Columbus Crew

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Full name	Columbus Crew
Nickname(s)	The Massive, The Crew, America's Hardest Working Team
Founded	June 15, 1994
Stadium	Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio (Capacity: 20,145[1])
Owner	Clark Hunt
Head Coach	Robert Warzycha
League	Major League Soccer
2011	Eastern Conference: 4th Overall: 9th Playoffs: Wildcard
Website	Club home page
Home colors Away colors
Current season

The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS). It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception.

The club was owned by Lamar Hunt, who also owned the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City), and Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) until his death in 2006. Upon his death, his son Clark Hunt took over his sports properties. The Crew currently plays their home games at Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium ever built by an MLS franchise, with a seating capacity of 20,455 - as of the 2008 Season.^[2] From 1996 to 1998, the Crew played their home games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of the Ohio State University. The nickname "the Crew" is the result of a local fan contest. The team colors are black and gold. The team mascot is Crew Cat.

The Crew has won five major trophies: MLS Cup 2008, the 2004, 2008 and 2009 Supporters' Shields, and the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Crew won the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy by a score of 1 to 0 at Columbus Crew Stadium. The game's lone goal was scored by Freddy García. The Crew then won its first MLS Supporters' Shield during the 2004 in a tie-breaker over the Kansas City Wizards. During the 2008 MLS Season the Crew won its second Supporters' Shield by six points over Houston, en route to defeating the New York Red Bulls in MLS Cup 2008 by a score of 3 to 1. Guillermo Barros Schelotto assisted on all three Crew goals. The Crew reached the 1998 U.S. Open Cup Final, which was postponed due to a hurricane and controversially relocated from Virginia Beach to Soldier Field, then the home of Chicago Fire, who won the match 2 to 1 after extra time. The Crew lost in the 2010 U.S. Open Cup Final at Qwest Field, home of Seattle Sounders, again by a 2-1 scoreline.

History[link]

The Beginning: 1994–1998[link]

On June 15, 1994, Major League Soccer announced that Columbus, Ohio, would be home to one of the ten founding members of the new top flight North American professional soccer league. Columbus had promised construction of a soccer–specific stadium and had sold over 12,000 season ticket deposits.^[3] MLS investor Lamar Hunt, and his son Clark became the owners of both the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards in 1996. The first players for the Crew were South African national team veteran Doctor Khumalo, by assignment, and Brian McBride. McBride was selected as the first overall pick in the MLS’s first draft in 1996. Former U.S. National Team coach, Timo Liekoski would be the team's head coach for its first season.^[4][5]

The Crew played their first game on April 13, 1996 against D.C. United and won 4–0 in front of a home crowd of 25,266 in Ohio Stadium.^[6] Columbus would struggle, however, winning only 5 of their next 21 games. After the 6–16 start, Tom Fitzgerald replaced head coach Liekoski.^[7] The Crew, under Fitzgerald, won 9 of their last 10 games to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference. They went on to lose in the conference semifinals of the playoffs.^[8]

The Crew finished 15–17 in both 1997 and 1998, which put them in third and fourth place, respectively, in the Eastern Conference. Each season ended with losses in the Conference Finals to D.C. United. The club also played in the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in 1998. They advanced to the finals before losing 2–1 in extra time to the Chicago Fire. Stern John, in his first of two seasons with Columbus, was the 1998 scoring champion, amassing 26 goals and 5 assists.^[5][8]

A New Home: 1999–2003[link]

The Crew's 1999 season began with the opening of Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer–specific stadium in the United States. Columbus won their first game in the stadium, 2–0, against New England Revolution in front of a sell–out crowd of 24,741. Columbus would finish in 2nd place in at 19–13, but would lose in the conference finals to D.C. United for the third straight season. The 1999 season was the last for Stern John who scored 52 goals in 65 games for the club.^[5]

