Sigi Schmid says he tried for years to bring Chad Marshall to Seattle.
Having coached Marshall in Columbus, Schmid understood the impact the veteran centerback could have on a club’s success. Seattle’s Head Coach finally got his wish last December when Sounders FC acquired Marshall from the Crew.
After a 2014 regular season for which he was named MLS Defender of the Year, it is easy to see why Marshall was so coveted. He anchored the backline of a Sounders FC team that won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and Supporters’ Shield.
“It means a lot. Obviously it’s a credit to how well we’ve done as a team this year,” said Marshall, the first player to win three MLS Defender of the Year awards. “I look at it as a team award. I’m not winning this if we don’t do what we did in the regular season. I’m very happy to accept this award on behalf of the Sounders and all our players in the locker room.”
Marshall routinely brushes off compliments and is not one to talk about himself, but the reality is that he has been one of the league’s elite defenders for the past decade. Marshall’s opponents confirmed that by choosing him in the player portion of the vote for Defender of the Year.
Bobby Boswell of D.C. United had the most votes from MLS club management and members of the media. It was the players – 28 percent of whom voted for Marshall – that made the difference in Seattle’s All-Star centerback winning the award.
“You play 11 years in this league, and you have a lot of friends throughout the league,” Marshall said. “It’s always nice to be voted by your peers. I’m extremely grateful to accept this award.”
Marshall is the first Sounders FC player to be named Defender of the Year. He also won the award in 2008 and 2009 for guiding Columbus to back-to-back Supporters’ Shields and an MLS Cup.
While the trophies Sounders FC has won this year speak for themselves, the 6-foot-4 veteran also has the numbers to back up his individual recognition.
Of the award’s three finalists, Marshall recorded the highest tackle success rate (81 percent), most clearances (206), and most shots blocked per game (0.8). His 136 passes intercepted were tops in MLS during the regular season (all statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com).
What may be the most impressive statistic, fellow centerback Zach Scott said, is that Marshall committed just 20 fouls and was given one yellow card in 2,790 minutes of regular-season action.
”That’s just Chad being in the right place at the right time,” Scott said. “He never finds himself where he’s on his back foot, chasing, or needs to make a professional foul. He’s always in a good position. A lot of that comes with a ton of experience and just being a naturally gifted defender.”
The signature performance of Marshall’s season came on May 3, when the Sounders won 2-1 over the Philadelphia Union at CenturyLink Field. Along with scoring the game-winner on a header in the 84th minute, Marshall blocked two shots off the line and cleared numerous Union scoring opportunities.
Marshall has been dominant since he entered MLS more than a decade ago. Now he stands alone in one category among the top defenders in league history.
“Chad is the first three-time winner, which I think is a good reflection of his career,” Schmid said.
“There’s been some illustrious defenders in the league. For him, obviously he spent his whole career in MLS, so that gives him a better chance of winning it three times. But that consistency, and to do it five years after he did it the last time, it speaks for his longevity.”
