Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Nos Audietis: Looking back at our time with Sigi Schmid
60 Plays6 years ago
In this special episode, we honor the passing of Sigi Schmid with a compilation of our interviews with Coach:
October 29, 2014: "Episode 162: Agents of (Supporters') Shield"
November 30, 2015: "Episode 205: End of season chat with Sigi Schmid"
Rest in peace, Sigi.
This week's music: "What do tigers dream of?" - Cristian Roldan, "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Perry Como - "Seattle", RVIVR - “The Tide”, Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)
Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you're looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Fullpool Wines and Book Launch
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of No Sadietes is sponsored by Fullpool Wines, a Seattle-based wine seller who recently released their first book, 36 Bottles of Wine. To eat those of the book, a highly curated look at wine categories that provide exceptional value right now should be familiar to Fullpool readers. But there's loads of fresh content, and since it's not trying to sell any wine through the book, there's a bit more of a sass factor.
00:00:20
Speaker
And there's food! Lots of it! Fullpool's unique writing style is applied to recipes like Leftover Thanksgiving, Turkey, Smaltz of All Soup, and pregnancy nachos. This book can be purchased through Sasquatch Books.
Meet the Seattle Sounders Players
00:00:32
Speaker
Hey, this is Christian Roldan. And Jordan Morris from the Seattle Sounders Football Club. And you're listening to... There's no study at this. What do tigers dream of when they take a little tiger snooze? Do they dream of mauling zebras?
00:01:16
Speaker
I think we're going to have to sign off on that one.
00:01:18
Speaker
like a beautiful child growing up. Welcome back to Nos Adiates.
In Ziggy Schmid's Office: Soccer Memorabilia and History
00:01:24
Speaker
We're here in Ziggy Schmid's office at Starfire. Very impressive. I love this piece of art. Is this from Brazil, the World Cup thing? No, it's actually all the World Cup posters going all the way back to the first World Cup. So it's the official posters on little
00:01:42
Speaker
You know basically like a postcard type. Yeah things and so it's sort of because I guess soccer is a religion to me The real Jesus thing is what I was thinking it was supposed to look like but that's yeah I'd seen it in somebody's office when so I've done it like that years ago.
00:02:01
Speaker
And I wanted it done. I got it done like last year. So that's great Yeah, I think that's it's very and there's a lot of there's just a lot of soccer history here and your
Reflecting on Past Soccer Seasons and Strategies
00:02:11
Speaker
Oh
00:02:11
Speaker
personal history of your Last MLS Cup with the Columbus crew. Correct. Um, where is this season kind of fit into your
00:02:22
Speaker
Like, when you're looking back on it and you're still in it, so I'm sure that's hard to do, but how has this season been from that perspective? Not to rank it, but I don't know. It's been a very rewarding year. I think, in some ways, it was comparable to maybe even though I got fired that year in 2004. In 2003 with the Galaxy, we had had a bad season. We had to play our first eight games on the road because we were building Home Depot.
00:02:48
Speaker
We didn't win any of those games. We still managed to get in the playoffs. We basically had a four goal aggregate lead in the first round of the playoffs. Got beat 5-4 and I thought for sure I was going to get fired at that point. They decided not to and they said, okay, we're going to bring you back. I said, yeah, well, if I have complete control because I sort of lost control in 2003 to our GM and LA.
00:03:10
Speaker
I said, if I have complete control over signing the players and who I want, yes. And so we did that. And we were in first place at the time when I got fired. And I thought that was a good season. Last year's season didn't end well for us. I was pulling my hair out. And so were all the coaching staff. And trying to figure out what was making it work is one of those things that just happened. And I think I've left a bad taste in everybody's mouth. And when we sat down at the end of the season with ownership and
Team Changes and Offseason Work: Ziggy's Insights
00:03:38
Speaker
Joe Roth and Adrian and
00:03:40
Speaker
Joe very clearly said, look, I still believe in you, you know, but we've got to make sure, you know, last year doesn't happen. And he said, we'll do that. And I think we made a number of changes, you know, got rid of some people, brought in some people. And there were things that we had talked about and went to bat on some guys in particular that we've been chasing for a while and hadn't gotten.
00:04:03
Speaker
And the season turns out really, really well. So it's sort of a vindication for all the work in the off season, you know, that Chris Henderson, that Kurt, that Adrian all did in terms of evaluating players and the coaching staff, all of us together. And, you know, the seasons just continue to go forward. And the chemistry in the locker room has been growing stronger as well. And the guys push each other all the time. And so it's just been, it's been a really rewarding season from all those aspects.
00:04:31
Speaker
And not to speak too much of last year, I'm sure you don't want to. You try not to think too much about it. But what was going through your head is that the season kind of wound down and it just seemed to kind of spiral. I mean, it seemed you, you know, you seem to be taking it pretty hard. That seems understandable. Were there ever a doubt that you wanted to come back? I was never a doubt that I wanted to come back. Last year was one of those things. I mean, you try and explain it and
00:04:59
Speaker
you know it's like I always say sometimes you can't explain irrational behavior in a rational way and it was just something strange irrational I mean to me it was like we tried everything that I knew that I worked for me in the past and in terms of getting a team out of a slump and so forth we looked at all those things and just nothing seemed to work and it was like
00:05:21
Speaker
One of the things that, how could this have happened? Why is this happening? Because we were close to achieving a lot of things last year, and then it sort of all went away, slipped through our fingers. And so for me, wanting to come back this year was never something I didn't want to do, because I knew it was an anomaly.
Analyzing Past Failures: Anomalies or Trends?
00:05:39
Speaker
I knew last year wasn't the normal thing. Because if that was the normal thing for me, I would have been out of coaching a long time ago, and they wouldn't have had to fire me out or quit if that was the way it was going to go.
