Columbus Crew
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| Full name | Columbus Crew | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Crew, America's Hardest Working Team, Massive | ||
| Founded | 1994 | ||
| Stadium | Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, OH (Capacity: 20,555) |
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| Owner |  Clark Hunt |
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| Head Coach |  Robert Warzycha |
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| League | Major League Soccer | ||
| 2008 | Eastern Conference: 1st Overall: 1st Playoffs: MLS Cup winner |
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| First game | D.C. United 0 Columbus Crew 4 Ohio Stadium 4/13/96 |
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| Largest win | New England Revolution 1 Columbus Crew 6 Ohio Stadium 8/8/98 Tampa Bay Mutiny 1 Columbus Crew 6 Columbus Crew Stadium 6/16/01 |
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| Largest defeat | Columbus Crew 0 Monarcas Morelia 6 Estadio Morelos 4/9/03 |
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| All-time top scorer | Jeff Cunningham (62), Brian McBride (62) |
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| Supporters groups | The Crew Supporters Union The Hudson Street Hooligans La Turbina Amarilla |
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| Honors | MLS Cup (1) Supporters' Shield (2) U.S. Open Cup (1) |
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 Current season |
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The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer team based in Columbus, Ohio that participates in Major League Soccer. The club was owned by the legendary Lamar Hunt, who also owned the Kansas City Chiefs and FC Dallas until his 2006 death. 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. From 1996 to 1999, 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 four major trophies: MLS Cup 2008, the 2008 and 2004 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 Fredy Garcia. 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 one other final, 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 team has 3 major support groups: "The Crew Supporters Union", "The Hudson Street Hooligans", and "La Turbina Amarilla". These three supporters groups sit together in the northeast corner of Columbus Crew Stadium, known as the "Nordecke" (pronounced Nord-eck-uh), which is German for North Corner, and is a tribute to the German heritage of Columbus.
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[edit] History
The Columbus Crew were a founding member of Major League Soccer. The team played its home matches in Ohio Stadium from its inaugural year in 1996 through 1998. Beginning in 1999, the Crew played all of their home MLS matches in the newly built Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer specific stadium for a top flight team in the United States and frequent host to key US Men's National Team fixtures.
The Crew won its first trophy in 2002, capturing the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by beating the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 in the Final. The win earned the Crew a berth into CONCACAF Champions' Cup 2003, where they defeated Árabe Unido of Panama 4-2 on aggregate before being eliminated by Monarcas Morelia as they lost the tie by an aggregate score of 6 to 2. In 2004 the Crew won the 2004 MLS Supporters' Shield.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto signed for the Crew in 2007, and in 2008 had an MLS MVP winning season leading the Crew to once again win the Supporter's Shield in 2008 before winning MLS Cup 2008, beating the New York Red Bulls 3-1 and assisting on all three goals. In 2009 he was rewarded with the honor of becoming the franchise's first Designated Player.[1]
[edit] Television and radio
In 2008, Crew matches were telecast locally on the Ohio News Network. Dwight Burgess serves as play-by-play commentator, Bill McDermott and Dante Washington serve as color commentator for home and away games, respectively. Katie Witham is the sideline reporter for all games telecast on ONN.
English radio broadcasts can be heard on 610 AM WTVN with Neil Sika as play-by-play commentator and John Bluem as color commentator. Spanish radio broadcasts can be heard on 1550 AM WDLR with Marcelo Carrera as commentator.
Crew Soccer Updates air weekdays on 105.7 FM WBWR and 106.7 FM WRXS.
[edit] Sponsors
Since 2006 adidas has served as kit manufacturer for all MLS teams. Since 2008 Glidden has served as the Crew's shirt sponsor.
[edit] Rivals
Since 2008 the Crew have contested with Toronto FC for the Trillium Cup.
