Brian Schmetzer‘s memories of his first World Cup are clouded by time, by youth, by perspective that has grown as he has climbed the ranks of American soccer, first as a player, then as a coach, most notably guiding his hometown Seattle Sounders FC to two MLS Cup championships and — the first U.S. team to win in the modern era — this year’s CONCACAF Champions League title.
 
Schmetzer, 60, the son of German immigrants, grew up playing for teams coached by his father, Walter, who took the Lake City Hawks to West Germany during the 1974 World Cup. His most vibrant memory wasn’t of his ancestral land’s title-game upset over Johan Cruyff and the Netherlands’ marvelous “Total Soccer.”
 
“That was when East Germany and West Germany were separate countries,” he told Soccer America during a conversation Tuesday about the World Cup in Qatar. “And so we’re kicking the ball around in my father’s hometown [Niedernhall, in Baden-Württemberg], you know, kind of a city square. “East Germany upset West Germany, 1-0 [in a first-group-stage game]. And we’re kicking the ball around.
 
“And all of a sudden, this man from the second story opened his window and threw his TV out the window. And as 12-year-old kids, we’re going, ‘Holy smokes, what’s this crazy guy doing?’ And we had to ask our parents and, you know, later in life, I could reflect on that moment and just the passion, the competitiveness, passion, whatever you want to call it, between sporting countries, sports in general.
 
“It was a pretty pivotal, pivotal moment in my life about understanding how important sports is to a lot of people.”
 
Schmetzer has lived that passion ever since, as a youth with those Lake City Hawks teams, 15 years as a professional player and 24 years as a coach, with the Sounders since 2002. His memory of the ’74 championship game is spotty.
 
“We were a little bit too young,” he said. “I know we visited the Munich stadium, like, two days after the final. We got a tour and somehow were able to stand there as people were still cleaning up cups and things. And that’s what I remember. But I still have those books for each Cup, where you could put stickers of players and teams and stuff like that. I always go back and read through some of those teams and memories.”
 
Schmetzer, who was a month or so shy of his 12th birthday while in Germany, played alongside Kazimierz Deyna, the star of Poland’s third-place team in 1974, for three seasons with the indoor San Diego Sockers. Deyna finished third, behind Cruyff and West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer in the Ballon d’Or vote in ’74.
 
“I learned a lot from him. And he was a great man,” Schmetzer said. “That was an interesting little touch point, that I watched him play back in ’74, then actually got to play with him.”
 
Schmetzer shared his thoughts on the tournament in Qatar, the United States’ performance, Concacaf’s struggles, the teams and players that most impressed him, and some of the trends and storylines that have emerged the past few weeks.
 
SOCCER AMERICA: What been your take on this World Cup? What stands out to you?
 
BRIAN SCHMETZER: I don’t know, you can talk about the African countries doing really well. You can talk about the whole public narrative of the U.S. team. You’ve got Germany being ousted. You’ve still got the favorites, France and Brazil [in the quarterfinals]. I don’t know if Argentina has enough, but [Lionel] Messi is a good story. I was just watching the Portugal [romp over Switzerland], and what a big decision for the coach to insert a young kid [Gonçalo Ramos, in place of Cristiano Ronaldo], and he delivers — and the reception that Ronaldo got [when he came on in the 74th minute]. There are just so many storylines in the World Cup, so many good ones — well, bad ones if you’re Spain or Germany.
 
SA: It’s one of the most exciting World Cups I can remember.
 
BRIAN SCHMETZER: I would 100 percent agree. I can’t remember all the games back in Brazil [in 2014], but I think some of these games have been tremendous.

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