Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer has made no secret of what he considers the biggest challenge of his first full year as a Major League Soccer head coach: Avoiding the complacency that creeps in when you win a championship.
It’s a well-known caution sign that the last two MLS Cup champions failed to even make the playoffs the following year. Schmetzer barely had a few hours to savor his team’s win over Toronto FC last month when he was already worrying about how he’d go about repeating the feat.
“The biggest positive is they’re all energetic, they’re all happy to be back out playing soccer,” Schmetzer said following the team’s Wednesday morning workout in Tukwila.