00:05:50
Speaker
and I know my teams historically always played better at the end than at the beginning usually and we just never hit that second cycle. So being able to come back, being able to add some of the players that we added this year and we really looked at everything at the beginning of the year too. We threw everything upside down and said let's really look at everything. We've had a staff, it's been great that we've had a lot of continuity but sometimes with continuity too you become
00:06:20
Speaker
I don't know if complacent is the right word, but you become sort of a victim to your own routine. And so we said, now let's look at everything. Let's look at everything from pre-season, how we train, to how we train the day before the game, to how we want to achieve these things, to days off, to how we travel. When do we return from trips? Do we lie on the sleeve? Do we get back as soon as we can? We looked at all those things, analyzed everything, and came up with some different ideas, some new ideas.
00:06:49
Speaker
And then I really, I mean, to me the key point for this year was really last year when the season ended before I even met with Joe Roth. I mean, I sat down with Ozzie Alonso and Clint Dempsey and Brad Evans and we talked for about two hours and said, okay, you know, here's what we think we need to do, you know, to make this better for next year. And speaking of that meeting, there is, you know, we've heard kind of about that, was it?
00:07:14
Speaker
What was that like? Was it all three of you, the three of them, and you and the room all together? Or was it meeting with them separately?
Open Player Discussions on Team Dynamics
00:07:21
Speaker
Did you hear things from them that you maybe didn't know? It was the three of us, or it was the three of them and myself, and we just got together. I think we got together at the Woodmark Hotel, giving a plug to the Woodmark. And we just sat down there by the fireplace and we just talked. I don't even think we ordered any drinks or anything, or water even.
00:07:43
Speaker
We just talked and I wanted to hear what their ideas were and I wanted them to hear what my ideas were, what they felt, what I felt and basically said, look, either we're in this together or we're not and are we together on this? And their response was positive.
00:08:00
Speaker
And I think we've built on that day. Do you think you've learned anything from that meeting in terms of maybe they were saying things to you at that meeting that they maybe were reluctant to say in the middle of the season? Or was there a real kind of like... It was a learning of things, it was also a confirmation of things.
00:08:21
Speaker
you know and so forth you know we talked about you know okay well what what's the spirit like you know within the team what do you think about the training sessions you know what would you like to see not see where do you think our holds are you know where would you like to see us make make improvements in why didn't this gel why weren't we able to turn around in your thoughts your mind and
00:08:43
Speaker
And those were all things that we threw on the table and discussed and it was basically no holds barred. And that was sometimes when I meet with players, I tell them if we're meeting and it's us, I said, I don't care what you say or what language you use. I'm not going to hold it against you. It's us. And right now trying to solve.
00:08:59
Speaker
solve a problem in this situation. We're all in this together. It's not about pointing fingers or putting blame. I have to have broad enough shoulders to say, okay, you didn't like this part of practice. I got to be good enough to say, okay, I got to look at that. And I think that's what we went at.
00:09:16
Speaker
like that? Were you with three people at once and did not just be a one-on-one situation? No, I've done that. I've always had, on all teams that I've coached, I've always had whatever you want to call it, a leadership group within that team. Sometimes it's as small as three, sometimes it's been as large as six, you know, and periodically get them together. Also, when I'm seeing things and I want to change something, let them know
00:09:42
Speaker
what the change is about what I'm thinking about you know how do you guys feel about that and you know or something's happening within the team hey let's let's discuss this or you know these are our options on this particular trip we can come back we can stay you know what do you think could be better what would you guys prefer okay you know make sure the team accepts this you know those kind of things and I think having you know having that group is important because it gives you a feel of what's going on I mean and you're constantly talking to your players anyway
Leadership Meetings and Team Spirit
00:10:11
Speaker
pretty much on a daily basis and your assistants are talking, so you're always exchanging feedback and information, but sometimes just to sit down a little more formalized like that, and you have to listen to your players, because I always say to my team, if my desire to win is greater than yours, then we're not going to go very far, so I want to make sure our desire to win is equal.
00:10:36
Speaker
And so it's maybe a little convenient to look back on that time now and looking what's been accomplished and sitting where you are and say, oh, well, we needed to go through that. But is there a part of you that maybe thinks that you needed to
00:10:50
Speaker
You know, I guess bottoming out is too hard away because you, I mean, if that's bottom, that's not so bad. But at the same time, to have it kind of flame out spectacularly like that, if you had just kind of, you know, lost in the first round and, you know, maybe not, you know, gone eight games without a win or whatever, and maybe it hadn't been so dramatic. Like, I mean, or is it too convenient to look at it that way? I think sometimes it's too convenient to look at it that way. I mean, I'm always been the kind of person that I sort of,
00:11:18
Speaker
kick myself in the rear when I feel I need to. And I think as everybody, whether it's in your workplace, whether you're working, whether you're coaching or whatever it is, there always comes a point as you're doing your job where you've got to sit there and say, well, wait a second, am I really doing this the best that I can right now?
00:11:35
Speaker
Am I missing something here? What do I need to look at here? And, you know, obviously in the profession of coaching, it's a very open book. It's there for everybody to see and often it gets equated with wins and losses. All they're losing, so now it's time to look at it. But even when you're not, I mean, I remember as a younger coach when I was at UCLA and, you know, we had won a national title in 85 and then in 87 our season was
00:12:04
Speaker
so-so and, you know, I mean, so-so by my standards. I think we were still something like 14, 4 and 1 or something. But, you know, going in there and saying, well, wait a second. I want to win a national title again. So what am I not doing right now that I was maybe doing then and just re-looking at, okay, are you recruiting from the right areas? Are you pushing the guys enough in training? Do we have enough quality here? Are we getting the right character guys in that really wanted?
00:12:35
Speaker
now because people know us or we're taking too much of guys who sort of made it or are we still getting those guys who are hungry? So you look at that, that's the way I've always been. So that's the way I was when I was 30, looking at a situation and I don't think I've changed now. So whether we would have had as poor an ending as we had last year or not, I still think I would have been disappointed
00:13:00
Speaker
not going further in the playoffs and there would have probably been a time for saying, okay, you know, what do we need to do better?
