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Dispatch

Michael Arace commentary: If Schmid moves on, Crew can kick itself

Saturday, November 29, 2008 3:04 AM
By Michael Arace


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Barring a radical change in the status quo, Sigi Schmid is leaving Columbus to coach elsewhere, probably in Seattle. Why is he leaving? The answer is complicated, but the simplest way to put it is that Crew management let him get away.
At the start of the Major League Soccer season, general manager Mark McCullers was thinking more about when to fire Schmid. The Crew was coming off three playoff-less seasons and its season-ticket base was being threatened. Word was the coach had a 10-game window to keep his job.
By midsummer, Schmid had his players thinking about the conference title, the Supporters' Shield, even the MLS Cup. Also by then, Schmid had done a hands-on job of strengthening the bonds between the denizens of the Nordecke and the team. On the field and in the stands, the Crew was being revived -- looking better than ever -- and Schmid was the primary resuscitator.

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