Dante Washington was acquired from the Dallas Burn to replace John, but his 13 goals in 2000 was not enough to propel the Crew to the playoffs. For the first time, Columbus failed to reach the postseason. Columbus got off to a slow 1–3–2 start in 2001, which led to the replacement of coach Tom Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, who had coached 161 of the Crew's first 183 MLS matches over parts of six seasons between 1996 and 2001, was replaced by Greg Andrulis. Andrulis would lead the Crew to a 2nd place finish in 2001 but the team was ousted from the playoffs in the league quarterfinals.^[5][8]

In 2002, Columbus would win the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in team history. They advanced to the finals by beating the Richmond Kickers, NY/NJ MetroStars, and Kansas City Wizards. In the final, they beat LA Galaxy, who had just won the MLS Cup earlier in the week. Freddy García scored the only goal and keeper Jon Busch posted the shutout in Columbus's 1–0 win. It was the first championship in team history.^[9] The Crew finished 11–12–5 in the regular season and finished in a tie for first place. The lost in the league semifinals to New England. Kyle Martino won rookie of the year in 2002, a first for the Crew. By winning the 2002 U.S. Open Cup, Columbus received a bid to play in the 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The advanced to the second round by beating Árabe Unido (Panama) 4–2 on aggregate in the first round before losing to Monarcas Morelia, 6–2. McBride would play his final season with the Crew in 2003 before joining Fulham F.C. of the English Premier League. ^[5][8]

Transitions: 2004–2006[link]

With the departure of McBride, the Crew added Robin Fraser and Simon Elliott to the club. These additions proved to be vital as Fraser went on to win the Defender of the Year award in 2004. The Crew set a franchise record for points, 49, by going 12–5–13, thanks in part to an 18–game unbeaten streak (8–0–10) to end the season. Despite winning the Supporters' Shield for best record in the league, the club would be eliminated from the MLS Cup in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In his last season for the Crew, Jeff Cunningham scored his 62nd goal, which tied him with McBride for the franchise record. ^[5][8]

Over both of the next two seasons, Columbus battled injuries to several players and struggle to win games. Despite winning the MLS Coach of the Year Award in 2004,^[10] Andrulis was replaced on an interim basis by Robert Warzycha midway through the 2005 season. After missing playoffs in the 2005 season, the club would hire former L.A. Galaxy and UCLA head coach Sigi Schmid. Schmid had won an MLS Cup and U.S. Open Championship in six seasons with Galaxy.^[11] Warzycha remained on staff under Schmid. In 2006, the Crew went on a 13 game winless streak (0–7–6) between June 10 and August 19. The season ended on a tragic note when team founder and owner Lamar Hunt died on December 14, 2006. ^[12][5][8]

The Schelotto Era: 2007–2010[link]

MLS Cup 2008 Winners

The 2007 season in Major League Soccer started with news that global icon David Beckham signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy.^[13] The Crew followed suit by signing their own superstar, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, on April 19, 2007.^[14] The Crew also signed forward Alejandro Moreno to bolster its attack. Even with these new players, the Crew still missed the playoffs in 2007.^[5]

In 2008, the Crew won its first MLS Cup. Led by Barros Schelotto, who scored seven goals and had 19 assists and won the MLS Most Valuable Player Award,^[15] the team also won its second Supporters' Shield. After going 17–7–6 in the regular season, the Crew won playoff games against Kansas City and Chicago Fire before beating the New York Red Bulls 3–1 in the final. For their efforts, Chad Marshall won MLS Defender of the Year award, and Sigi Schmid won Coach of the Year.^[5][8]

After the 2008 season, Sigi Schmid left the Crew to coach the Seattle Sounders, and the team named former player and assistant coach Robert Warzycha head coach. In 2009, Barros Schelotto was rewarded with the honor of becoming the franchise's first Designated Player.^[16] The club went 13–7–10 in the regular season, good enough for 49 points and their second consecutive Supporters' Shield. The Crew went on to be eliminated by Real Salt Lake in the two–legged Eastern Conference Semifinals, 4–2 on aggregate. Chad Marshall won his second consecutive MLS Defender of the Year award.^[5]

