always worked very hard and I'm bringing this attitude to maintain the level of accomplishment of this organization."
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