Brian Thomas 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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach and former professional player. He is the head coach of

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

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

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German soccer coach. Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his family when he was a child. He played college soccer from 1972 to 1975 at the U ...

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

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

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

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, Major Indoor Soccer League and

Western Soccer League The 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 ...

for various Seattle teams.

Early life

Schmetzer was born and grew up in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 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 Seattle Sounders 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 Foot ...

, 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 at Jack Murphy Stadium. 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 for the 1983–84 NASL indoor season, but later filed for free agency. However, the league collapsed at the end of the season.

Indoor

Schmetzer moved again, this time to the San Diego Sockers. 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 league and won 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 of the Western Soccer Alliance. 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 and

Walt Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter (name), Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Anderson (American football) (born 1952), American football official * 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 began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Stars while also playing. Schmetzer played for the St. Louis Storm of the MISL for the 1990–91 season. At the end of the season in April 1991, he retired from playing; during his indoor career, Schmetzer played 415 matches and scored 67 goals. In 1994, he came out of retirement to sign a one-year contract with the expansion Seattle Sounders 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. ...

. 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 ...

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.

United Soccer League

After the 2001 season, the Seattle Sounders 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 is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

. 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 (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

in penalty kicks 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 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 The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

and

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

, 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 Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

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 Sounders would win their first

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

on December 10, 2016, defeating

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

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 association football, soccer match was hosted at BMO Field in Toronto ...

, Schmetzer publicly set a goal for the Sounders to host an MLS Cup final in Seattle, which would be accomplished two seasons later. Schmetzer said," Great coaches see the full person first, the athlete second. They understand that wins come and losses go, but the lives they shape endure. Master that balance and you lift others beyond constraints.". 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, in which the Sounders became the first MLS team to win the competition, and the first to win any continental championship since 2000. It was the sixth competition final that the Sounders had played in the seven MLS seasons Schmetzer had coached the team. Schmetzer earned his 100th MLS win on April 1, 2023, against the

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

in the regular season. It was his 212th match in charge and made him the third-fastest coach in league history to reach 100 victories behind

Bob Bradley Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American association football, soccer coach, who most recently managed Norwegian football team Stabæk Fotball, Stabæk fron 2023 - 2024. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton Universi ...

and Bruce Arena—both during the shootout era.

Coaching record

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

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

, and

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

matches.

Personal life

Schmetzer lives in Seattle with his wife Kirstine. They have six children and several grandchildren.

Honors

Manager

Seattle Sounders (USL) * USL:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* Commissioner's Cup:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, 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 60 ...

*USL A-League Pacific Division:

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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 t ...

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

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

; runner-up:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

; runner-up:

*Cascadia Cup: 2011, 2015 Seattle Sounders FC *

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

; runner-up:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

*Western Conference:

: runner-up:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

*Cascadia Cup: 2018, 2019, 2021

References

External links

Sounders bio

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmetzer, Brian 1962 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American people of German descent Continental Indoor Soccer League players Seattle Storm (soccer) players Major League Soccer head 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 (1978–1996) indoor 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 head 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 Sports coaches from Washington (state) Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders 20th-century American sportsmen