Crew draw confidence from Schmid
Columbus manager won MLS Cup with LA Galaxy
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Although the Crew coach hasn't been in the playoffs since San Jose rallied from a four-goal aggregate deficit in 2003 vs. the Galaxy, his current team -- in its first postseason appearance in four seasons -- relies on his steady direction.
"I can see the confidence he has regarding the playoffs," goalkeeper William Hesmer said. "I can see it in how he carries himself and how he talks. You can see it in his eyes how he lives for these games, these moments. He's been there before. That makes the guys feel guys feel good knowing you have leader who's been there before and knows what it takes."
What the Crew need Saturday in Crew Stadium against Kansas City is a win to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship. The two-game, aggregate-goal semifinal series is tied at 1-1 after the first leg at Kansas City last week.
While some of the Crew players are experiencing the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time, Schmid, hired by the Crew after the 2005 season, is no stranger to the pressure. In fact, he is the dean of the league coaches.
His 16 playoff wins are the most among the 36 coaches who have participated in the postseason and represents 11 percent of all MLS playoff victories (147). His total is just three fewer than the total number of postseason wins combined of the seven other remaining coaches.
Also:
• Schmid has a 16-7-4 (.666) record in the postseason, including 5-1-3 in overtime.
• He is 11-0-1 all-time at home in the playoffs which could bode well for the Crew, who are 7-0-2 at home since June 7 en route to winning the Supporters' Shield.
"We wanted to be a in a position to have all our important games at home. That's what we worked for all season and now we're playing our most important game of the season at home," he said.
• On the downside, Schmid has lost two postseason championships in Columbus as the LA coach. In 2001, San Jose defeated the Galaxy 2-1 in overtime in Crew Stadium to win the MLS Cup. A year later visiting Los Angeles faced the Crew in the U.S. Open Cup final five days after winning the Galaxy's first MLS Cup on a Carlos Ruiz overtime goal. The Crew beat the defending Open Cup champs 1-0 for the only title in club history.
Schmid was also on the wrong side of 2-0 score to D.C. United in Foxborough, Mass., in MLS Cup 1999, but the one that stings the most is the 2003 first-round series.
LA claimed a 2-0 lead at home on San Jose then scored two goals in the opening 13 minutes in Spartan Stadium for a seemingly insurmountable four-goal aggregate advantage. The Earthquakes rallied before the home fans to take a 3-2 lead in the game then tied the aggregate in the 90th minute before winning the series in the sixth minute of sudden-death overtime.
"I'd still like to see it where away goals count double but that goes back to my Galaxy days when if (road) goals counted double we would have been through against San Jose," Schmid said earlier this week when asked about the playoff system.
Current Crew players Ezra Hendrickson and Alejandro Moreno were with Schmid on the MLS Cup team in 2001 and see subtle differences in their boss over the years.
"He's always been a good coach. That's still evident but he's letting his players play a lot more. He's a very structured guy," Hendrickson said. "He still has his structure but mainly it has to do with the guys we have on the team like Robbie Rogers, (Emmanuel) Ekpo, (Guillermo Barros) Schelotto and (Eddie) Gaven.
"He lets them use their creativity but still in the framework of what he wants to do. He's allowed them to play a lot more and the team's set up to allow those guys on the wings to use their talents. In that aspect he's changed."
Moreno still sees a fiery bit more judicious coach.
"He's mellowed a little bit but when he wants to crack the whip and get our attention he can go back into the locker room and find what he's been capable of doing in the past," he said. "He can get mad when he needs to get the best out of his players at key moments."
Hendrickson agrees. "He's an intense guy," he said. "Over the years, maybe because he's gotten older, he's relaxed more. He lets things happen. He knows how to get players to believe in him and what he's trying to do. That's one of the greatest aspects of his style."
Schmid's playoff experience was evident in Game 1. The Crew trailed 1-0 late on the narrow field that left little room for maneuvering. Brute force was winning over style but the Crew had the advantage when the Wizards' Herculez Gomez was ejected in the 75th minute.
Instead of going to the bench for veteran forward Pat Noonan, Schmid opted to bring in rookie Steven Lenhart in the 83rd minute. Ten minutes later, Lenhart was at the top of the of the box and struck for the tying goal.
"It was a very good substitution," Hesmer said. "Sigi had the feel of the game right on. It was a small game, an ugly game, especially after we got up a man. We had to make it a fight in the box. There's no better sub for us than Steven coming in and throwing his body around."
As the Crew preps for Saturday's match, the training routine has been unchanged from the regular season.
"It's important going into the playoffs that things remain the same. A lot of guys change a lot of things. You always change things a little bit at practice just to keep the guys interested but you're always working on the same things," Schmid said. "All of a sudden teams decide to travel a day earlier or they practice at a different time. The main thing is to keep the team fresh and alert, mentally into it and happy."
It's a formula the players hope will make for a long playoff run.
"He's won wherever he's been," Hendrickson said. "This is nothing new for him."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