00:13:08
Speaker
Was there, at the same time, was there ever a point where you're able to use, you know, maybe losing to Portland, losing the way that it did, you know, I know Brian Schmester has talked about having that picture of Caleb kind of looking over at the, at your guys' sideline and kind of giving this kind of guy, gotcha, smirk. Yeah, we'll call it a smirk. Yeah, that's good. I mean, does it help having those moments to kind of, you know, when you're maybe not wanting to watch that extra hour of film or whatever?
00:13:38
Speaker
Those moments are always...
00:13:41
Speaker
extremely important to me. I mean, as I was saying, that says, you know, winning sustains me and losing motivates me. And, you know, so I've often, from a very early age with my team, and I remember losing in the semi-finals at UCLA in 1984, and I went through it as a player, as a coach, losing. And I made the team, at the end of the game, stay on the field. We were together and I said, I want you to watch them celebrate.
00:14:11
Speaker
And I want you to feel this hurt. And I want this to be the basis of what we come with next year. And we ended up winning the national title the next year. So when you see a rival have success as Portland did last year, I think that helped motivate a little bit as well.
00:14:30
Speaker
and you know it's like you know because it was Caleb's first year and I think there was a feeling there that you know this is easy you know I remember I think Caleb had a quote where and he and I had talked and I talked when he was considering the DC job and we had talked and
00:14:47
Speaker
as well, you know, prior to a Portland job. And I said, yeah, I think it's a great job, great city. And, you know, I said, but the one thing you have to get used to in the pros is you're going to lose more games, you're going to lose in college. And his quote at the end of the year, as he told me that, I really didn't have to do much of that, you know, and I was like.
00:15:02
Speaker
Dude, man, it's one year. So, you know, now I'm sure there's a different feeling, but it was, yeah, that helped more. I mean, all those things, all those things contribute. It's a little bit here, it's a little bit here, it's a little bit there, and all that, you know, motivates me anyway, because I'm a competitive person, and you want to be successful, but it's just, you know, I mean, shoot, that's the way I was raised, you know? I mean, I got a phone call, honest truth, it'll probably kill me for saying this,
00:15:32
Speaker
You know, so after we won the game on Saturday, I get a phone call from my father, you know, and saying, and you know, the galaxy completely outplayed you. And you know, if you play like that, you're going to get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. And you know, you guys took some stupid yellow cards and I'm like going, dad, I just want to be happy right now. I don't want to talk about this. Well, you know, you're going to get knocked out in the playoffs or you can play like this. I go, dad.
00:15:53
Speaker
I just don't want to talk about it, okay?" And it was like, okay, congratulations anyway. And that was the conversation. But that's the environment I grew up in. And so one of the things I learned early in life was, you know, because my dad also said to me, you know, you've got to learn what no means, is that when something was denied or something didn't happen, you just immediately went and you went forward and you didn't look back.
00:16:17
Speaker
And so for me, when I looked at last year and the way it ended, it was, to me, it was all about, okay, we're going to go forward. I'm not looking back anymore. And so that rivalry with Portland seems like you've been more than happy to kind of jump in with both feet. You seem like you enjoy the rivalry a little bit. I think that's great. Is that, I mean, have you enjoyed this? Have you ever maybe experienced this kind of rivalry? I mean, I guess you had had USC at UCLA and I'm sure there were always rivalries, but
00:16:44
Speaker
Is this, I don't know, at least on this scale, has this been fun for you to participate in this rivalry?
The Significance of Soccer Rivalries
00:16:51
Speaker
Definitely. I'm from UCLA, so you learned early on that you cheered for UCLA and you cheered for whatever school was playing SC. The two teams you cheered for. But I think the rivalry is absolutely fantastic for the league. Our rivalry here with Portland, the rivalry as well with Vancouver.
00:17:11
Speaker
you see some other rivalries starting to develop hopefully Dallas Houston will take on a new level again because they're in the same conference I think rivalries like that are absolutely fantastic I think it's good for the league you know you look around the world at the different classicos or Darby's whatever you want to you know call them and count them you know when you're when you're looking at Chelsea against you know Spurs and you're looking at Real Madrid and Barcelona
00:17:37
Speaker
you know, Boca against River. I mean, all those are fantastic and I think it's good for the league and I think it's great for our fans. And, you know, I wish, you know, I wish Caleb all the best, you know, I think he's a bright young coach and he's a good young coach and, you know, I have tremendous respect for their players. I think Valerio is a fantastic player and Chara is, you know, a pain, but he's a great player and he works his rear end off and they've got a lot of other good players down there as well.
00:18:04
Speaker
But on the same token, you know, we want to make sure we win and you know They want to make sure they beat us and
00:18:09
Speaker
and there's some things there, but I think that's great for the fans, it's great for the sport, and it gets the adrenaline flowing, it's a good thing. Do you feel like you have a rivalry with, obviously the Timbers are a rivalry, and as part of that as Caleb, and I don't know, do you feel like you have a rivalry with Bruce Arena? It seems like you're constantly compared to him, you were both at top college programs before MLS, and it seems like it's been a constant thing.
00:18:38
Speaker
You know, I mean, I think we rarely played against each other in college. I think once is what I saw, right? We played against each other, I think, the first time in 1984 where we went to the Indiana tournament and we beat them at the Indiana tournament 2-1. And then they played us, I think, at the UNLV tournament and they beat us. And then maybe at SMU I want to think
00:19:01
Speaker
Uh, but I wasn't sure, but I was, you know, Bruce had, Bruce had a great run and had great players at Virginia and they were obviously very, very successful. Uh, and we were sort of the West coast team that had more success, but I always, one of the things that I think got overlooked in those days is the West was much tougher than the East was. And, and Bruce always had the benefit of playing in the ACC, but the way the, the way the playoff regions were divided up, he always got pushed into the mid Atlantic region.
