Coach Sigi Schmid of Seattle Sounders Comments on U.S. World Cup Team

Sigi Schmid has a long background of coaching experience.  He became UCLA’s head mentor at 27, and before coming to Seattle to take over the new Sounders franchise in 2009 achieved a record of distinguished accomplishments with the Columbus Crew of the MLS.

Schmid has closely observed World Cup activity and has enthusiastic comments about the U.S. team’s play.

With the exciting U.S. win over Algeria the current world focus, Schmid weighed in on the subject of the American advancement to the final Round of 16 teams.

“It’s been great,” Schmid declared enthusiastically.  “The U.S.’s result and winning in injury time just makes it that much more dramatic. Everybody picks up on that energy and so forth. It’s good obviously for the U.S. team. It’s good for the game though. It just brings a little more attention to the game. I think the better the national team does the better it is for us.

"People out there have to know that, even though a lot of these guys are playing in Europe, the majority of those guys all played in MLS first before they ever got there, so this is the grooming spot. Now we are into the final 16 as one of the 16 best teams in the world. That’s a great thing.”

Coaches love to talk about discipline and focus.  Schmid picked up the theme of preparation relative to the perseverance and hard work of the 2010 U.S. World Cup squad.

“Definitely, you have got to stay in the game,” Schmid said.  “It’s 90 plus minutes nowadays, it’s not just 90 minutes. You have got to be prepared for that injury time period and you have got to take full advantage of it. It was a great goal by the U.S. Timmy Howard’s distribution was phenomenal on that goal, leading to it. And I thought it was just very well done.”

So the road for the U.S. continues on Saturday against Ghana.  Expect Sigi Schmid to be glued to his set, along with so many other interested viewers throughout the world.