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Report: Sigi Schmid stepping down as head coach of LA Galaxy

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Sigi Schmid’s brief second stint with the LA Galaxy appears to be coming to an end.

According to Taylor Twellman, Schmid is stepping down as the team’s head coach after barely more than a year in charge. Former San Jose Earthquakes boss and current Galaxy assistant Dominic Kinnear will take over until a permanent replacement can be hired.

Schmid took over the Galaxy in late July 2017 and lead the team to a 12-18-12 record in that time span. The 1.19 points per game ranked 19th out of 23 MLS teams in that timespan. He took over for Curt Onalfo, who only won six of the 20 games he coached.

Schmid’s first tenure with the team was much more productive. From 1999-2004, he won the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the U.S. Open Cup, and MLS Cup once each. He also won the MLS Cup with the Columbus Crew and led the Seattle Sounders to the playoffs in each of his seven full seasons in charge.

Schmid’s Galaxy are sitting at 10-10-8 in the 2018 season, which has them sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference, three points back of the six place Sounders.

Comments

  1. I was not watching soccer in the years when Schmid was winning, but at this late date, is it heretical to ask if his ponderous body shape is a strike against him? Maybe the players would work harder for someone who looks like he asks hard work of himself and knows what they go through. Similar questions pertain to Miguel Herrera, who worries me that he will have a heart attack, and of course Maradona.
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    How much are MLS coaches paid? What would it take to attract someone moderately international? (No, not Zidane, but also not Cosmos B.)
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    Has anyone thought of asking Klinsmann? Would he want to? Not that that would necessarily help the defense, but he would be an ex-player who might have more credibility with someone like Zlatan, who probably won’t be there long and deserves some kind of better support before he goes.
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  2. alecko eskandarian? currently the head coach of new york cosmos b in the npsl. wikipedia says they finished first in the north atlantic conference. or zinidine zidane, but either way you take a chance so why not give the chance to our local boy and keep the wealth in the family so to speak?

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  3. It would be an exaggeration to say that Sigi utterly failed. But it wouldn’t be a big exaggeration. I have criticized both him and the front office, but even with their shortcomings in personnel, Sigi has often failed to play the right players or formations. They need a whole new defense. I would keep Kitchen, who is okay and Skjalnek (sp?) and maybe
    Feltscher, but that’s all. Feltscher still hasn’t played enough to determine if he belongs, so he may have to go, too. Cole was pretty good his first two seasons, but age has caught up with him as he has started to make mistakes he didn’t used to make.

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  4. #KleinOut, this whole FO needs to go before anything will truly change. We’ve squandered a great season of Zlatan with a paltry defense. We got next to pennies from Portland on the Villafana debacle when we could have fleeced their team for a service centerback. All this is the Front office and Sigi is just 1/3 of this circus left.

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    • I am more inclined to agree with you than those ripping Sigi. The moves we have made have been good regarding top players (apparently minus Gio, who everyone seems to despise), but garbage regarding the rest of the team. Sigi was given the worst team from last year (tied for least points in the league) and it has definitely gotten better under him. However, between injuries and lack of defensive options, he didn’t really have anything close to what he needed to make the Galaxy a powerhouse again. I think we may not be giving him enough credit. Aside from good to great attacking players, we have 0 defense. When the Galaxy were at their best, it was their defense that reigned supreme with players often playing for the USMNT in some capacity (qualifiers or camps), with an offense that was solid (Donovan, Keane, Zardes, Beckham, etc.). Now, they have Zlatan, Kamara, Alessandrini, Lletget, Dos Santos brothers, Boateng, and others. That’s pretty stacked (top 3 in goals scored as a team this season). But, the defense is just a bunch of slow guys that seem consistently unaware of how to play. That includes Perry Kitchen who is just an okay DM. You can put part of that on Sigi, but most of it is on those players and the fact the Galaxy signed them in the first place. Not sure how much say Sigi had in those decisions, if any. If the Galaxy want to get back to their prime, it’s not so much the coaches they’ve picked, but the players at their disposal. Need to get that defense back up to snuff in order to keep pace with the rest of the league. The offense has it figured out for the most part, but can’t give up the most goals in the league and expect to win games.

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  5. MLS seems enamored with Sigi, Dom, and Caleb Porter and I don’t get it, honestly. Sounders underachieved for years before enjoying some success with a stacked squad under Sigi. Dom offered a pedestrian Houston side with very little inspiration that was known for grinding out results some sustained success, but has never really displayed an ability to utilize high-profile weapons or play an open attacking style that I think the talent on the Galaxy would require, and Caleb Porter has scarcely achieved expectations set for his squads. If the Galaxy is serious about becoming the best in MLS and potentially in CONCACAF, they need to invest in a coach that will take them forward.

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  6. Honestly, did anyone think Sigi was a good hire at the time? I don’t know of a single Galaxy fan that was remotely happy when he got the job. Not thrilled about Kinnear taking over, but he will do for now.

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    • Reeked of the same flaccid, gutless, play it safe action as the Nats bringing in Arena from the start. You do not rise to the top by shrinking from pressure.

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  7. Good news, excellent news. Hopefully the Galaxy hire a real profesional coach this time. Hopefully , again, not that stupid Porter. We’ll see.

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