Brian Schmetzer (born August 18, 1962) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach and retired player. He is the head coach of the

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

, who play in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

(MLS), having been assistant coach for the team until

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American soccer coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his fa ...

's departure in 2016. Prior to that, he coached the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

for seven seasons, winning two championships, and played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league ba ...

, Major Indoor Soccer League and

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

for various Seattle teams.

Early life

Schmetzer was born and grew up in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

where he attended Nathan Hale High School. He learned to play soccer under the tutelage of his father Walter, who coached him with the Lake City Hawks youth team and led them to multiple state championships. Walter, a native of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, had played in the German Third Division before immigrating to the United States in 1962, opening a sporting goods store in Lake City. Walter instilled a love for the game in Brian, who became an outstanding youth and high school player.

Professional career

NASL

After graduating from high school, Schmetzer chose to forego college and signed with the

of the

(NASL) in June 1980. He spent the 1980 season with the Sounders reserves before playing with the Sounders during the 1980–1981 NASL indoor season. In the 1981 Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup, he came on with eight minutes left in the game against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

, making his professional debut. However, he saw no time in the 1981 regular season. Schmetzer debuted during the 1982 season, playing six games, and was later elevated to regular appearances in 1983. He scored his first goal for his club on June 25, 1983, during a 2–0 win over the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadi ...

. Unfortunately, the Sounders folded at the end of the season in September 1983. During his final season with the Sounders, coach Laurie Calloway called Schmetzer a "different player han before, praising his confidence and said that he believed that Schmetzer could become one of the top American players in the league. With the demise of the Sounders, Schmetzer moved to the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

for the 1983–84 NASL indoor season, but later filed for

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

. However, the league collapsed at the end of the season.

Indoor

Schmetzer moved again, this time to the

. The Sockers had begun as an NASL franchise, but had twice spent the winter playing in Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). With the collapse of the NASL, the Sockers moved permanently to MISL. During the next decade they dominated the indoor game racking up championships nearly every season. Schmetzer was with the Sockers for four seasons, winning an MISL title in three of them. Following the Sockers championship victory in 1985, San Diego loaned Schmetzer to

F.C. Seattle FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakist ...

of the

Western Soccer Alliance Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

. The team was created in 1984 after the Sounders folded to provide local and ex-NASL players an opportunity to play outside of local rec leagues. Jimmy Gabriel coached F.C. Seattle that season. Gabriel and Schmetzer would join up again when Schmetzer became head coach of the Sounders with Gabriel as his assistant. He was joined by his younger brothers

Andy Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds * Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pia ...

and Walt in 1985, signing with the club out of high school. While Schmetzer played as a midfielder with Seattle, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over Brazilian club Santos on June 8, 1985. In August 1988, Schmetzer moved to the Tacoma Stars. While there, he both played and he began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Stars. He played for the

St. Louis Storm The St. Louis Storm was a soccer team based out of St. Louis that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played from 1989 to 1992. Their home arena was the St. Louis Arena. The mascot for the St. Louis Storm was named “Colt Flash” (1990 ...

of the MISL for the 1990–1991 season. At the end of the season, he retired. In 1994, he came out of retirement to sign a one-year contract with the expansion

of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. In 1995, he played for the Seattle SeaDogs of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pr ...

at the age of 32, after being selected in the league draft.

Coaching career

While Schmetzer began his coaching career as a player-assistant coach with the Tacoma Stars, he became a dedicated assistant coach when he moved to the Seattle SeaDogs of the

(CISL) in 1995. Fernando Clavijo coached the SeaDogs, which lasted only three seasons before the league folded. However, they did win the CISL championship their last season, 1997. Schmetzer spent a few years with the Emerald City Football Club, coaching youth soccer, while also managing a construction business shared with

Dick McCormick Dick McCormick (born September 9, 1968) is a former American soccer player and current youth soccer coach. McCormick played as a midfielder (association football), midfielder in six indoor and outdoor leagues over his fourteen-year professional ca ...

United Soccer League

After the 2001 season, the

found themselves without a head coach after firing Bernie James, their first and until then only coach.

General manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Adrian Hanauer called Schmetzer and asked him if he was interested in the job, interviewing the then-youth coach at a coffee shop on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

. Schmetzer agreed and took the job in November 2001, with the 2002 season to make his mark on the team's fortunes. During his first season as head coach, the Sounders logged a 23–4–1 record, the second-best record in A-League history, and Schmetzer was named Coach of the Year. The Sounders' record, including a 14–2–0 start, was credited to Schmetzer's use of veteran players and key free-agent signings to boost offensive capabilities. In 2004, he coached the Sounders to the A-League championship game where the team lost to the Montreal Impact. In 2005, Schmetzer again took the Sounders to the championship game (under the re-branded

), and defeated the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional ...

penalty kicks A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

to take the title. Schmetzer was a finalist for the 2007 USL-1 Coach of the Year Award. Although the team had started the season 1–3–4, they went on to claim the Commissioner's Cup for the league's best regular-season record. The team also had a 15-game unbeaten run that included MLS opponents in the U.S. Open Cup. The Sounders went on to beat the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home gam ...

