In order to appreciate where the Columbus Crew is going, it’s important to remember where the team is coming from.
Four months ago, the Crew won its last match, convincingly, but players walked off the field with looks of frustration and disappointment. The 2020 MLS Cup champions missed the 2021 postseason by a single point.
In the aftermath, head coach Caleb Porter spoke of the urgency to accumulate points early in the season and to build off mistakes made last year. President and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said the roster wouldn’t need an overhaul, but there was room for improving. Injecting younger players into the squad was one of the priorities.
So, that sets the stage for the Crew in 2022. As the team continues preseason training in sunny South Carolina, the Black & Gold retain their core players with new depth and a reset mentality.
“It’s the start of a new era, officially,” Bezbatchenko told the Columbus Dispatch last month. “This year, we want to bounce back and show that last year was just a blip. We want to get back on schedule.”
Getting back on schedule includes getting injured players back in the squad.
While Porter said Artur is still battling chronic hip pain and might miss the start of the regular season, Aidan Morris, who missed the bulk of 2021 with a torn ACL, is back healthy and will offer another important piece in the central midfield. Don’t forget Morris is still just 20 years old and was the youngest player ever to start an MLS Cup back in 2020. (He was 19.)
Overall, there are 10 new players entering the 2022 season.
James Igbekeme will be one to watch this season while he is on loan from Spanish side Real Zaragoza. The Crew have an option to make the move permanent following the campaign.
Yaw Yeboah is a 24-year-old winger who arrives from Polish side Wisła Kraków, where he scored 10 goals and provided five assists across 50 games. While he’s the only attacking addition to the roster so far, Erik Hurtado has also re-signed and is back for a second season in Columbus.
There is significant turnover to the backline and goalkeeper depth, though.
Jalil Anibaba joins Columbus after two seasons with Nashville SC. He’s entering his 14th MLS season and has made 240 regular season appearances throughout his career. Additionally, Australia international Miloš Degenek has joined from Red Star Belgrade and arrives with Champions League experience.
Other new defenders include Will Sands, who’s spent the last three seasons at Georgetown, Philp Quinton, the No. 25 pick in the MLS SuperDraft, and Jake Morris, who was traded from Seattle Sounders FC. Yes, he is Aidan’s brother, and the pair will be the 19th set of MLS siblings to play on the same team in MLS history.
At goalkeeper, both Eloy Room and Evan Bush signed new contracts with the club and will see new depth players in the position room. Brady Scott was selected in Stage 2 of the 2021 MLS Re-Entry Draft, while Patrick Schulte, the No. 12 pick in the SuperDraft, joins from Saint Louis University.
Former Crew Academy midfielder Sean Zawadski, who played for the club’s youth ranks from 2015-18, is now with the first team as an MLS Homegrown. The Crew now have four players on the roster that have played in the team’s Academy.
Of course, there is still time for additional roster moves. Both Jacob Erlandson (a forward from Bowling Green State) and Chris Donovan (a defender from Drexel) were the Crew’s two SuperDraft picks outside of the first round. They are currently unsigned, but are with the team this preseason.
The Black & Gold will be in Charleston, South Carolina, from Feb. 7-19, before heading back to Ohio a week before the season starts. The Crew hosts Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Lower.com Field on Feb. 26, and tickets to the season opener are still available.
“The way we ended the last season had a sour taste in our mouths,” Aidan Morris said to MLSsoccer.com. “We were playing really well and that leads us in great to this year.
“We have a lot of energy; we have a lot of desire and ambition to be the team we were in 2020 and 2019 and be better than that. We’re all so confident still. We know the team we are; we know the players we are. When we gel, we’re a force to be reckoned with.”