Schmid grateful for new chance at MLS Cup here; a chance Alonso may not get

Coach Sigi Schmid and three of his players -- Stefan Frei, Brad Evans and Cristian Roldan -- met with the media at the Sounders’ Pioneer Square offices this afternoon, looking back at the 2015 season, and ahead to 2016.

Some highlights:

* Schmid said he found out that he would return as coach at the same time everyone else did: GM Garth Lagerwey’s announcement Thursday at the Alliance annual meeting from the stage of the Paramount Theatre. “It wasn’t anything I was worried about,” he said. “... I know one day my time here is going to end. Hopefully it will continue on, and what I’m most appreciate of is being able to have another opportunity to bring this elusive thing called the MLS Cup to our club.”

* Schmid praised defensive midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, but admitted he doesn’t know if Alonso will return for an eighth season with the club.

* Even in general Schmid said this is going to be “the toughtest year for players across MLS, adding “the middle-income players are going to get squeezed out at various teams,” and “there’s going to be a group of players, and then they’re going to be supported by a group of young players underneath.”

*Schmid added that’s a change he expects to take place with the Sounders, echoing the earlier remarks by general manager Garth Lagerwey that the Sounders have to become faster.

*Schmid said Obafemi Martins just had a bad final game. “I don’t think it was so much breaking down,” Schmid said, “Because we had a week to prepare for the game. He had an off game. It happens.”

* The club wants to end the rotating door at left back.

* Frei has been named Sounders defensive player of the year.

* The club is expected to report to 2016 camp around Jan. 25 -- along with all other MLS teams. No extra time is allowed for teams like the Sounders who need to prepare for CONCACAF Champions League.

And below, some direct quotes:

Coach SIGI SCHMID

Opening statement:

“It was an eventful season. It was a season of some peaks and a big valley in the middle of it. It was the most unusual season I’ve been in, in that regard. We caught ourselves at the end and started to get some good results and put ourselves in position to advance to the conference finals.”

On coaching next season:

“I signed a contract last year that was a three-year contract. With contracts in professional sports, I have been around it long enough, all it means is that they have to pay you out if they tell you to go. It doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to be here. I always want to give ownership -- and ownership has been great -- that prerogative that if they want to make a change or need to make a change, it’s open to them. I am never presumptuous in terms of assuming that I am going to be here. Obviously my expectation is that I am going to be here. My thoughts after the game weren’t pleasant thoughts, it took me a day or two to recover, but then my thoughts are always, ˜What can we do to get better?”

On the offseason:

“This is probably going to be the most eventful offseason in MLS history. This is going to be the toughest year for players. I think there will be more middle-income players that will get squeezed out by various teams, and I think what you’re going to see in a lot of teams is a group of players who are supported by a lot of young players underneath. For us, that’s going to be a change that will take place on our roster. I think we’ve got to become faster. I think that’s something for our team. There has been a big thing made about -- young and old -- but all I know is there are types of players: good players and bad players. Obviously, if you can’t run then you move from the category of good player to bad player. I think we have a number of good players on our team -- age doesn’t matter -- but I do think we have to become faster, we have to become a little more athletic in key parts of the field, and we have to do a better job at keeping possession while moving forward as a group. I think we did that very well early in the season. Even though we were winning games at the end of the season, we never really found that rhythm like we had in the beginning of the year.”

On working with ownership and Garth Lagerwey:

“I think Garth and I are working together. We are partners in this moving forward. The organization always been -- Adrian [Hanauer] has set that tone, along with Joe [Roth] -- based on upon we. It has always been a collective decision, and the realization for myself that at the end of the day I have to give the OK to the players that we have. As coach, sometimes you’re very insistent on certain aspects. On other aspects, you could maybe go either way, but I also realize the situation is dealing with the salary cap ¦and how to move forward from there.”

On where the team can improve:

“Obviously we are looking at different areas, different positions. We have had a rotating door at left back. I think that is something we need to solidify. I also think we need to look at our depth at midfield and we need to make sure we solidify that, and adding pace on the outside is important.”

Captain/defender BRAD EVANS

On the season:

“I think, personally, there were a few ups and downs, but it was a good season making the transition to center back and sticking with it. I was pleased with how it went, but most importantly is how the team does. I would rather sit on the bench and watch the team win MLS Cup than play in any games. I am always wearing it on my sleeve. Team-wise was a tale of a couple different parts of the season, it was a bit of a roller coaster, and it was basically how the last game ended – a couple of highs, a couple of lows and just so close in certain occasions. We made the playoffs, and that is all fine and dandy, but at the end of the day we are still seeking the elusive MLS Cup.”