The Crew started the 2010 season in the CONCACAF Champions League. They reached the quarterfinals, but lost to Toluca FC of Mexico in March. The Crew started the MLS season 6–0–2 and finished 14–8–8, but lost in the quarterfinals of the MLS Cup to the Colorado Rapids. In the U.S. Open Cup, Columbus fell to Sounders FC, 2–1, in the finals. ^[5] After the 2010 season, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Frankie Hejduk, Brian Carroll, Jason Garey, Steven Lenhart, Gino Padula, Eric Brunner, Adam Moffat, and Duncan Oughton all left the team,^[17]. In 2011 the Crew finished ninth in the league at 13–13–8 and lost in the wild card round of the playoffs to the Colorado Rapids.^[18][19]

Colors and badge[link]

Andrew Peterson in Columbus's 2008 home jersey

Prior to the initial MLS season a citywide public contest was created to decide the name for the team, the very first entry was a hit, and The Columbus Crew was born.

The club badge - unique amongst MLS teams in that it features people - contains three silhouetted males wearing construction hats beneath a stylized "Crew" wordmark. The logo is intended to represent a crew of hard working people, much like the hard working, blue collar image the city of Columbus cultivates.

The official colors of the Columbus Crew are black and gold. The Crew's usual primary jersey is predominately bright yellow with black trim, and has been nicknamed the "banana kit" or "canary kit" by fans.

The alternate kit is usually black, but is seldom worn by the Crew, due to the strong favor shown to the all yellow home kit, and due to the fact that the black jerseys compound the heat of summer in the United States. Only occasionally has Crew not worn a black or yellow jersey. In 2007, the Crew wore a predominantly white away shirt with yellow trim, and in 1997 they wore a white away shirt with yellow and black striped "bumblebee"-style sleeves.

Stadium[link]

Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus's home since 1999

• Ohio Stadium; Columbus, Ohio (1996–1999)
• Columbus Crew Stadium; Columbus, Ohio (1999–present)
• Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium; Columbus, Ohio (2005) 1 game in US Open Cup

Initially the Columbus Crew played their home games at the 102,000-capacity Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes American college football team. They ended with a 33-20 record while playing there.

On May 15, 1999 the Crew opened Columbus Crew Stadium, the first stadium built specifically for soccer in Major League Soccer, as the Crew beat the New England Revolution 2-0 before a sold-out crowd of 24,741. The stadium was built with simplicity in mind because it was the first of its kind in the United States and so it was done completely from scratch.

It has been the model stadium for the rest of the league and one of the stadiums used by the United States national team in World Cup qualifying.

Club culture[link]

[edit] Supporters: The Nordecke Transformation

Before the 2008 season, the Columbus Crew front office demolished the north stands where the most ardent of Crew supporters stood, in order to build a stage that would provide additional revenue by facilitating concerts and other events. Prior to this, the team's three supporters groups (The Crew Supporters Union, The Hudson Street Hooligans, and La Turbina Amarilla) sat apart because of differences between the groups ranging from age to ethnicity. The building of the stage forced the groups to come together into the north corner of the stadium, forming one large block of vocal support. Putting their differences aside the three groups formed the "Nordecke." The Nordecke (pronounced Nord-eck-ah) is German for "North Corner". The name "Nordecke" celebrates the city's German heritage.

In 2008 a large contingency of fans from the Nordecke began traveling together to support the Crew during their away campaigns. In late 2009/early 2010 the term "NorOnTour" became popular thanks to social networking sites such as facebook and twitter, to describe the frequent large and rowdy traveling support.^[20]

Sponsors[link]

Since 2006 adidas has served as kit manufacturer for all MLS teams. Glidden served as the Crew's shirt sponsor from 2008-2010.^{[citation needed]}

On February 15,2012, the Crew announced Dublin, Ohio-based Barbasol signed a five-year deal as the team's shirt sponsor. It is the most lucrative in franchise history, although financial terms were not disclosed.^{[citation needed]}

Rivalries[link]

Since 2008 the Crew have contested with Toronto FC for the Trillium Cup. It is named the Trillium Cup because the trillium is the provincial flower of Ontario and the state wildflower of Ohio. The state flower of Ohio is the scarlet Carnation.