4–0 to win the league championship. He amassed a 100–57–41 regular-season record in the A-League and USL-1 and lead the Sounders to two league championships and two U.S. Open Cup semifinals.

Major League Soccer

Schmetzer was a candidate for the head coach position with Seattle Sounders FC. The job eventually went to

, who had previously coached the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

and

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

, while Schmetzer took the role as the top assistant. Schmezter filled in as head coach of the team in place of Schmid on four occasions from 2009 to 2015, winning three matches and losing one. During his time as assistant coach, Schmetzer was interviewed for head coach positions at Montreal Impact in 2011 and

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

in 2013. On July 26, 2016, Schmetzer was named interim head coach of the Sounders after the departure of Sigi Schmid. He was announced as the club's permanent head coach on November 2, after leading the Sounders to the

2016 MLS Cup Playoffs The 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs (branded as the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) began on October 26, and ended on December 10 with MLS Cup 2016, the 21st league championship match for MLS. This was the 21st version of the MLS Cup ...

. The Sounders would win their first

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

on December 10, 2016, defeating

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

in a penalty shootout, and repeated as Western Conference champions the following season. After losing to Toronto FC in a rematch at

MLS Cup 2017 MLS Cup 2017 was the 22nd edition of the MLS Cup, the championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), contested between Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders FC on December 9, 2017. The soccer match was hosted at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, for the seco ...

, Schmetzer publicly set a goal for the Sounders to host an MLS Cup final in Seattle, which would be accomplished two seasons later. During the 2018 season, the Sounders started slowly once again, winning only 4 games, 5 draws, and 9 losses in the first 18 weeks. However, after a week 18 draw, the club would break the MLS record for most consecutive wins in the post-shootout era, winning nine consecutive matches before eventually losing to the Philadelphia Union on September 19. Seattle then faced the Portland Timbers in the Conference Semifinals, losing the away leg 2–1 and winning the home leg 3–2 to tie the series on aggregate after extra time. In the ensuing penalty shootout, Portland won 4–2; the home leg is considered to be one of the best playoff matches in league history due to its dramatic finish. The next season, Schmetzer led the team to a second-place finish in the Western Conference. During the playoffs, the Sounders would defeat the Supporters' Shield winning-team LAFC in the Conference Finals, leading them to face Toronto FC in the MLS Cup final for the third time in 4 years. The Sounders won the game 3-1 in front of a franchise-record 69,274 fans at CenturyLink Field. It would be Schmetzer's second MLS Cup with the team, and including the two League championships he won as manager of the USL Sounders, his fourth overall championship for Seattle. In the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Schmetzer guided his team to win 5–2 on aggregate against

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigge ...

, in which the Sounders became the first MLS team to win the competition, and the first to win any continental championship since 2000.

Coaching record

1.Team dissolved
2.Interim as assistant coach; later promoted to head coach
3.Includes league, U.S. Open Cup, playoffs, and

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

games.

Honors

Manager

Seattle Sounders (USL) * USL:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

* Commissioner's Cup:

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, 2007 * USL A-League Western Conference:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

*USL A-League Pacific Division:

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

Cascadia Cup The Cascadia Cup is the name of the trophy created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps, which is awarded each season to the best soccer team in the Pacific Northwest. The cup is named for the ...

: 2006, 2007 Seattle Sounders FC (as Assistant Coach) * U.S. Open Cup:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

; runner-up:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

* Supporters' Shield:

; runner-up: 2011 *Cascadia Cup: 2011, 2015 Seattle Sounders FC *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

; runner-up:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

*Western Conference:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual association football competition between clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX in North America. It debuted in July 2019 with four teams participating from each league. The first edition was a single-eliminati ...

: runner-up:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

*Cascadia Cup: 2018, 2019, 2021

References

External links

Sounders bio

Sounders coaches bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmetzer, Brian 1962 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American soccer players American people of German descent Continental Indoor Soccer League players Seattle Storm (soccer) players Major League Soccer coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players San Diego Sockers (original MISL) players Seattle SeaDogs players Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) coaches Seattle Sounders FC coaches St. Louis Storm players Tacoma Stars players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players USL First Division coaches Western Soccer Alliance players Soccer players from Seattle Association football forwards Association football midfielders