DC United, LA Galaxy and the Seattle Sounders did something the Columbus Crew couldn’t. Wilfried Nancy’s team could have added their name to the list of MLS teams that have won a continental title. Instead, the Crew were defeated 3-0 by Pachuca in the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup on Saturday.
And yet, even as runner-up, Columbus accomplished something profound: He won the region’s respect. For two months, ‘Nancy ball‘ acquired Concacaf, just as it has MLS. In a region where American and Canadian teams have historically fought for credibility, the Crew has earned it. What other MLS team has ever had Mexican fans cheering them off the field like Columbus did in the quarter- and semi-finals? Fans of CF Monterrey and Tigres UANL knew they had seen something special.
Columbus didn’t end up getting the ticker tape moment on Saturday night, but they just completed the most impressive 12-month run any MLS team has ever enjoyed. MLS Cup success last season was one thing, but by reaching the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup the Crew proved something: it is possible for MLS teams to play this way And to be successful.
Not much worked against Pachuca as Nancy had planned. The hosts found it easy to break Columbus’ back line – watch Salomón Rondón and Miguel Rodríguez score the first two goals unopposed in the penalty area. A lack of pressure on the ball and a high defensive line made things difficult for the team.
Diego Rossi might have given Columbus the lead after fifteen seconds, but his scuffed shot was saved. Just two minutes later, Alexandru Mățan had a good opportunity to set up a teammate at half-time, but could not find the right pass. However, after a strong start, the Crew faded. By the time Rodríguez made it 2-0 after 32 minutes, the match was effectively over.
The altitude may have been a factor in Columbus’s unusually quiet performance. Nancy did his best to prepare his team for the physical test of playing at 8,000 feet above sea level by having his players train with altitude masks and sleep in altitude chambers, but Columbus’s lack of intensity at night suggests that they had difficulty coping with it. the real thing. At a neutral location it could have been a different story.
A bout of illness in Columbus’ camp won’t have helped either. “We had more than twenty staff members suffering from diarrhea all night for two days,” said striker Cucho Hernández after the match. But the Crew can still feel good about how they did in the Champions Cup this season. Their 3-1 victory over Monterrey in particular will long be remembered as one of the best performances ever delivered by an MLS team on Mexican soil. It was Nancy ball in its purest form.
No MLS team averages more possession per game than Columbus, and yet this is not control for the sake of the game. There are no lateral passes to improve the stats. The crew takes risks. They tease opponents by pressing and cutting through them, creating overloads and making line-breaking passes. At their best, Columbus are an exciting force of nature.
Nancy is part of a managerial class that emerged from the Pep Guardiola era of football, with an emphasis on positional play and ball possession. It’s a class that includes the likes of Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou and Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini – and makes Nancy the most progressive head coach currently in MLS.
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No one else is on Nancy’s level. And that’s why the Crew’s run isn’t symbolic of the growing quality of MLS. When Seattle became the first MLS team to win the league in its modern format in 2022, it was the first wave of a rising tide. However, there was no tide behind the Crew this season. They were the only MLS team to reach the semifinals. Columbus made it to the finals not because MLS has reached a level where that happens naturally, but because Nancy got them there.
A dozen teams spent more money than the Crew in MLS last season, yet they were the ones who set the standard in the league. They played the best football and won the biggest prize. With continental football – and the hustle and bustle it brings – out of the way, Columbus is expected to build more momentum on the domestic scene. They are now on a three-match winning streak in the league. An MLS Cup repeat could be on the cards.
The real appeal of a repeat could lie in the ticket back to the Champions Cup it would provide. The chance to qualify for a Club World Cup on home soil in 2025 has gone, but Nancy has laid the foundation for the Columbus Crew to go again next season. Mexican fans may get another chance to applaud the best team in MLS.