Curtin wins Sigi Schmid award - Philadelphia boss narrowly beats Nancy
Jim Curtin has won the 2022 Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year award by the narrowest of margins. The Philadelphia Union bench boss beat out CF Montréal head coach Wilfried Nancy with 0.1% of the average vote from the media, players, and head coaches. Curtin received 23.57% of the vote and Nancy 23.47% of the vote. Ultimately, the Transfermarkt numbers show that both would have been deserving of the title.
Both Curtin and Nancy have done an excellent job with very limited resources this season. Curtin has carried his Philadelphia Union to the top of the Eastern Conference standings with a club-record 67 regular season points. The Union also have reached the Eastern Conference final, where they will face New York City FC for a spot in the MLS Cup final (the vote was carried out before the start of the playoffs). The Union also had a goal differential of +46 with a club record 72 goals scored and just 26 goals conceded in 34 games, despite spending only $2.8m on new players this offseason (overview).
Going deep with a lack of spending is one of the major parallels between the Union and Montréal. Nancy finished second with Montréal in the Eastern Conference with 65 points. Like the Union, Montréal are considered a low-budget team. Despite being owned by the Saputo family, Montréal have spent just $1.9 million on new players this offseason (overview).
Montréal and Philadelphia defy trends - Spending does not mean success
The most expensive acquisition was Alistair Johnston; the Canadian men's national team player was acquired for $1m in General Allocation Money (GAM) from Nashville SC, and has since increased his market value from €2.5m to €4m. Transfermarkt understands that he is being heavily scouted by European clubs. Then there is the development of Ismaël Koné. Under Nancy, Koné has increased his market value to €4m, has been linked with a move to Europe, and will likely feature at the World Cup despite only turning professional this last winter.
Curtin, in the meantime, has resurrected the career of Julián Carranza, and in $1.8m signing, Dániel Gazdag has found a gem, who managed to score 22 goals and six assists in 34 MLS regular season games. Furthermore, Curtin has a track record of developing talent; the most prominent example is US men's national team star, Brenden Aaronson. Ultimately, both clubs highlighted this season that success in MLS is possible without breaking the bank but rather through long-term and meticulous work.
- Date of Birth/Age:
- 23.06.1979 (44)
- Nat.:
- Current club:
- Philadelphia Union
- Current Position:
- Manager
- Contract until:
- Dec 31, 2026
- In charge since:
- Jan 1, 2015
- Date of Birth/Age:
- 09.04.1977 (47)
- Nat.:
- Current club:
- Columbus Crew
- Current Position:
- Manager
- In charge since:
- Dec 6, 2022
- Total Market Value:
- €35.45m
- Competition:
- Major League Soccer
- Manager:
- Laurent Courtois
- Squad size:
- 29
- Latest Transfer:
- Alessandro Biello
- Total Market Value:
- €53.00m
- Competition:
- Major League Soccer
- Manager:
- Jim Curtin
- Squad size:
- 30
- Latest Transfer:
- Cavan Sullivan