00:19:30
Speaker
So he never had to play his rivals in the South when he had his playoff run. If you look at his record right before, a lot of times he'd play Loyola, Baltimore, or James Madison, which were big rivals. And for us to get out, we always had to play a Fullerton or a U. San Diego, which were maybe not, but were rivals, you know, for us soccer-wise, you know, or a USF. And so it made it a little bit tougher. But, you know, Bruce and I have, you know,
00:19:55
Speaker
He went with the national team, you know, and had his successes there. He went into the pros earlier. I mean, I was, when the league started, you know, I was talking to teams, but it wasn't a right situation. You know, I do think, you know, D.C. United offered Bruce a appropriate salary. You know, he put it that way to leave college.
00:20:22
Speaker
and a good training situation. I think that's what helped DC United in the early years against all the other clubs is they actually had a training facility where nobody else did and so it was good. And that first year when you look at the league, I think Bruce was the only coach that was a coach in the league that had not been unemployed before the league started. He was the only guy who came into the league who actually had a job.
00:20:46
Speaker
you know, that they had to hire away from a job. Everybody else was a guy who was unemployed or coaching, or coaching an NAIA school or something like that, you know, which obviously is going to leave right away, you know, to go coaching a pro. So maybe there's a little bit of that rivalry and, you know, but it's never been where we've been in a direct rivalry, you know, we talk and so forth, but he's competitive, he wants to beat me, you know, and I'm competitive and I want to beat him.
00:21:12
Speaker
We each do it a little bit differently, but I think we're also the same. It's an interesting one. One day I'll tell you a good story, George Tarantini. Did you take any extra satisfaction, though, from going into this last two games? Obviously they were even with you on points, and to kind of pull it out the way you did, I have to imagine there's part of you that takes a little bit of extra satisfaction. As I said the other day, it being
00:21:41
Speaker
You know, the supporter shield has never come down to like the last game and the two teams that are competing playing. So it was a very unique, unusual situation. It was, you know, the two, I guess Bruce and myself are the two oldest coaches in the league now going against each other. Guys who probably, you know, years wise have been in the league longest now coaching. So there were a lot of, there was a lot of I's that were dotted and T's that were crossed going into that game. And so,
00:22:09
Speaker
Being LA and the scenario made it a very satisfying win. Soccer is a funny game. Sometimes you dominate and you don't win. Sometimes you don't dominate and you win. At the end of the day it all evens out. So you're just happy you get one.
00:22:26
Speaker
So you and Bruiser are the, I think the only two coaches from that first era of kind of MLS coaches that kind of came through. The 2000s. Yeah, that never played in the league, that their whole, even their coaching upbringing was before MLS. What do you think it's allowed you to kind of
00:22:46
Speaker
stay through this and both of you remain. I mean, you're still, you know, to coach the top two teams in the league. Well, I think for both Bruce and myself, I think there's
00:22:57
Speaker
uh... there's a good knowledge of the american player you know and i think when you look at teams you know we're mentioned portland before and you look at how many americans as portland start how many americans do we start how many americans as bruce start uh... you know i think bruce and myself are probably among the teams that start the most americans you know in there so i think having a knowledge of the american player is something that's helped us in this league you know the years of
00:23:22
Speaker
having a coach college you know so recruiting and having an eye for a player and seeing okay this is where he is now what can he be I think has helped us as well and I think also going nothing against the young coaches because I think there is a lot of good young coaches in this league but not many are going to get the opportunity that Benny Olsen gets which you know I mean not many would have kind of fallen flat on their face as they did the year before and still held their job
00:23:52
Speaker
Okay and so you know he was in a very unique situation. He got to learn on the job at the professional level and you don't get that opportunity too often. So I think the benefit that Bruce and myself have had as well is that we were able to make our mistakes at a level and go through our mistakes and figure out what worked and what didn't work maybe away from the light.
00:24:17
Speaker
and that allowed us to grow and we've coached different age groups and we've coached different levels and we've been a head coach before we got thrust into the arena of being a head coach at the MLS level and so it's great when a lot of guys come in and they've been former players and you know, but I think it's much better when they're an assistant for three, four years and really learn what's going on. I think that's what Dominic Canier did and that's why Dominic I think has been successful.
00:24:44
Speaker
Frank Yalup, same thing, he was an assistant for a few years before he came a head coach. Jason Kreiss is the exception to the rule, where a guy goes straight from basically playing to becoming a head coach and doing it well. But for a lot of other guys, that's been a lot more difficult transition, even on Oscar Pereira.
Ziggy's Coaching Philosophy and Success
00:25:05
Speaker
who did well at Colorado, is now doing well at Dallas, but he coached in the academy system. And you knew when Oscar was a player, you knew he would be the kind of guy who could be a coach. So I think having that background of having coached and being a head coach, whether it's at a top youth level, meaning under 19 or so, or at a college, I think helps you prepare you for the pro level. Are there players on this team you think that will eventually be good coaches?
00:25:34
Speaker
Yeah, if they decide that's what they want to do. I think Jimmy Traore could be a good coach. Down the line, his spirit and his enthusiasm is great, his knowledge is great. Zach Scott, I think possibly, if he wanted to do that, I don't know if that's what he wants to do.
00:25:50
Speaker
Because you have to be a little bit of a masochist, you know, because I mean, it's, you know, when I played and, you know, I mean, I was never as tired after a game when I played as I am after coaching, because when you play, you're thinking for yourself and maybe a couple of your teammates and you're trying to help out as a coach, you're thinking about everybody else.
00:26:12
Speaker
what am I going to say now and all the stuff like that and you know and your product it's shown every week and you know there's people that are second-guessing you every time when you win or lose and the moment you lose a couple it's like you're the biggest idiot in the world and the moment you win a couple you're like okay he's great you know everything he does is great and you know so you got to be a little bit of a masochist to take all that abuse in there but you know there you know you know you never know in the locker room who's there you know is a Brad Evans somebody who would want to coach one day
00:26:41
Speaker
I don't know. I think Gonzalo Pinedo would like to coach one day. You know, I know when I had Guillermo Cholotto in Columbus that he wanted to coach one day and he's doing fantastic in Argentina with La Nusa in second place again right now behind River Plate and he doesn't have anywhere close to their budget.