On watching the last game from home:

“Yeah it’s the worst part, it’s the worst part. Sitting at home, and my feet were freezing cold but I was dripping sweat. That’s just passion and wanting to see the team succeed more than anything. Obviously it was difficult to sit at home and watch. You want to be out there, you want to lace up the boots, you want to battle with everybody, but you’ve got to be the team’s biggest cheerleader at that point and do what you can to send positive vibes.”

On playing multiple positions all over the field this season:

“It is what it is. It’s the gift and the curse of being versatile. When two or three guys go down injured at one position, the logical choice is to put the fourth-fifth guy in and sometimes that happens to be me at multiple positions. You do as you’re told and put your head down and work. Is it nice to have a rhythm and be consistent and play one position? Of course, but the reality is the way I see the game and the way I play the game is, knowing now 10 years into [my career], that’s never going to happen.”

On what he has to improve going into next season:

“I think strength – playing against a guy like [Portland Timbers forward Fanendo] Adi was difficult in certain situations. Speed on the turn; overall speed is okay, but I think speed on the turn [can be improved]. I think my reading the game is pretty good. Passing out of the back and long balls can always be improved. Overall, I think strength is a big part of being a good center back. Not always, but it gives you an advantage in certain situations. When [Montreal Impact forward Didier] Drogba comes into town, you saw at the end of the year, that’s his whole game. Trying to improve in that area is something that I’ll definitely do.”

Goalkeeper STEFAN FREI

On being voted Sounders FC Defender of the Year by his teammates:

“I appreciate it, but it’s a team effort. Most of the time, when you talk about defense you look at the back four plus goaltender, but we’ve been talking about a striker being our first defender and a goalkeeper being our first attacker. I think we did an exceptional job defensively from the front all the way to the back, which is why we were able to limit opponents to not too many shots, not too many goal-scoring opportunities and we were able to keep the ball out of the net fairly decently. Thanks to all those guys -- and that doesn’t just go for Tye Mears and Chad Marshall and Brad Evans -- but also all the way up to Oba [Martins] and Clint [Dempsey], too. When they’re hustling and working their butt off to deny entry passes, it makes our job a lot easier.”

On evaluating his season and setting a number of career highs:

“Still disappointed, obviously, that we weren’t able to get a shot at the trophy at the end there, but I was happy with my consistency. I think as a goalkeeper you always want t keep your consistency at the highest level possible, which will be one of my goals next year, too, to raise that and still maintain consistency. For me personally, I made a couple of decent saves here and there, but I didn’t have too many blunders this year, either, which is decent. I had individual goals set for me, as well. I wanted to make sure there was a set number of games I would play and stay healthy. Obviously with the shoulder injury, it was something I didn’t live up to, but I was still able to play a significant amount of minutes. Distribution was a huge thing for us, too, to try to start picking out players rather than launch the ball up blindly. It’s still something to improve on and get better. I was pleased, but still a lot of areas to improve.”

On how he thinks the defense can improve next season:

“Defensively, if we can match this year next year, we’ll probably be pleased. We were about a goal a game -- a goal against average of one, I think it was. Like I said, there are some really good teams offensively out there. For us to be leading MLS in that stat is really good. Obviously there is always room to improve. But like I said, I was very pleased with our squad defensively this season.”

Midfielder CRISTIAN ROLDAN

On looking back at his rookie season:

“For me, individually, it was a good rookie season. I gained a lot of confidence moving forward [and] a lot of experience. Hopefully I can translate that to next year.”

On where he can improve:

“Obviously my technical ability can always get better, and I think my awareness on the field and making the right decisions. Next year I might play a different role, and every year is different, but those things stay the same.”

On if his rookie season was what he expected:

“No, not at all. When I got drafted I was expecting to play a little bit with S2 and hopefully make 18 a couple of times. Obviously, I think my role was a lot better than I anticipated, but I had the same mindset.”

On looking ahead:

“Yeah, but at the same time you have bring that experience back to the team. I am a 20-year-old rookie, and next year I will have a year under my belt and three playoff games. I have to include that in the way I play and hopefully I will be a bigger contribution to the team.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Schmid grateful for new chance at MLS Cup here; a chance Alonso may not get."