MARISSA FLORES / SEATTLESPORTSONLINE.COM

BY TODD DYBAS / SEATTLESPORTSONLINE.COM

All the wrangling over, Sounders FC has its coach.

Former Columbus Crew coach Sigi Schmid was introduced Tuesday morning as the first coach of the expansion Sounders FC.

Schmid, 55, comes to the Sounders as the 2008 MLS Coach of the Year. After a coaching search that surpassed a self-imposed deadline of Nov. 24, and a process that led to Columbus filing tampering charges against Seattle, which were unfounded according to the league, Schmid officially sat at Qwest Field.

"In my visit up here to see what this club is doing behind the scenes: the organization, the structure, the commitment to the community and the commitment to the sport of soccer is beyond what’s happening anywhere in this entire country," Schmid said. "That’s something that I was very excited to be associated with."

The German-born, California-raised Schmid brings a winning pedigree. Schmid won three collegiate titles while the head coach at UCLA, the same school he played midfield for from 1972-75. He had success as the head coach of the L.A. Galaxy from 1999-2004, winning the MLS Cup in 2002. Schmid was fired midseason in 2004 though the Galaxy were in first place and led the league in scoring. With Columbus, he took over in 2006. The club finished sixth that season and the next, then won the MLS Cup this past year.

Schmid is a firm believer the players make the coach, not the other way around. But he thinks it's up to the coach, among others, to identify then mold talent.

"I remember people saying to me when I was at UCLA, 'Well, it's easy to recruit at UCLA when you get the best players,' " Schmid said. "And I said, 'Well, do I have to recruit bad players to prove I'm a good coach?' I don't think so.

"You try and find the best players that you can. Character is a very important element in that regard. How together a team if off the field. How good the locker room atmosphere is. Those are things that are important."

The new coach made it through a handful of sentences before he started crying at the press conference.

Schmid was overcome with emotion when he talked about the benefit of being close to his brother, who is a Seattle resident. Their mother passed away when Sigi was 23, his younger brother, 13.

"We've always had a special bond," Schmid said, then pausing to gather himself. "As you can tell, I'm an emotional guy."

Sounders FC management has an extended bond with Schmid. Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer said he's known Schmid for 10 years. Sounders Technical Director Chris Henderson said he has known Schmid for around 20 years, going back to his UCLA playing days. Hanauer said during the interview process, one candidate stood out from the rest.

"This process started in earnest three or four months ago," Hanauer said of the coaching search. "We narrowed the list down to roughly 10 candidates, maybe six of those we had extremely in-depth conversation with."

Schmid was the most recent and final conversation. "We've been able to wait and hire, in our minds, the best coach in Major League Soccer."

There's even one more Seattle twist to Schmid's arrival. He coached David Sarkisian, the brother of new Washington football head coach Steve Sarkisian, in Torrance, Calif.

"I'm from a big soccer family and my brother played on a couple teams for coach," Steve Sarkisian said. "It's kind of a weird way this all comes together."

Schmid's hiring means former Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer, the other finalist, was passed over. According to a source close to the team, Schmetzer is likely to be named an assistant. Schmid himself addressed Schmetzer's situation.

“That’s something that we’re evaluating," Schmid said. "Brian Schmetzer is somebody that has been with the Sounders organization for a long time. I’ve known Brian for a lot of years. I feel very comfortable with him. In terms of his situation, that’s a decision that I want to make fairly quickly here. He’s somebody that I have a lot of respect for, and he’s had a lot of success in the A-league level.”

Todd Dybas is the editor of Seattlesportsonline.com. He can be reached via e-mail at tdybas@seattlesportsonline.com