On March 28, 2009, the Columbus-Toronto Rivalry intensified, after a relatively flat rivalry in previous years. Results on the field remained in favor of Columbus, with the total series now 5-0-6. However, an off-field incident involving several fans of both the home side and the large traveling contingent of Toronto FC supporters overshadowed the match itself. In the aftermath of the incident, one Toronto FC fan was arrested, while another was subdued with taser guns by Columbus Police.^[21] Both Toronto FC fans and officials in Columbus pointed fingers at each other.^[22]

The Crew also has a rivalry with the Chicago Fire. Columbus is roughly a six-hour drive away from Chicago. Due to the relative close proximity of the two cities, it is not uncommon for supporters of both teams to make the trip to support their club in matches between the two.

The Crew also plays in a regular season derby with F.C. Dallas for the Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup. They play for this cup because Lamar Hunt was the owner of both of these teams until his death. While perhaps not quite a rivalry, games between the two teams can be somewhat spirited.

Broadcasting[link]

The Crew was the first MLS team to land a local television network, when they did so in March 1997. Crew matches are telecast on Fox Sports Ohio. 1 Dwight Burgess serves as play-by-play commentator, and former Crew player Duncan Oughton serves as color commentator for home and away games. Ashleigh Ignelzi is the sideline reporter for all games telecast on Fox Sports Ohio. Select games are broadcast nationally on NBC Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, and TeleFutura.

English radio broadcasts can be heard on 610 AM WTVN with Neil Sika as play-by-play commentator and John Bluem (during home broadcasts) as color commentator. Spanish radio broadcasts can be heard on 103.1-FM WVKO-FM with Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo calling all home and road games and include 15-minute pre- and post-game shows.

ONN also airs a weekly half-hour program, Crew Xtra, where host Beau Bishop and a panel of guests review the past week in Crew action and look ahead to upcoming fixtures.^[23] SportsTime Ohio frequently re-airs the program later in the week.^[24] Crew Soccer Updates air weekdays on 105.7 FM WBWR and 106.7 FM WRXS.

Players and staff[link]

Current roster[link]

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.
Squad correct as of March 23, 2012.^[25]

No.	Position	Player	Nation
1	Goalkeeper	Hesmer, WilliamWilliam Hesmer	United States
2	Defender	Balchan, RichRich Balchan	United States
3	Defender	Williams, JoshJosh Williams	United States
4	Defender	Mendes, CarlosCarlos Mendes	United States
5	Defender	O'Rourke, DannyDanny O'Rourke	United States
6	Midfielder	Tchani, TonyTony Tchani	Cameroon
7	Midfielder	Anor, BernardoBernardo Anor	Venezuela
8	Midfielder	Birchall, ChrisChris Birchall	Trinidad and Tobago
9	Forward	Meram, JustinJustin Meram	United States
10	Midfielder	Mirošević, MilovanMilovan Mirošević	Chile
11	Midfielder	Duka, DillyDilly Duka	United States
12	Midfielder	Gaven, EddieEddie Gaven	United States
13	Midfielder	Finlay, EthanEthan Finlay	United States
14	Defender	Marshall, ChadChad Marshall (Captain)	United States
15	Midfielder	Urso, KirkKirk Urso	United States
16	Defender	Gehrig, EricEric Gehrig	United States
17	Forward	Vargas, OlmanOlman Vargas	Costa Rica
18	Forward	Speas, BenBen Speas (HGP)	United States
19	Forward	Heinemann, TomTom Heinemann	United States
20	Forward	Rentería, EmilioEmilio Rentería	Venezuela
21	Defender	Miranda, SebastiánSebastián Miranda	Chile
22	Midfielder	Grossman, ColeCole Grossman	United States
23	Defender	Veeder, KoreyKorey Veeder	United States
26	Defender	James, JuliusJulius James	Trinidad and Tobago
27	Forward	Horton, AaronAaron Horton (HGP)	United States
28	Goalkeeper	Lampson, MattMatt Lampson (HGP)	United States
29	Defender	Francis, ShaunShaun Francis	Jamaica
30	Goalkeeper	Gruenebaum, AndyAndy Gruenebaum	United States
32	Defender	Vuković, NemanjaNemanja Vuković	Montenegro
34	Forward	Schoenfeld, AaronAaron Schoenfeld	United States
36	Defender	Perry, AubreyAubrey Perry	United States
37	Midfielder	George, KevanKevan George	Trinidad and Tobago
—	Forward	Arrieta, JairoJairo Arrieta (joins club on June 26, 2012[26])	Costa Rica