00:26:59
Speaker
So, you know, there's certain guys that you could tell, but you could tell Guillermo wanted the coach already there. He expressed it, and he would ask me questions sometimes. Coach, why, how come you did this? And it wasn't related to something with him. It was something else. And I knew he wanted to be a coach, so I would talk it through and I would explain it to him. So you strike me as a coach who's willing to wear his emotions honestly. You're willing to be emotional in the postgame, and you seem
00:27:30
Speaker
You seem like you're comfortable sharing those kinds of things. Two-part question, one was what was going through your head when Marco's shot, when in the back of the net, on the first one? We saw the film of what it looked like after the second one. You looked like, okay, you looked like you were relaxed. But first one, we have the scene.
00:27:51
Speaker
First of all, I think I celebrated the first one a lot more than the second one, for sure. It was just like, you know, I was happy Marco had stayed wide because he tends to do it too. So that was the first thought that threw my mind. You know, so it was like, I mean, at first it was just pure joy and enthusiasm. I don't know, I can't.
00:28:08
Speaker
I can't do a knee slide anymore, so I didn't do that, but I went down for a pretty deep squat position, I think, and my fists were pumped. And then I was thinking, thank God you stayed wide. See, I told you. You know, it's what I was thinking, and just a joy that, you know, sometimes you like goals to come late like that, because it's like, okay, there's not a lot of time for them to score again. You know, saying, okay, no, we just got to ride this through. But it was just pure,
00:28:38
Speaker
pure joy because it was like, okay, a tile gets there, but God, that's gonna be so unfulfilling to a certain extent, and then getting the gold's like great, you know. And was, I don't know, where did, did it feel like a championship in a way? Yeah, it did. I mean, it is. Yeah, I didn't think it is. It is a championship, and it did feel like I have yet to hold the supporter shield, I've yet to see it. How is that possible? I don't know, I don't know where it is.
00:29:07
Speaker
I think we have to make some phone calls for you. Somehow I would like to see it. Tommy says it's a great plate. We could have some cold cuts and things like that off of it or something. But I definitely would like to see it and like to hold it. I've held the other ones I've won.
00:29:25
Speaker
It was a different looking trophy in those days. Yeah, I think this is pretty new. I think it's only this is the second year it's been used. Yeah, second or third year, I think, yeah. And it seems very solid. I'm understanding it's a pretty nice piece of furniture, if you will. But I think fans have really kind of responded in a way. I'm sure you feel like there's constantly people second-guessing you.
Connecting with Fans and Community Building
00:29:47
Speaker
But whenever I talk to supporters, they oftentimes talk about your press conference after the all-in TFO.
00:29:55
Speaker
And they really, they felt like you seemed to be touched by it, and they responded to that. And I guess there was a moment after the game this last week where you were talking to the ECS in the stadium, and people were saying how they really felt a connection there. And I don't know, do you feel like there's a connection with Seattle? I don't know, is this something that you've experienced in other places?
00:30:25
Speaker
Without, you know, obviously, yes and no, yes and no. I mean, Seattle is beyond any of the other places. So, I mean, you know, the three, you know, I mean, college is different, but, you know, and it's different nowadays than it was when I was there.
00:30:39
Speaker
For me, tradition is always very important. Connection to the past, connection to the supporters of a club is vitally important. When I started at UCLA, I was the one who put together basically the history of the program because nobody had ever done that. I spent hours going through files.
00:31:01
Speaker
put it together but I also wanted to establish a connection to the guys who started the program in 67 and I wanted to bring those guys back into the fold and feel that they would feel connected to the UCLA team of the 80s and I'm really proud of that fact that you know I'm on their mailing list and you know and so forth and that whole connection there was important and when I
00:31:25
Speaker
you know, came to LA, you know, the, you know, the riot squad just started and, you know, one of the leaders of the riot squad, he's actually a security officer at the airport, you know, and he would never know when he saw him at the, at the riot squad. Like he came up to me before the game, when we played in LA, we went out early to stick over and say hello. He says, you know, I can't cheer for you today. You know, we're always on your side except against us. And it's great to feel that way. And when I was in Columbus,
00:31:53
Speaker
there was a situation that occurred that, once they had built the stage, all of a sudden, the one, the Hudson Street Hooligans were sitting here and the other group were sitting there, another group was sitting there, and I said, that can't be where it was called a meeting, and we called a meeting and brought all the supporters' groups together, and it was myself and Frankie Hayduke and Danny O'Rourke and Guillermo Shiloto and Alejandro, and I said, look,
00:32:21
Speaker
Here's a California surfer dude. Here's the most staunch, you know, Midwestern Republican you ever want to meet. And Danny O'Rourke, you know, here's this guy from Argentina who really doesn't know what's going on in the States. Here's a guy from Venezuela. We can all get along. Why can't you guys get along? Let's talk about it. And then they all sat together and became the Nordic. And I thought it was great this weekend to see the picture of Greg Oden in there with their fan group.
00:32:45
Speaker
you know, so that was for me. But Seattle is over and beyond that, you know, because just the size of the group and just the support, but having that connection, you know, the first, one of the first practices we had and seeing Alan Hinton there and Jimmy Gabriel, Jimmy had known a little bit and Alan I hadn't and, you know, for me, it was an instant reaction to walk over there and welcome them because they represented the history of the club.
00:33:11
Speaker
And I'm great of my friendship with both of them. And obviously, Alan's here more than Jimmy is, because he's part of the time now down in Summer and Palm Springs there enjoying the sun. But that, to me, is important. And the fans is really important. And some people know, some people don't know, but the scarf is always a scarf from a fan for every game. And it's a different scarf every game. And just to wear that, Columbus, they had given me a scarf from the supporters group and I wore it.
