Major League Soccer announced Friday that its annual coach of the year award would be named after Sigi Schmid, the former UCLA and Galaxy coach who passed away last month at 65 as he was awaiting a heart transplant.
Schmid, who guided the Galaxy to the first of their five MLS Cups in 2002, is the winningest coach in league history with 266 regular-season and postseason victories. He also won a league title with the Columbus Crew in 2008 and took the Seattle Sounders to the playoffs in each of the team’s first seven seasons.
“Sigi was an important part of our league from the very early years in our history and he had a significant impact on everyone he touched throughout his life and coaching career,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.