Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew SCFirst Season
1996President
Tim BezbatchenkoHead Coach
Caleb PorterOwner
Dee and Jimmy HaslamStadium
Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, OhioConference
MLS Eastern ConferenceColumbus Crew SC compete in the MLS Eastern Conference and are situated in Columbus, Ohio. Due to their location, one of the team’s biggest rivalries lies with Chicago Fire- Chicago being only a 6-hour drive away from Columbus’s MAPFRE Stadium.
Columbus Crew’s mascot is the ‘Crew Cat’, who has been their mascot for nearly 20 years and appears in front of home crowds at Columbus Crew games in Major League Soccer and other competitions the club is playing at. Prior to 2008, the club had 3 supporters groups: Crew Supporters Union, Hudson Street Hooligans, and La Turbina Amarilla. In 2008, construction work on the stands led to the three groups having to sit together at the Crew’s home games, forming one large group of supporters. The three then decided to put their differences aside and to permanently establish one supporters group, named the Nordecke (meaning “north corner” in German) as a nod to the city’s German origin and history.
Originally, Columbus Crew FC was to be named the ‘Columbus Eclipse’, as when the team’s entry to MLS was confirmed, a solar eclipse passed over the city. However, the team was eventually decided to be renamed to the Columbus Crew.
In April 2007, the Crew signed Guillermo Barros Schelotto, perhaps pushed by the news that LA Galaxy had signed David Beckham. Barros Schelotto helped to lead the team to their MLS Cup win in 2008, and also picked up the Major League Soccer MVP award.
In 1994, MLS announced the establishment of Columbus Crew FC, as the club had promised the construction of a soccer-specific stadium and had sold over 12,000 season tickets. The team played their Major League Soccer debut game on April 13, 1996 at their home stadium (then Ohio Stadium) and took a 4-0 victory against DC United.
The Crew’s first players were Doctor Khumalo, an experienced South African National Team player, and Brian McBride- who was the MLS first overall draft pick of the 1996 season.
In 1999, the Crew switched from Ohio Stadium to the newly-built soccer-specific Columbus Crew stadium- the first soccer-specific stadium built in the USA. Then, in 2002, the Crew won their first major trophy- the Supporters’ Shield. They also won the Shield in 2004, 2008 and 2009, as well as winning the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2002.
In the 2008 season, the Crew won their first MLS Cup title, beating Kansas City and Chicago Fire in the playoffs before advancing to the finals, taking victory over New York Red Bulls 3-1.
In November 2013, the club signed Gregg Berhalter as their new manager. Berhalter led the Crew to MLS playoffs in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. The Crew advanced to the finals in 2015, but were defeated by Portland Timbers 2-1. Berhalter left Columbus Crew in 2018, and became the manager for the USMNT, and has been coaching them until present.
Season Records
| Year | MLS Regular Season | Ranking | MLS Cup Playoffs | US Open Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | PTS | W | GP | GP | GP | GP | Conf | League | |||
| 2019 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 39 | 47 | 10th | 20th | Did not qualify | Round of 16 |
Honors
| Competitions | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| MLS Cup | 1 | 2008 |
| Supporters Shield | 3 | 2004, 2008, 2009 |
| US Open Cup | 1 | 2002 |
In May 1999, the Crew’s newly-built stadium was opened, and became the first soccer-specific stadium to appear in Major League Soccer. The Crew’s first game at Columbus Crew Stadium was played against New England Revolution in front of over 24,700 fans.
Before the opening of this stadium, the club had been situated at Ohio Stadium, which has a capacity of 102,000. The stadium is also shared by the Ohio State Buckeyes, a college football team in Ohio.
In 2003, Columbus Crew Stadium (also known as the Mapfre Stadium) hosted several games of the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It has also hosted various USWNT games, including friendlies and one of the 2018 SheBelieves Cup fixtures.
The USMNT has also played at the stadium, with the Mapfre being the location for CONCACAF World Cup qualifying games in 2000,2001,2003,2004,2005,2009,2012,2013 and 2016.
Home Kit
The team’s club colours are black and gold, both of which feature on the logo. The club’s first logo was seen as very unique, featuring 3 drawn men wearing construction hats, embodying the hard-working people of the city. In 2014, Columbus Crew released a new logo. The new logo is a black circle, featuring bright yellow patterns and the club name with ‘96’ in white lettering, to represent the team’s inaugural MLS season. Columbus Crew’s home jersey is predominantly yellow with black details, while the away jersey is black with yellow details. The kits are produced by Adidas, as are all soccer kits in MLS. As for kit sponsors, the club have had many: some of the more famous ones including from 1996-2000 by Snickers and from 2002-2004 by Pepsi. Their current sponsors are Nationwide Children’s Hospital.