In part one of an interview with Q13 Fox’s Michelle Ludtka that was released on Friday, Seattle Sounders interim head coach spoke about the transition of taking over for longtime head coach Sigi Schmid in July.
“The reception of the coaching change was one of shock first, and then [the players] said ‘uh-oh, things are changing so we better get our act together,’” Schmetzer said.
And get their act together they did. The team is 3-1-3 since Schmetzer took the reins and the club signed Designated Player Nicolas Lodeiro. The team is playing with a newfound confidence as a playoff spot, which for much of the last few months seemed out of reach, is within striking distance.
So much of the Sounders’ ways were engrained in them from Schmid’s tenure, but when Schmetzer took over he wanted the team to know that things would be different with him in charge. Not so much with his tactics, but more with his approach to how the leadership of the team would operate.
“The first thing I set about to do was talk to Brad [Evans], captain, talk to Clint [Dempsey], talk to all the senior players and I had a list and I went through all the players to just lay out expectations,” Schmetzer said. “A lot of the messaging was the same: ‘It’s your team.’ I’m actually giving you the team. Here are the things I want to work on and things I think we need to do to win games, but at the end of the day it’s your team.”
The team bought in. And with more democratic ownership, the team responded with a newfound investment it didn’t have previously.
“[I told them],’if you don’t work hard at training, you’re not hurting me,” Schmetzer said. “You’re actually hurting the guy over here. So work hard, work smart ‘… They bought into that right away. They ran with it.
“That’s not just the middle and the bottom half of the group, but Ozzie, Clint, all those guys,” he continued. “I treat them equally. And I think that message was important for them to hear.”
Part two will air next week on Q13 Fox.
