Sigi Schmid coached his former college team, the UCLA Bruins, between 1980 and 1999.
55 Facts About Sigi Schmid
2.
From 2009 to 2016, Sigi Schmid led the Sounders to seven playoff appearances, four Lamar Hunt US Open Cup titles, and an MLS Supporters' Shield in 2014.
3.
Sigi Schmid joined ESPN as a studio analyst and was named the head coach of Los Angeles in 2017, replacing Curt Onalfo.
4.
Sigi Schmid resigned from the position in September 2018 and was replaced by assistant coach Dominic Kinnear.
5.
Sigi Schmid died on December 25,2018, weeks after being hospitalized in Los Angeles with a heart-related condition.
6.
Sigi Schmid was born in Tubingen, West Germany, on March 20,1953.
7.
Sigi Schmid's family spoke German at home, making him feel German despite spending so much of his life in America.
8.
Sigi Schmid began school in the United States with little understanding of English and a stuttering speech disorder he did not overcome until high school.
9.
In 1964, Sigi Schmid played for one of the inaugural American Youth Soccer Organization teams, and was inducted into the AYSO Hall of Fame in 1996.
10.
Sigi Schmid enrolled at UCLA in 1972 and was a starting midfielder for the UCLA Bruins from 1972 to 1975.
11.
Sigi Schmid completed his playing career at UCLA ranked 11th in all-time assists at the school.
12.
Sigi Schmid received his Bachelor of Economics degree in 1976 before earning a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
13.
Sigi Schmid's first coaching experience was in 1975 for Bishop Montgomery High School.
14.
Sigi Schmid founded and coached a small club called the South Bay Vikings.
15.
Sigi Schmid took over as head coach after Gay left the position in 1980.
16.
Sigi Schmid began focusing solely on coaching before the 1984 season and was named "Coach of the Year" by the magazine Soccer America.
17.
Sigi Schmid was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year for three years straight, and NCAA Coach of the Year in 1997 after UCLA defeated the University of Virginia to win a third NCAA championship.
18.
Sigi Schmid earned a reputation for producing some of the nation's best goalkeepers when David Vanole, Brad Friedel, and Matt Reis came through the university.
19.
Sigi Schmid relied mainly on players from California, whom he believed to be less physically aggressive but more creative and attacking.
20.
Sigi Schmid was the assistant coach at the 1991 World University Games and traveled with the team to Germany in the fall of 1992.
21.
Sigi Schmid continued as an assistant during the 1995 Pan American Games.
22.
Sigi Schmid returned to coach the U-20 national team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.
23.
Wynalda commented that Sigi Schmid had a "great handle on the defensive side of the game" while he admired that the strikers were allowed to be creative.
24.
Sigi Schmid was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2004 after working with UCLA, the national team, and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
25.
Sigi Schmid left UCLA to replace Octavio Zambrano as head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy five games into the 1999 MLS season.
26.
Sigi 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.
27.
In 2000, Sigi Schmid guided Los Angeles to the playoffs but lost in the semifinals to the Kansas City Wizards.
28.
Sigi 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.
29.
Sigi Schmid was criticized by fans and the press speculated he would not return in 2004.
30.
Midway through the season, with the Galaxy in first place, Sigi Schmid was fired after a five-game stretch without any wins, in which the team scored only three goals.
31.
Sigi Schmid returned to the league as coach of the Columbus Crew in 2006, rated by the team's general manager Mark McCullers as "the best coach in America".
32.
Sigi Schmid cut the Crew's goalkeeper, Jon Busch, who had been with the team for five years.
33.
Sigi Schmid adjusted their offensive tactics to be based on ball possession and flank speed.
34.
Sigi Schmid made Schelotto a central part of the plan in a roaming playmaker position, a role in which Schelotto excelled and the Argentinian was named the league's MVP.
35.
Sigi Schmid received the Coach of the Year Award for the second time.
36.
Sigi Schmid declined a contract offer from Columbus after the 2008 season and became coach of Seattle Sounders.
37.
The Crew's ownership believed that Sigi Schmid had been in contact with Sounders despite being denied permission to talk to other teams during the season.
38.
Sigi Schmid was named the first coach of the new expansion franchise, Seattle Sounders FC.
39.
Sigi Schmid signed a long-term contract extension on July 14,2011, which could keep him with the club through the 2015 MLS season.
40.
Sigi Schmid again led his club to the final of the US Open Cup tournament.
41.
Sigi Schmid was furious over what he saw as a controversial call that handed Kansas City the victory.
42.
Roth later said that the possibility of Sigi Schmid losing his job was "close", but instead opted for personnel changes to the squad.
43.
Consequently, Sigi Schmid met with a core group of players represented by Osvaldo Alonso, Clint Dempsey, and Brad Evans.
44.
Sigi Schmid was given greater powers related to player personnel decisions by the Galaxy, similar to that of Arena's tenure and replacing roles served by general manager Pete Vagenas, and looked to enter the 2018 season with a "winning" roster.
45.
Sigi Schmid replaced the core team with free agents and trades from other MLS teams, including Perry Kitchen, Chris Pontius, Ola Kamara, and David Bingham.
46.
The Galaxy signed star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who Sigi Schmid hoped would be a "positive impact" on the team.
47.
The Galaxy then failed to win its next five matches under Sigi Schmid and slipped to eighth place in the Western Conference, conceding 11 goals in two away matches to Seattle and Salt Lake.
48.
Sigi Schmid resigned from the Galaxy on September 10,2018, and was replaced by assistant coach Dominic Kinnear.
49.
Sigi Schmid was married to Valerie Schmid and had four children: Erik, Lacey, Kurt, and Kyle.
50.
Sigi Schmid rarely missed game days in MLS, but took time off for Lacey and Kurt's weddings and Kurt's college graduation.
51.
Sigi Schmid was hospitalized several times during his later career, including once for a bout of pneumonia in 2009 and again for an undisclosed issue in 2015 that required him to miss a regular season match with the Sounders.
52.
Sigi Schmid had weight and heart issues that later factored into his decision to retire from the LA Galaxy in 2018.
53.
Sigi Schmid was hospitalized on December 10,2018, in Los Angeles and placed in intensive care at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center while awaiting a heart transplant.
54.
Sigi Schmid died on December 25,2018, at the age of 65.
55.
Sigi Schmid has been described as one of the two "godfathers" of American soccer, alongside long-time rival Bruce Arena, with connections to the coaching and technical staffs across MLS.