Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei believes one reason the team is thriving under Brian Schmetzer is that he has given players the power to control their own destiny.
Frei, 30, has been with Seattle since 2014 and had a good vantage point to watch the team's stunning climb from the depths of the Western Conference standings in July when Schmetzer took over following the dismissal of Sigi Schmid, to the Sounders' position now, just one game away from hoisting the MLS Cup trophy.
Even though Schmetzer sat next to Schmid for the entirety of his tenure with Seattle, his voice in the locker room became fresh and new once he took over. It was respected, in part, because Schmetzer gave ownership to his players.
"He's given us the team in a way," Frei said. "Some players may not even realize this but it's a huge sign of respect that a coach shows the players when he kind of does that.
"When he says, `I'm the chaperone but this is your guys' team. I will guide you the best that I can but you guys will make the decisions. You guys will be the ones going to battle.'
"For me it's a huge sign of respect he shows the players and I think when players get that feeling they immediately want to repay that respect."
And repay it they have, overcoming the odds after their coach was fired and the team's top striker Clint Dempsey was ruled out for the remainder of the 2016 season with a heart condition.
Now, just days away from facing Toronto FC in the MLS Cup finals (Saturday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. ET), Schmetzer is hard at work getting ready for the biggest matches of his career and is hopeful his dream run since taking over the team will continue.
"It always has the opportunity to get better, starting with we put ourselves in the position to have the opportunity to win an MLS Cup," said Schmetzer, a Seattle native who had the interim tag removed from his title in early November. "I'm proud of that. But hopefully, we'll all be around here for a few more years and we'll continue to build on those opportunities to create the moments to create the chances to win more."
Schmetzer, 54, is entwined with Seattle's soccer history. He's been a star player in previous generations of Seattle soccer franchises; a coach with earlier incarnations of the Sounders at lower levels of American soccer; and an assistant coach for the first seven-and-a-half years of the MLS franchise.
Now he's the man in charge of leading a remarkable midseason turnaround that has Seattle on the cusp of an unlikely first league championship and the biggest soccer moment in the city's history with the sport.
"I think because of the story of our year you might have some traction there," Schmetzer said. "But I think there have been some big moments. Winning the Supporters' Shield in [2014], that team was really good. Again it's kind of by era. The championships we won in [2005] and [2007] were pretty big for that moment in time. The [1995] team for their moment, the Soccer Bowl appearance in [1982].
"It's all kind of relative to the era that we're kind of playing in. But this one is pretty big."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.