Notable former players[link]

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. It is clearly not yet complete and all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.

• See also All-time Columbus Crew roster

Head coaches[link]

Achievements[link]

• MLS Cup
  • Winners (1): 2008

• MLS Supporters' Shield
  • Winners (3): 2004, 2008, 2009

• MLS Eastern Conference
  • Winners (Regular Season) (3): 2004, 2008, 2009
  • Winners (Playoff) (1): 2008

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
  • Winners (1): 2002
  • Runners-up (2): 1998, 2010

• Minor Trophies
  • MLS Fair Play Award (4): 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007
  • Trillium Cup (3): 2008, 2009, 2010
  • Carolina Challenge Cup (1): 2004
  • Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup (1): 2007

Record[link]

Year-by-Year[link]

* Won MLS Supporters Shield † Made the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Giants Cup which was held instead of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 2001

International tournaments[link]

• 2001 CONCACAF Giants Cup

First round v. Deportivo Saprissa -- 0:2, 1:1 (Saprissa advance 3:1 on aggregate)

• 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

First round v. Arabe Unido -- 1:2, 3:0 (Crew advance 4:2 on aggregate)

Quarter-Final v. Monarcas Morelia -- 0:6, 2:0 (Morelia advance 6:2 on aggregate)

• 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League

Group Stage

v. Puerto Rico Islanders 2:0, 1:1

v. Cruz Azul 0:5, 0:2

v. Saprissa 1:0, 1:1

Quarter-Final v. Toluca 2:2, 2:3 (Toluca advances 5:4 on aggregate)

• 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League

Group Stage

v. Municipal 1:0, 1:2

v. Joe Public 3:0, 4:1

v. Santos Laguna 1:0, 0:1

Quarter-Final v. Real Salt Lake 0:0, 1:4 (Real Salt Lake advances 4:1 on aggregate)

Columbus holds a 7-5-3 all-time record in international friendlies.

Team records[link]

• Games: Mike Clark, 221
• Goals: Jeff Cunningham, 64
• Assists: Robert Warzycha, 61
• Shutouts: William Hesmer, 41

MLS regular season only, through 2011 season

• All-Time regular season record: 206-192-93 (Through Oct. 22, 2011)

Average attendance[link]

regular season/playoffs

• 1996: 18,950/20,807
• 1997: 15,043/11,304
• 1998: 12,275/12,094
• 1999: 17,696/10,983
• 2000: 15,451/Missed Playoffs
• 2001: 17,551/20,883
• 2002: 17,429/11,624
• 2003: 16,250/Missed Playoffs
• 2004: 16,872/15,224
• 2005: 12,916/Missed Playoffs
• 2006: 13,294/Missed Playoffs
• 2007: 15,230/Missed Playoffs
• 2008: 14,622/17,613
• 2009: 14,447/10,109
• 2010: 14,641/10,322
• 2011: 12,185/No Home Games
• All-Time: 16,344/13,887
• All-Time Best Attendance For A Game: 53,844 on 07/04/2000 at Mile High Stadium.

[1]

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

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