00:33:41
Speaker
the same scarf, but when I came here, somebody asked me, are you going to wear a scarf? And I said, yeah. And I said to Bart Wilder, I said, let's do it where you get a scarf from you for every game from a fan. I'll wear that because I want to be representative of them. It wasn't important for me to wear the newest Seattle Sounders scarf that we're going to sell in the store. You know, I wanted to wear a fan scarf.
00:34:01
Speaker
And you know, my years of, you know, my history, this long story, but when I was younger, when I was younger and I, there was a guy actually when I was 18 and started playing, you know, men's soccer, I started like 16, 17, but when I was 18, I played with a guy and he was like 33 and his son ended up afterwards playing for me.
00:34:26
Speaker
I used to go over and he used to have records from Bill Shankly. We used to listen to Bill Shankly talk about Liverpool and all the Shanklyisms and to me the cop and all that stuff and the connection to the fans and the first time I went to Anfield I just stood there. I was like in amazement.
00:34:46
Speaker
to get behind the doors and to meet people and know people there it was it was fantastic you know and so that that to me and the first Bundesliga game I ever went to you know my uncle and my dad bought a seat and me and my cousin had to stand in the fan section you know there was something warm on the back of my leg didn't want to turn around to see what it was you know but flags were waving I thought it was the greatest thing in the world you know and it was I remember FC Cologne against
00:35:14
Speaker
often about her kickers and it was in Cologne and so that connection to the fans I think is vital and it's the life blood of a good club and this is a good club and that's why it's to me and the only way I know how to be you know somebody asked me what's the keys to coaching and I said to coach from the base point of your personality to be honest and to work really hard and take care of details.
00:35:40
Speaker
And so that's the only way I know how to be. If I try to be somebody else, then I'm not doing a good job. So I'll finish it with this. Adrian today mentioned that he's been talking to you about possibly doing a contract extension. When you came here, did you foresee being here for, I mean, you've already been here for six years. I would imagine a contract extension would push you out towards being a decade. I mean, can you imagine that?
00:36:09
Speaker
I always imagine that. I always want to be the Alex Ferguson. You know, I thought I was going to be that in LA. Um, and, uh, it didn't happen. You know, obviously I thought, you know, the circumstances would have been different. Maybe it would have happened. Uh, you know, when I went to Columbus, you know, my thinking at Columbus, to be very honest, and one thing I talked about is let's turn Columbus into the Green Bay Packers of the MLS.
00:36:35
Speaker
And I'll be Vince Lombardi. So that was my thought there. And it worked for about three years, but then we couldn't come to an agreement. And the first time I was up here in Seattle, because my one son went to UW for a year, and Adrian and I had talked on the phone when we were at LA Galaxy with lone players up here. That's how you got Brian Ching and Hercules Gomez and guys like that. And I remember saying to him, if you ever start a team, don't forget about me.
00:37:04
Speaker
I just always liked the city of Seattle whenever I traveled up here, you know, and first time I came up here I was playing at UCLA and we played in the tournament, you know, at Husky Stadium there's nobody there, but I've always liked the city and, you know, so for me the opportunity to come and, you know, it was such something that I wanted and so naturally I want to stay. I'd like to
00:37:26
Speaker
and my coaching career here. I don't know if that's possible, but that's what I would love to do. I'd love to be connected with this club even after my coaching ends, whether it's scouting or whether it's helping somewhere. Maybe I'll go back to my business days. I don't know whatever I could do.
00:37:45
Speaker
You know, but right now, you know, coaching still, you know, it's still the fire. It still fuels me. You know, when I was at UCLA, they asked me to be an associate AD. I talked to Adrian about that today. I said, I could never leave the field, you know, and it's the same thing here. It's like, yeah, as part of me, it says, okay, maybe it's time to pass it on. But I love being on the field. I love being in the locker room. I love being with the team. I love the challenge of the, of the week to week and, and, and trying to fix things and,
Ziggy's Future with the Seattle Sounders
00:38:13
Speaker
and making things work and sustaining things when they're working. I mean, to me, it's still exciting and exhilarating and fun. And as long as it stays that way, I mean, I'd love to finish my career because I think this has been a great city. So if they'll have me, I'll stay. But they're going to want to have me. Well, Steve, I really appreciate your time. You've been more than generous. And thank you very much for doing this. No problem. You know, next time we can't wait so long. Yeah, right. No, absolutely. All right, well, thank you. OK.
00:38:48
Speaker
Full pull wines are based in Seattle, owned and operated by Sanders fans, and have been sponsoring Nota Adieira since 2011. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, the Pacific Northwest. Their model is simple. One, they email compelling offers.
00:39:07
Speaker
Two, you request bottles that sound appealing, and three, your wine arrives at their soda warehouse and is ready for pickup or shipping. Their soda tasting room is also open to the public. If you're interested in joining their mailing list or learning more about them, visit fullpaulwines.com. Queen Anne acupuncture has over a decade of experience healing the injuries of athletes.
00:39:36
Speaker
Marathon runners, snowboarders, yoga instructors and weekend warriors have all found relief from pain and have enhanced performance with the use of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Queen Anne acupuncture has treated players from many of the Seattle area soccer leagues for a wide range of injuries.
00:39:55
Speaker
acupuncture also happens to be one of the best treatments for stress. Located in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, you can conveniently book an appointment online today at QueenAnneAcupuncture.com. So personally for you, how was this? I'm sure you've answered this before, but did this feet-ear feel as much of a roller coaster inside as it did observing from the outside?
00:40:24
Speaker
No, it was definitely a roller coaster and it was difficult, you know, from the standpoint of how well we were doing at the beginning of the year versus the first of the middle of the year. And then that's always, you know, as a coach, you're going through that with your team, you're also going through it yourself. You want to make sure you're keeping the team on board, you want to make sure the locker room is staying together.
00:40:48
Speaker
But you also want to figure out a way to start winning games. And I think the character of the team was something that was very important in that little phase. The leaders within that group were very important.
