Sigi Schmid will once again be patrolling the sidelines for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
By Ivan Yeo
Out with the old, in with the new.
Or in this case, its out with the new, in with the old as far as the Los Angeles Galaxy are concerned. The Galaxy announced on Thurs day that they had fired Curt Onalfo as head coach and in his place, LA has brought back former coach Sigi Schmid for the remainder of the season.
Onalfo was hired in December to replace Bruce Arena, who had returned to the position of manager of the U.S. Men’s national team. Onalfo had spent the three prior seasons as head coach of USL side Galaxy II, which made him an ideal choice as head coach as the Galaxy looked to integrate more of those players into the senior side.
The results however never materialized, as the Galaxy currently sit in ninth place in the Western Conference and its home record is even more staggering. The Galaxy are just 1-6-3 at StubHub Center this season, a surprise development for a franchise that has always enjoyed the comforts of his home field.
So the Galaxy turn to Schmid, a South Bay native and MLS’ all-time winningst coach to try to turn things around. Schmid’s first tenure with the Galaxy began five matches into the 1999 season. That season, Schmid led the Galaxy all the way to the MLS Cup final, where they lost to D.C. United. Schmid however led the Galaxy to its first major trophy a year later, as they won the CONCACAF Champions Cup (now the CONCACAF Champions league). Then in 2002, the Galaxy finally broke through in MLS, winning the Supporters Shield, then defeating the Revolution in New England to win its first ever MLS Cup.
Schmid coached two more years in Los Angeles, leading the team into its new home, back then the Home Depot Center, in 2003. Those two years however saw mixed results, and Schmid was fired in August of 2004. Schmid however resurfaced with the Columbus Crew, and he lead them to the Supporters Shield in 2008 and won the MLS Cup in Carson. Schmid then went the Seattle, where
he coached for seven-and-a-half seasons, won four US Open Cups and a Supporters Shield in 2014. Schmid however was fired in July of last year when the Sounders started off 6-12-6. Compounding matters for Schmid, assistant Brian Schmetzer turned the team around in the second half all the way to an MLS Cup title.
Schmid had his first training session with the Galaxy on Thursday, and in an odd, yet incredible twist, will make his return to the Galaxy sidelines on Saturday in a nationally televised match against the Sounders, further heightening the short, yet fierce rivalry between the two franchises, not to mention spicing up Saturday’s match.
