Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American soccer coach.
Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his family when he was a child. He played college soccer from 1972 to 1975 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was a starting midfielder. He coached his former college team, the UCLA Bruins from 1980 to 1999. During that period, he became one of the most successful collegiate coaches of all time, leading the Bruins to a record of 322–63–33 (wins–losses–draws). The team made 16 consecutive playoff appearances from 1983 to 1998, winning the national championship in 1985, 1990, and 1997. Schmid also worked with U.S. Soccer throughout the 1990s.
Schmid coached the Los Angeles Galaxy, Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders FC in the MLS. Despite never having played soccer at a professional level, he has the most coaching wins in MLS history and was the recipient of the MLS Coach of the Year Award in 1999 and 2008. Throughout his career, Schmid received praise from critics for his ability to identify new talent. His defensive tactics were also highly regarded in the press and often cited as a factor in his success. However, their deployment in his final two seasons with Los Angeles led directly to the termination of his contract.
After winning the MLS Cup with Columbus in 2008, Schmid was hired by the expansion Seattle Sounders as their first head coach. From 2009 to 2016, Schmid led the Sounders to seven playoff appearances, four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles, and an MLS Supporters' Shield in 2014. After lackluster performances in the playoffs and missteps during the first half of the 2016 season, Schmid left the club on mutual terms. He again coached LA Galaxy from 2017 to 2018, dying later that year.
Early life
Sigi Schmid was born in Tübingen, West Germany, on March 20, 1953. At the age of four, he moved with his family to the United States; they took up residence in Torrance, California, in 1962. Schmid's father, Fritz, who had been a prisoner of war during World War II, worked at Pabst Brewing; his mother, Doris, ran a Los Angeles–based German deli, where Schmid worked on weekends. Schmid's family spoke German at home, making him feel German despite spending so much of his life in America. In 1964, Schmid played for one of the inaugural American Youth Soccer Organization teams, and was inducted into the AYSO Hall of Fame in 1996.
Despite Schmid's early soccer experience, his parents thought a career in the sport was unfeasible and encouraged him to pursue business. He enrolled at UCLA in 1972 and was a starting midfielder for the UCLA Bruins from 1972 to 1975. In his first two seasons, the Bruins were national runners-up in the championships, and advanced to the national semifinals in 1974. In his senior year, Schmid was selected to the 1975 All Far-West team.
He received his Bachelor of Economics degree in 1976 before earning a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
Coaching career
UCLA and U.S. Soccer
Schmid's first coaching experience was in 1975 for Bishop Montgomery High School. He also founded and coached a small club called the South Bay Vikings. Between 1977 and 1979, he served as an assistant coach under Steve Gay at UCLA. In his first 10 years as coach, the Bruins won or tied 85 percent of their games.
The Bruins won the 1990 national championship by defeating Rutgers 4–3 on penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation, two sessions of overtime, and another two periods of sudden death. During the 22-game season, UCLA outscored their opponents 61–16. The team continued to thrive in the following season, part of their success coming from Schmid's decision to move Cobi Jones from a midfield position to forward. Jones later played for Schmid in the MLS and became a top player for the national team. A reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote that after winning just two titles in 17 postseason appearances, UCLA had finally shed "its 'underachiever' label". The writer also applauded Schmid's decision to move the team's leading striker into a midfield position which led to the player scoring the winning goal. By 1994, he had coached 16 players at UCLA who were later selected for the U.S. national team. during which five of Schmid's UCLA players appeared for the national team. Schmid returned to coach the U-20 national team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. but lost to Italy in the first round of the knockout stage. One of the forwards on the national team, Eric Wynalda, said that Schmid's organization on the field was disciplined. Wynalda commented that Schmid had a "great handle on the defensive side of the game" while he also admired that the strikers were allowed to be creative.
LA Galaxy
Schmid left UCLA to replace Octavio Zambrano as head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy five games into the 1999 MLS season. At the time, the team was ranked fifth in the Western Conference with a tally of only three goals. The team's captain, Robin Fraser, gave credit to Schmid's emphasis on defense after being named the MLS defender of the year. Los Angeles lost 2–0 to D.C. United in that year's MLS Cup. Schmid made critical comments of the referees after the match; he received a $1,000 fine and suspension for the first game of the following season.
In 2000, Schmid guided Los Angeles to the playoffs but lost in the semifinals to the Kansas City Wizards. The team also played in that year's CONCACAF Champions' Cup, a competition consisting of the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The Galaxy defeated the Honduran champion Olimpia 3–2 to win the Cup. Schmid was forced to play an atypical squad since the final was held during the MLS off-season while adjustments to the following season's lineup were being made.
His successful team of 2001 enjoyed attacking play. The squad included experienced players such as Cobi Jones, Sasha Victorine, Luis Hernández, Simon Elliott, and Mauricio Cienfuegos. The Galaxy won the conference by two points and finished fourth overall with a 14–7–5 record. The team went on to lose to the San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS Cup, but won the U.S. Open Cup a week later with a 2–1 overtime victory against the New England Revolution.