Press Release wrote
Crew’s Sigi Schmid Named MLS Coach of the Year
Tuesday, Nov. 11 , 2008
Major League Soccer announced today that Crew head coach Sigi Schmid has been named the 2008 MLS Coach of the Year, which is awarded to the coach who earns the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches and members of the media. It makes Schmid just the second coach in MLS history to win the award more than once. He previously won it in 1999 with the L.A. Galaxy and joins Bob Bradley (1998, 2006) in that exclusive club. He also becomes the second coach in club history to win the prestigious accolade, joining Greg Andrulis (2004).
Under the direction of the highly-decorated Schmid, the 2008 regular season was one of the best in Crew history, as the Black & Gold went 17-7-6 and shattered the club record for points in a season (57), eclipsing the 2004 Supporters� Shield-winning squad that earned 49. Columbus also set new club marks for wins and goals (50) in the post-shootout era (since 2000). In addition, based on points earned in the standings per game played, the Crew�s 2008 regular season (1.90 ppg) ranks as the fifth most successful in MLS history after the 1998 Los Angeles Galaxy (2.13), 2001 Miami Fusion (2.04), 2005 San Jose Earthquakes (2.00) and 2001 Chicago Fire (1.96).
While leading the Crew to the 2008 Supporters� Shield trophy, Schmid also achieved a pair of new personal milestones this season, as he notched his 100th career MLS victory on April 26 � making him only the second coach in MLS history to reach that milestone � and the club�s 17 wins set a new single-season career-high, one more than his 2002 MLS Cup-champion Los Angeles Galaxy squad. Schmid�s influence is underscored by the fact that only Frankie Hejduk, Duncan Oughton and Visa Defender of the Year Chad Marshall remain from the squad he inherited prior to the 2006 season.
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