Canales Daily: Messing with Success

By Andrea Canales

One thing that seemed clearly evident when Sigi Schmid was leading the Columbus Crew to the best record in Major League Soccer was how wise Crew management had been to wait out the rough patch that started his tenure with the Ohio team. It was in stark contrast to the way Schmid had been treated in his last MLS coaching gig, when he was fired from the Los Angeles Galaxy less than two years after guiding that club to their first-ever championship.

The trust placed in Schmid paid off handsomely when the Crew fought their way through the unforgiving playoff format and claimed the championship. It seemed to mirror the trust that Schmid had placed in his top player, midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

Never as heralded as other signings from Argentina, such as Marcelo Gallardo or Claudio Lopez, let alone big-name arrivals such as David Beckham, Schelotto was nevertheless far more effective. With his deft passes and game-changing set piece service, Schelotto was easily deserving of both of the Most Valuable Player trophies awarded him in 2008, for the regular season and the championship final.

Yet Bogie and Bacall, Watson and Crick, even Federline and Spears seem destined to register longer, if not more fruitful, collaborations than Schmid and Schelotto.

For all the farsighted wisdom displayed by the Crew in being patient with Schmid, there seems to have been little concrete effort made to retain his services. Not only was Schmid not re-signed during the Crew's excellent season, but he has recently been in Seattle, negotiating with the Seattle Sounders.

It makes perfect sense that the Sounders would want a steady hand like Schmid's at the wheel of their fledgling enterprise.

It boggles the mind as to why Schmid would leave a team he struggled so hard to build up for an unproven expansion club that plays on an artificial surface in cavernous Qwest Field.

Yes, Seattle may be in the same time zone as Schmid's hometown of Torrance, California, but any visit to his family there would still require a plane ride. The hassle factor is almost the same as coming out from Ohio.

Given the Crew's history of penny-pinching, though, one can surmise quite easily other factors in play. There is a salary cap that MLS teams are bound to apply to the players they sign, but it does not affect coaches. Organizations are free to offer coaches what they wish. The Crew apparently wish to pay far less than the Sounders are willing to offer Schmid.

Of course Schmid is going to feel loyal to the Crew. Money talks, however, and if it's telling Schmid that Columbus doesn't really value him, it's not surprising that he's listening to other offers.

Columbus is to be commended for their recent decision to "show the money", as the over-worn phrase goes, to Schelotto, who will return to the Crew in 2009. It is taking a gamble, though, to assume the Crew's act will be successful without Schmid, the man who brought the whole spectacle together.

Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com USA