LA Galaxy Wants To Be On Top – Always but Just Not This Year
LA Galaxy is one of the most honored teams in American soccer. This was just not a good year for the MLS team.
Soccer News: When Sigi Schmid joined the LA Galaxy as Head Coach in July 2017, the world was envious.
It was supposed to be a great season for the club.
The MLS Cup Champions in 2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, and 2014, the LA Galaxy have won the U.S. Open Cup twice, the Supporters’ Shield four times, and earned the title of Western Conference Champions seven times.
The Galaxy is one of the top clubs in the USA, and one that other MLS clubs are measured against. From Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, David Beckham, Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and now Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Galaxy have always had the biggest names in the game.
Schmid has an equally decorated list of accomplishments. A UCLA player turned one of the most successful collegiate coaches ever, Schmid was also successful on the MLS front, earning MLS Coach of the Year in 1999 with the Galaxy, and in 2008 with Columbus Crew before helping launch the Seattle Sounders FC and serving as their head coach. Although never becoming a professional soccer player himself, Schmid has shaped American soccer on many levels. In fact, Schmid entered the National Soccer Hall of Fame as a Builder in 2015 after 35 years of coaching soccer.
According to U.S. Soccer, Schmid is the winningest coach in the MLS.
The legedary German-born soccer coach and the club were going to create history.
But it went all wrong.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to step away from coaching at this time, but would like to remain in the game,” said Schmid in his announcement back on September 19, 2018.
So what happened?
It has been over a month since Schmid stepped down as LA Galaxy head coach and there is no definitive answer – and the team has not performed better.
Soccer fans know that since Bruce Arena left, after coaching the team for eight years, the Galaxy’s light has shinned less bright.
In trouble ever since Arena left to take over the U.S. Men’s National Team, the club has suffered a lack of leadership that Scmidt was supposed to solve.
Were the Galaxy players that unhappy with Schmid? Why couldn’t he turn around the long, 6-game winless streak? With rumors of struggles with the front office, did Schmid never gain the support he needed? When he replaced Curt Onalfo, what were his goals and how did the winningest coach lead his team to finish with 48 points in 7th place in the Western Conference? Just for comparison, Sporting Kansas City is in first place with 62 points.
According to the LA Times, President Chris Klein said: “After long discussions with Sigi, we made the collective decision and Sigi decided to step down, We all feel that this was in the best interests of Sigi and the club, for both the short and long term.”
The official story is that the split was mutual, even if the timing was questionable and abrupt. The official word is that the split was a ‘collective’ decision. Privately, there is talk of clashes with Ibrahimovic, their international star forward who signed on March 23, 2018, with Targeted Allocation Money.
Since Schmid’s departure, his assistant, Dominic Kinnear, has taken over the team as LA Galaxy Interim Head Coach. Kinnear has won two MLS Cups and recorded 166 wins, the third most in the league’s history. But it didn’t help.
The LA Galaxy loss to Houston Dynamo on October 28th ends the sordid season of underachievement and coaching changes.
The Galaxy hosted Houston surrounded by loyal fans and enjoyed a clear lead in the first half but failed to defend in the second half, allowing three goals to be scored. The final score was Houston 3-2 over Galaxy. The worst part? Before the game ever started, Houston was already eliminated and gained nothing with the win, except bragging rights.
It is hard to imagine having Ibrahimovic on your roster and failing to qualify for the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs.
LA Galaxy v Houston Goals
- 27′ – LA – Ola Kamara | WATCH
- 30′ – LA – Ola Kamara | WATCH
- 57′ – HOU – Romell Quioto | WATCH
- 73′ – HOU – Mauro Manotas (PK) | WATCH
- 79′ – HOU – Mauro Manotas | WATCH
Obviously, this season was too far gone for the Galaxy to be saved by any coach, regardless of the number of wins in his record book.
The only really good news is this is the end, and fans can now look forward to a fresh start next season.
