Sigi Schmid
Sigi Schmid
Siegfried "Sigi" Schmidis a German-American soccer coach who most recently coached Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer. 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 , where he was a starting midfielder in each of his four years. He coached his former college team, the UCLA Bruins, between 1980 and 1999. During that period,...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth20 March 1953
CityTubingen, Germany
We have seven guys out injured. That makes it tough.
We wanted to continue doing the same things we were doing. We knew they were going to come up with a little more pressure so we wanted to try to get the ball out to the right. We got the ball to (Kyle) Martino but he was ineffective and Jacob (Thomas) also sort of disappeared.
I told the guys and the staff that this was a special game for me, they knew that. But the most important thing was to get three points and move out of last place in the East, but everyone knew it was a special game and I thank them for their effort.
Danny's very exuberant, so we're trying to get him to make his runs at the right times and in the right place. He's still young and he's still learning the nuances of the game.
The No. 1 objective this week was not to give up goals. Offensively we need to get better, but I'm happy we held it together defensively and that we got a point. You've got to start one at a time.
The number one objective for us was not to give up goals. We were doing that in the first two weeks. I thought defensively we did pretty well although we broke down on the one goal.
It's important to recognize the memory of Connor and to endow his scholarship. There are things in life that are bigger than sports and this is one of those things. We are pleased that our organization is able to honor his memory, Ohio State and soccer.
It is a competitive position, but I don't think any player should lose his position due to injury. When you are out a long time, it gets a little bit harder.
We played with a lot of grit and determination. And we played smarter than we have before.
There's been a lot of pressure on Danny to be successful immediately and I think that's been unfair to him. It's created pressure and I think unrealistic expectations that he feels he's failed to live up to. I think if everyone just leaves him alone, I think he'll be fine.
You need a bit of luck, too. The mood and confidence in the team are right. No-one should view us as a source of easy points.
Adding Ezra is a big plus for us. He has championship experience and is a player who I have a long and positive history with and who will be a valuable addition to our team.
I thought we came of age a little bit. This was what we have to do to build this team?s character. You have to have success in games like that, where you roll your sleeves up, where you battle till the end.
I think we've created a much more competitive environment. There is competition in all of the facets of the field.