TUKWILA, Wash. — Tuesday marked the first day of the Seattle Sounders’ 2017 preseason training, and with it the inaugural day of Brian Schmetzer’s first full year in charge of the MLS club.
Now forever embedded in Seattle lore, former assistant coach Schmetzer took over as interim head coach in late July last year when the team was in ninth place in the Western Conference. He then led Seattle to an improbable playoff berth that culminated in the Sounders’ first MLS Cup title and a removal of the interim tag.
So what does the new head coach think of being in charge to start the year?