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 3-0-3 in favor of The Crew. However, an off the 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, another claimed to have been subdued with taser guns by Columbus Police. Both Toronto FC fans and officials in Columbus pointed fingers at each other. Crew Stadium reported damages to the stadium caused by vandalism in the south End of the stadium where Toronto FC fans were provided with designated seating. [2]
[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 demolition 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 name "Nordecke" was offered as a suggestion by local Crew fan Ryan Kozlowski before the 2008 season and the name took off after the first game of that season against Toronto. The Nordecke (pronounced Nord-eck-ah) is German for "North Corner". The name "Nordecke" celebrates the city's German heritage and the section's new site, in the stadium's corner.
[edit] Players
[edit] Current roster
As of June 20, 2009.[3]
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[edit] Notable former players
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.
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- See also All-time Columbus Crew roster
[edit] Head coaches
| Nat | Name | Years |
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 Finland |
Timo Liekoski | 1996 |
| United States |
Tom Fitzgerald | 1996–2001 |
| United States |
Greg Andrulis | 2001–2005 |
| Poland |
Robert Warzycha | 2005 (interim) |
 Germany |
Sigi Schmid | 2006–2008 |
| Poland |
Robert Warzycha | 2009– |
[edit] Team records
- Games: Mike Clark, 221
- Goals: Brian McBride and Jeff Cunningham, 62
- Assists: Robert Warzycha, 61
- Shutouts: Jon Busch, 25
MLS regular season only, through 2006 season
- All-Time regular season record: 166-165-67 (Through Oct. 26, 2008)
[edit] Stadiums
- Ohio Stadium (1996–1999)
- Columbus Crew Stadium (1999–current)
[edit] Results
[edit] Year-by-Year
| Season | Regular Season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | CONCACAF | SuperLiga |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 4th, East | Quarterfinals | Did not enter | Did not qualify | |
| 1997 | 3rd, East | Semifinals | Did not enter | Did not qualify | |
| 1998 | 2nd, East | Semifinals | Final | Did not qualify | |
| 1999 | 2nd, East | Semifinals | Semifinals | Did not qualify | |
| 2000 | 4th, Central | Did not qualify | Quarterfinals | Did not qualify | |
| 2001 | 2nd, Central | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Not held † | |
| 2002 | 2nd, East | Semifinals | Champions | Did not qualify | |
| 2003 | 5th, East | Did not qualify | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | |
| 2004 | 1st, East* | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | |
| 2005 | 6th, East | Did not qualify | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | |
| 2006 | 6th, East | Did not qualify | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | |
| 2007 | 6th, East | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not participate |
| 2008 | 1st, East* | Champions | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2009 | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
* Won MLS Supporters Shield
† Made the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Giants Cup which was held instead of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 2001
[edit] International competition
- 2001 CONCACAF Giants Cup
- First round v.
Deportivo Saprissa -- 0:2, 1:1 (Saprissa advance 3:1 on aggregate)
- First round v.
- 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- First round v.
Arabe Unido -- 1:2, 3:0 (Crew advance 4:2 on aggregate) - Quarterfinal v.
Monarcas Morelia -- 0:6, 2:0 (Morelia advance 6:2 on aggregate)
- First round v.
Columbus Holds a 8-1-2 all-time Record in International friendlies
[edit] Honors
[edit] Domestic
[edit] League
[edit] Cups
[edit] Minor Trophies
- Carolina Challenge Cup:
- Winner (1): 2004
- Trillium Cup:
- Winner (1): 2008
[edit] Average attendance
regular season/playoffs
- 1996: 18,950
- 1997: 15,043
- 1998: 12,275
- 1999: 17,696
- 2000: 15,451
- 2001: 17,551
- 2002: 17,429
- 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: 14,622/12,911
- All-Time: 16,344
- All-Time Best Attendance For A Game: 53,844 on 07/04/2000 at Mile High Stadium.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2008/12/schelotto-returning-to-crew-in-2009.html
- ^ Daniel Girard (2009-04-01). "TFC owners express `disappointment' over fans' road violence". TheStar.com. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/611507/. Retrieved on 2009-04-01.
- ^ http://web.mlsnet.com/players/index.jsp?club=t102
[edit] External links
- The Crew
- Hunt Park Insider
- Crew Supporters Union - Local 614 Fan Club
- Crewture- Crew Supporters Culture Site
- Official Crew board
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