Columbus Crew
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Year founded | 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
League | Major League Soccer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | The Crew, America's Hardest Working Team |
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Stadium | Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, OH |
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Coach | Sigi Schmid, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Clark Hunt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Game Columbus Crew 4–0 D.C. United (Ohio Stadium; April 13, 1996) |
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Largest Win Columbus Crew 6–1 New England Revolution (Ohio Stadium; August 8, 1998) Columbus Crew 6–1 Tampa Bay Mutiny (Crew Stadium; June 16, 2001) |
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Worst Defeat Monarcas Morelia 6–0, Columbus Crew (Estadio Morelos; April 9, 2003) |
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All-time Top Scorer Jeff Cunningham (62), Brian McBride (62) |
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Supporter Groups Crew Supporters Union: Local 103 |
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MLS Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
US Open Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Supporters' Shield | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004 |
The Columbus Crew is a professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio that participates in Major League Soccer. The club was owned by Lamar Hunt, who also owned the Kansas City Chiefs and FC Dallas until his 2006 death, upon which his son, Clark, took over his sports properties. The Crew currently play their home games at Columbus Crew Stadium, the first MLS soccer-specific stadium. From 1996–1999, the Crew played their home games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University. The name "The Crew" is the result of a local fan contest and refers to Columbus' blue collar community. The team colors are black and gold.
The Crew has won one tournament to date, the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, defeating the 2002 MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield winner Los Angeles Galaxy 1–0. The club has reached one other final, the 1998 Open Cup, which was postponed due to a hurricane and controversially relocated from Virginia Beach to Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Fire, who won the match in overtime 2–1.
During the 2005 season the Crew experienced their second worst average attendance since 1996 due to a poor season record.
Historically, the team has had three major supporters' groups: Legion 04, the V-Army, and Fort Knox. Prior to the 2007 MLS season, these groups merged to form the Crew Supporters Union: Local 103.
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[edit] Television and radio
Crew matches are telecast on Columbus Sports Network and away games are on the Ohio News Network. Radio broadcasts appear on "The Brew" WBWR-FM and in Spanish on Radio Sol WXOL.
Dwight Burgess provides play-by-play with Dr. Jay Martin and Andy Krahling doing color commentary.
[edit] Team honors
- MLS Supporters' Shield:
- Winner (1): 2004
- US Open Cup:
- Winner (1): 2002
- Runner-up (1): 1998
[edit] Current roster
As of April 7, 2007
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- Source: 3/28/2007 SoccerAmerica Article
† Unsigned player
[edit] Changes for the 2007 MLS Season
In
- Aaron Chandler Signed as draft pick
- Brad Evans Signed as draft pick
- Andy Herron Traded from Chicago
- Will Hesmer Traded from Toronto
- Stefani Miglioranzi Traded from Los Angeles
- Danny O'Rourke Traded from Toronto
- Robbie Rogers Signed from weighted lottery
Out
- Marc Burch Traded to D.C. United
- Jon Busch Released by team, rights subsequently traded to Toronto, then waived
- Ivan Becerra Released by team
- Knox Cameron Released by team
- Ryan Coiner Traded to Chicago, subsequently retired
- Ritchie Kotschau Drafted by Toronto FC in expansion draft, subsequently released by team
- Chris Leitch Released by team, rights subsequently traded to Red Bull New York
- Noah Palmer Released by team
- Jose Retiz Released by team
- Sebastian Rozental Transferred to Maccabi Petah Tikva FC, Israel
- Eric Vasquez Released by team, signed with Miami FC
- Jonny Walker Retired
[edit] Notable former players
- Edson Buddle (2001–2005)
- Jon Busch (2002—2006)
- Jeff Cunningham (1998–2004)
- Thomas Dooley (1997–1999)
- Ansil Elcock (1997–2001)
- Robin Fraser (2004–2005)
- Brad Friedel (1996–1997)
- John Harkes (2001–2002)
- Frankie Hejduk (2003—)
- Stern John (1998–1999)
- Doctor Khumalo (1996–1997)
- Brian Maisonneuve (1996–2004)
- Kyle Martino (2002–2006)
- Brian McBride (1996–2003)
- Billy Thompson (1996–2000)
- John Wilmar Perez (2000–2002)
- Robert Warzycha (1996–2002)
[edit] Head coaches
- Timo Liekoski (1996)
- Tom Fitzgerald (1996–2001)
- Greg Andrulis (2001–2005)
- Robert Warzycha (2005; interim)
- Sigi Schmid (2006—)
[edit] Team records
- Games: Mike Clark, 221
- Goals: Brian McBride and Jeff Cunningham, 62
- Assists: Robert Warzycha, 61
- Clean Sheets: Jon Busch, 25
MLS regular season only, through 2006 season
[edit] Stadiums
- Ohio Stadium (1996–1999)
- Columbus Crew Stadium (1999–current)
[edit] Year-by-year
Year | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
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1996 | 4th, East | Quarterfinals | Did not enter |
1997 | 3rd, East | Semifinals | Did not enter |
1998 | 2nd, East | Semifinals | Final |
1999 | 2nd, East | Semifinals | Semifinals |
2000 | 4th, Central | Did not qualify | Quarterfinals |
2001 | 2nd, Central | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
2002 | 2nd, East | Semifinals | Champions |
2003 | 5th, East | Did not qualify | Round of 16 |
2004 | 1st, East* | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 |
2005 | 6th, East | Did not qualify | Round of 16 |
2006 | 6th, East | Did not qualify | Round of 16 |
* Won MLS Supporters Shield
[edit] International competition
- 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)
[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
- All-Time: 16,344
[edit] Famous supporters
- Bowling for Soup - Pop Punk Band
[edit] External links
Eastern Conference |
Western Conference |
Former teams | On hiatus |
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Miami Fusion • Tampa Bay Mutiny | San Jose Earthquakes |
Miscellaneous | |
MLS Cup • All-Star Game • SuperLiga • USSF • CSA • Central Division • U.S. Open Cup |