00:41:02
Speaker
because they kept their confidence up and kept us going and so we were able to rebound and catch it again at the end of the year but definitely there's always in this league there's always swings but that was probably as deep a valley as I've ever had to go through as a coach in this league and you know so coming out of it felt good you know coming out of it to say okay I was able to withstand that but
00:41:28
Speaker
It's not something I want to repeat ever again. Yeah, so you know there's been a lot over the years Adrian and the management have talked a lot about the process and that you know and I would imagine that ultimately this year they look at it as holistically and they don't look at it as well there is this bad part of the season so that we should judge
00:41:50
Speaker
But do you feel like the processes in play, like you still feel good about the process that, you know, if you look at it, not as, you know, just this year, but as a seven year project and is, are the sounders where you wanted to be at the end of seven years?
00:42:07
Speaker
I think our process is a good one. As I said, maybe came from sort of cryptically at the end of the Dallas game, but there's more teams than not in this league would love to have our record. Our record of consecutive playoff appearances, our open cup titles, the sport of shield titles.
00:42:29
Speaker
Maybe the galaxy would say, we don't want to trade our last seven years for years or even years. But outside of that, I don't know who else would. And the thing is, you hate to say it like this, because we want to win the MLS Cup, but it's a craption. You've got teams that are in this round that survive twice because of three inches of the ball hitting here or here.
00:42:54
Speaker
Okay, so now you advance. You know, you win sometimes, you get through twice on PKs and you have a losing record, but you are champions. So you don't want to be a team that's here one year, down here the next year, here that year. I don't know if the team's right. You don't want to be an organization.
00:43:12
Speaker
that's like that. You don't want to have to be an organization at Northfield to rebalance. You know, like, for example, BC United has done very well over the last couple of years, but to get to that point, it's had a couple of really dismal down years. So then you had to build up the allocation money and they were able to put themselves back up again. So you don't want to have to go through that dirt in order to get to a height again.
00:43:39
Speaker
And I think that's one of the key things that this organization, through the leadership of the ownership, has done very well, is the process of staying the course, the process of, hey, we're trying to build a consistent product that our fans can come out every year and know that, you know what, we've got a chance. Every year we have a chance, it's not like, well,
00:44:04
Speaker
No chance this year. It's not going to happen. And I think that's part of the process, to make sure that we've been consistent. I think we've stayed true to that. But we're all on the other side of that coin. We're all frustrated that we have one out. Is there anything that you can point to that says, this is why I think we haven't won? Or is that maybe part of what makes it frustrating is that you don't know exactly what it is.
00:44:34
Speaker
No, I mean, I think the last couple of seasons injuries at the end of the year have hurt us, you know, and we've probably been closest the last couple of seasons when we look at it that way. I think in the first few years we were still, a lot of teams were still naive in terms of the cup competition.
00:44:55
Speaker
You know, change scores a great goal against Houston, or we almost get through and maybe that establishes a different pattern for us. I think the last couple of seasons, I think injuries like this season have come to hurt us.
00:45:12
Speaker
And that's something that we're looking at very seriously. Why is that happening? What could we have done to prevent that? What's at the root cause of that? How can we change that? So that's something. But outside of that, we've got a house.
00:45:32
Speaker
You've got to have somebody get hot at the right time. The Dempsey scored some goals for us in the playoffs, and we're starting to get hot at the right time. And I think if we can hold that 1-1 and get past Alex, I felt pretty good about our chances.
00:45:50
Speaker
So one of the things that Garth said today is that there wasn't really didn't sound like there was a whole lot of discussion about whether or not you were coming back that it was kind of like He's coming back From your perspective. What is it that you know you made some comments right after the Dallas game that you weren't totally sure I mean what? Right, I'm always a person. I'm never I'm never gonna be presumptuous sure and say yeah, yeah, okay without a doubt You know because you know like I said, that's internships prerogative
00:46:20
Speaker
And then they were going to take that prerogative away. I felt I had done a good job. I also had the feeling from ownership that they felt they had done a good job. But there was never something directly that we said, hey, you know, you know, we're definitely, you know, 100% out of doubt. And I'm the kind of person that, you know, you always, you know, you don't
00:46:43
Speaker
go to the bank on things too early and they get disappointed because you want to make sure you keep your emotions in check as you move forward. So, you know, it's great to hear Garth say that. You know, but obviously, you know, I'm not stupid. You know, I'm out there too. I know we work with Jason Price. Jason Price becomes available. NLC was the answer. Now, I've seen different things happen, you know, so you're sort of sitting there going,
00:47:11
Speaker
What does that say about the way you feel about this organization that it was so automatic and what's it say about your place in this organization?
00:47:25
Speaker
Well, I feel good about this organization and I've always felt good about my dealings with Adrian because I'd known him a little bit before I got here. I think we're friends beyond being a boss and employee, but friendship is not going to say, well, I'll keep him sure we're friends. It's not going to determine his hiring practices.
00:47:50
Speaker
And my relationship with Joe Roth has been good as well. You know, Tom Lewicki when he was here, you know, it was good with them also. And so I feel very good about my beliefs within the organization. I mean, certainly this organization, as all organizations when they start, you're uncertain where it's going to go. You know, are we going to keep going up this hill or are we going to struggle and
00:48:16
Speaker
off for a little bit. The tenant is going to maintain itself. People are still going to come out. The buzz is still going to be there. I mean everybody's got the buzz in year two and everybody can do it one year. It's what happens in year two, three, and four that determines it. And I feel good about my role being part of that because I think my role has been to deliver the product on the field.
00:48:41
Speaker
And I feel that I've delivered a pretty consistent product that's allowed the business side of things to continue to grow and advance. If we deliver an inconsistent product on the field, if we would have made the playoffs in year one, then this for the next two or three years, where would the business be now? Might be at a different place. So at the standpoint of my standing in the organization, I feel good about what I've contributed to the organization. I wish I had an ownership percentage.
