The struggling LA Galaxy announced Thursday that head coach Curt Onalfo was fired and replaced by Sigi Schmid, who will be making his second appearance at the Galaxy helm.
The Galaxy — mired in ninth place in the 11-team Major League Soccer Western Conference standings with a record of six wins, 10 losses and four ties — will introduce Schmid at a 2 p.m. news conference at the StubHub Center.
Schmid — who led the Galaxy to the MLS championship in 2002 and compiled a 79-53-32 record with the team between 1999 and 2004 — is the winningest coach in MLS history with 254 victories, including titles with the Galaxy in 2002 and in 2008 with the Columbus Crew.
Schmid also won big as head coach of the UCLA men’s soccer program in 1980-1999, leading his alma mater to a 322-63-33 record. He was National Collegiate Athletic Association coach of the year in 1997.
“After a great deal of evaluation and careful consideration, we believe that Sigi Schmid is the best person to coach our team for the remainder of the season and into the future,” Galaxy President Chris Klein said. “Sigi is one of the most experienced coaches in the history of soccer in the United States and he is an extremely successful manager. We have full confidence in him to lead our team moving forward.”
Most recently, Schmid piloted the MLS’ Seattle Sounders from 2009 until last season.
