It seemed as if nothing went right for the Columbus Crew during both legs of their Eastern Conference semifinal tie with the New England Revolution. An inability to finish chances on goal combined with shoddy defensive play at crucial moments in the game proved too difficult to recover from. After dropping the first leg 4-2, the Crew were always going to face an uphill battle to come away victorious. The task was made difficult with leading scorer Federico Higuaín out for the second leg due to a torn calf muscle. In the end, the Revs prevailed 7-3 on aggregate, putting an end to a temperamental season, albeit a season with a great deal of excitement.
Columbus Crew: A Bright Future Despite Playoff Exit
Going into the forthcoming international break, a handful of Crew players will find themselves contributing to their respective national sides in different forms of competition. Left back Waylon Francis, one of the league’s top full-backs with six assists in the regular season, will join World Cup quarterfinalists Costa Rica for a friendly this coming Thursday against Uruguay. Three other players will be taking part in various international tournaments that are slated to commence this month.
It was announced on Monday that attacking midfielder Justin Meram, ranked third on the team in the regular season with eight goals, would become the first player in Major League Soccer history to earn an international call-up to Iraq’s national team. The Iraqis, who qualified for the 1986 World Cup, finished fourth at the 2004 Summer Olympics and won the 2007 Asian Cup, will be competing in the 2014 Gulf Cup of Nations in Saudi Arabia. Their first group stage match in the tournament is on Friday against Kuwait. The Shelby Township, MI native holds dual citizenship through his parents, who were both born in Iraq.
Kevan George, who made four appearances for the Crew including two starts, will be joining Trinidad & Tobago as they compete in the 2014 Caribbean Cup. His team should be heavily favored in their group, which includes Curacao, French Guiana, and Cuba. Group play commences on Tuesday, with the 24-year-old George expecting to add to his existing eight appearances for the Soca Warriors.
Finally, there’s promising 19-year-old midfielder Romain Gall, a frequent call-up recently to the United States Under-20s who will be reprising his role with the team in Marbella, Spain for the U-21 International National Teams Football Tournament. Their first match takes place on Wednesday when they go up against Russia, followed by a match against Ireland on Saturday and concluding with Canada next Tuesday. Gall is part of a solid young nucleus for the Crew that includes MLS’ largest contingent of homegrown players of which Wil Trapp probably garners the most attention.
Two Drafts and a CBA Renewal
This coming offseason will certainly differ from others in previous years for three distinct reasons and the Columbus front office will have to be prepared accordingly to take advantage of the circumstances. Firstly, there is the upcoming Dispersal Draft on November 19th associated with the disbanding of Chivas USA, where all teams including new clubs Orlando City and New York City FC, will get to raid the fridge so to speak as it relates to the final iteration of the Goats’ roster. There will be a weighted draw on Friday to determine the draft order. Even though it would’ve been highly unlikely given the fact the Crew made the playoffs, the team wouldn’t have had a chance at Erick “Cubo” Torres anyway since the league has declared him “not subject” to the Dispersal Draft.
While we’re on the topic of those two teams joining the league next year, the next big happening will be the Expansion Draft which will take place on December 10th. I hear they flipped a coin back in September, Orlando won the toss, and will get to pick first. Both Orlando City and NYCFC will have the opportunity to pick ten players through this mechanism. Each of the league’s teams will get to protect 11 players on their existing roster. Given that 18 teams will have the opportunity to make sure that a total of 198 players don’t end up on these two sides who will end up selecting 20, I don’t think this should affect the look of the Crew going into 2015 too much.
Then there’s the big picture league-wide issue associated with the expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement and the need for the league and its players to agree to a new one. It’s difficult to see at this point where both parties stand on issues such as the addition of designated player slots as well as the overall salary structure of the league among other things, but it will be something to keep your eye on. It should be said that the last thing this league needs is a long, drawn out process that affects the start of play for next season. Hopefully, both sides can come together and MLS 3.0 can continue to evolve without the major speed bump that a protracted labor battle would entail.
What to Expect Heading into 2015
Assuming that issue gets resolved, Columbus’ on-the-field product has immense potential going into 2015. Head coach Gregg Berhalter will be entering his second year at the helm and several players have developed favorably under his tenure so far. Both Meram and Ethan Finlay had breakout years in the goal-scoring department, combining for 19 after only scoring five between them in their previous seasons with the Crew. Though it didn’t look like it in the playoff series, the club boasted one of the stingiest defenses in the league during the regular season, tied for fifth best in goal differential (+10) and sixth in total goals against (42). Goalkeeper Steve Clark’s goals against average of 1.24 ranked sixth-best among net minders who started at least half their team’s games, and Clark was in net for all 34 of the Crew’s regular season contests.
The Black and Gold made three key acquisitions towards the end of 2014 with an eye towards shoring up the roster going into next season. First came the addition of Austrian centerback Emanuel Pogatetz on September 9th. He only appeared twice this year, but should figure more prominently into the lineup in 2015 especially with the possible departure of Tyson Wahl. Kei Kamara was signed via the Crew’s top allocation ranking on October 7th and it is hoped he will be the go-to guy this team has lacked up front in Berhalter’s 4-2-3-1. One last signing was made official right after the regular season came to an end, with midfielder Mohammed Saeid set to join Columbus in 2015 from Swedish side Örebro SK.
The upcoming season can aptly be described as “new look” from the league’s perspective as well as from that of the Crew, with both debuting their new brand identity. The conferences themselves will look a bit different too, with Sporting Kansas City and Houston moving to the West to make way for those already talked about newcomers Orlando City and NYCFC. For Columbus, a new set of challenges will undoubtedly appear in front of this franchise as it endeavors to capitalize on the momentum created from the success realized in 2014. However, the unending, overarching goal remains the same and it is embodied in the two word phrase that has become as integral to the identity of this organization as the new logo: Be Massive!
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