00:49:10
Speaker
for that. I wasn't smart enough to negotiate that into my contract, but I definitely feel that I've had a hand in the process of building this one. And so moving to a couple specific players, it sounded like Brad, his expectation is to be playing center back at least early in the season. And I think he said that, you know, he knows what happens after that.
00:49:38
Speaker
What do you see as his role going forward? Brad's always going to be a very important player to our team. I think in the back line is probably going to be his role from here on out. I know Brad Field has been moved all over, but I think if you go back, I think his first four years he played in midfield.
00:50:01
Speaker
four or five years pretty consistently. It was getting moved all over the place. I think in the back, maybe on the plank, is probably his best position at this stage. We think we have three quality center backs as far as Marshall and Brad. We don't want to.
00:50:16
Speaker
to spend money and bring in another center back and really make that a congested area. So that's why I see Brad in the back of the V&A here. And then, like I said, and you never know. It's exactly Brad's telling you exactly what I said to him because at that point, there could be an injury that changes things. There could be the way we're playing need to change something. It could be that we feel we're stronger as a unit. If we play this way, maybe we don't.
00:50:47
Speaker
that we solved, that we evolved into our left back. You know, unfortunately he showed us who to play a little bit there. I'm sure he's unhappy about that. You know, at all depends, you can't predict. I can tell you what my snapshot is right now and what my prediction would be right now, but that prediction could be out the window in a week.
00:51:09
Speaker
who was a player these days, ACL, Houston, and Dorito. I'm sure Houston may have helped update Dorito now, second year, he's really gonna step into the role, and all that all came within 24 hours. And then rolled on, it sounded like he, there might be a move into more of a defensive midfielder role on number six. I think, and for me, Christian was a guy that we pushed all over midfield this year because he has some personality as well,
00:51:38
Speaker
And he's pretty good about adjusting quickly and dealing with the tactics of the position. I think his best position is in the middle of midfield. So I want to try and keep him in the middle of midfield more often than not. That might still be the odd game that we've got to push him outside. I want to keep him in the middle of midfield now. That is the deeper defensive midfielders and more of the
00:52:03
Speaker
As the guy who's growing up and down, are we going to play three in the middle of the field? He's one of the three that I can't answer for you right now, but I definitely, you know, he needs to play more in the middle of the field because I think that takes better advantage of the strengths that he has.
00:52:21
Speaker
I guess you made a comment about how there's been a sense that there could be a lot of turnover on roster as a whole, but in terms of who the starting 11 is, especially early in the season, would you suspect that there's going to be much change from what your ideal 11 might have been towards the end of this year?
00:52:43
Speaker
So you don't know. Like I said, there's so many balls in the air right now that you don't know for sure. So what you expect might happen comes differently. You've got to re-enter the draft. All of a sudden, maybe there's somebody available in the re-enter the draft. You can say, well, sure. Maybe a player comes back and you think, oh, I don't think he's going to be back. Let's see if you know what.
00:53:10
Speaker
I'm willing to do this or that to stay and all of a sudden now I got this guy back which I didn't expect. There might be somebody that you expect is going to be back and we're losing and it doesn't work out. So for us right now to predict, you know, it makes it very difficult. I mean, I think there's maybe three or four guys that we know, that we know 100%, maybe five that we say, okay, these guys are going to
00:53:34
Speaker
be here and you know we're really dealing with more as a coaching staff right now is saying okay based upon the type of personalities that we think we're going to have what what do we feel is the best way to play for them and then based upon that
00:53:51
Speaker
Where are our holes that we feel and how do we now go about covering those holes? Real quick, I'll end it with this. Lamar Nagel's role changed a lot over the course of the season. What could you say about the way he was used or wasn't used towards the end of it?
00:54:11
Speaker
You know, I think it was a difficult year for Lamar, you know, a number of scenarios. One was, you know, I think his game changed a little bit at the beginning of the year. It was something he and I talked about. I think he understood, you know, what had changed, what he needed to get back to, right at about the time that that was happening, all the injuries happened for us, and so that changed his role again.
00:54:37
Speaker
And then he ended up playing maybe more minutes during that phase than he should have played. And then at the end of the day, it changed again because now we have different people healthy in those positions. And in my mind, it was a tough decision from week to week, but I felt
00:54:58
Speaker
I felt this was a better decision for the team at the time because this guy was a little bit more informed. So I think Omar is a great person and player and has accomplished an awful lot in this game.
00:55:14
Speaker
continue to show. And so what happened at the end of last year doesn't mean that's the way it's going to go into the future. You know, that was just, that was that snippet in time and that's where it stood at that period of time. But I think our conversation was good. I think he knows who knows what I want and what I'm looking for.
00:55:32
Speaker
And I think he understands it as well. So, how would you classify his potential future with the Sounders? Obviously, no final decision has been made. He's like a number of other players. You don't know what's going to happen. As I said, the caps went off. There's a lot of things that go into it. And so you've got to...
00:56:03
Speaker
You know, you've got to decide as to which way you're going to go at the end of the day because you're, you know, maybe you have a group of players that play a particular position and you have four players and you're saying, well, all the four of these guys can sort of do that, you know, but we can't keep all four of them. Well, you know, now it's like, well, how close are they?
00:56:23
Speaker
I'm pretty ambivalent about these guys, but now a team comes along and says, well, we wouldn't mind having this guy. Well, then you're going, well, I can't move this guy, so maybe I have to move this guy, and I'll keep this guy, because that's the way it works. Or the team might say, hey, I want this guy. So that's why it's so hard. It's such a moving target that it would be hard for me to predict either way if it was only the other one. But if you did Lamar,
00:56:52
Speaker
I think the main thing I'm happy about is that Lamar understands, you know, what he needs to do to play. And I think he's a guy who's obviously...
00:57:10
Speaker
Green Douglas fir where the water's cut through Down to wild mountains and tangents you flew Canadian northwest to the ocean so blue It's Roll On, Columbia Roll On Roll On, Columbia Roll On Roll On, Columbia Roll On Your power is turning our darkness to dawn Roll On, Columbia Roll On
00:57:51
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!