Soccer: '08 MLS title earned Crew new image, busy seasons
When Sigi Schmid wasn't at the stadium or training grounds as the Crew's coach in 2008, he spent most of his hours in front of his television, watching recordings of games in Major League Soccer and abroad, looking for any tactical edge that could help his team win.
Current Crew coach Robert Warzycha is similarly engaged, tasked with figuring out how to manage his 24 players through almost four dozen games in nine months.
"Do I sleep? No," Warzycha said. "I wake up at night because I'm thinking about all of this. I don't go to bed saying, 'OK, we're playing Joe Public. Everything's going to be fine.' No. That never happens."
Under Schmid and top assistant Warzycha, the Crew surprised the league by winning the franchise's first MLS Cup in 2008.
The feat, unencumbered by a supplemental schedule of Champions League or U.S. Open Cup games, set a high standard that has demanded much from Warzycha and his team over the past 22 months - leading into a game tonight against Schmid and his Seattle Sounders.
How has the Crew fared?
"What's changed since the Crew won is the consistency of the team," Schmid said. "It's been a long time since the Crew was a team that (opponents) looked at and said, 'OK, we're going to get some points against them. We're going to win our game against them.'"
The Crew had the best regular-season record in MLS the past two seasons. It has a stout defense built around a dominant center back, Chad Marshall. It has a dangerous but unspectacular offense devoid of a star scorer but sparked by playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
The Crew has neither scored the most nor allowed the fewest goals this season or in the past two seasons, yet led the league in goal differential in 2008 and '09. The Crew is in contention to become the first MLS team to win three consecutive Supporters' Shields.
Schmid left for Seattle, an expansion franchise, after the 2008 season. A victory could put Columbus in a tie with Los Angeles atop the overall standings.
"The players are a little older and a little wiser, and there are some new guys in the fray, but not much has changed since we won a championship," Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer said. "We haven't changed our formation. We haven't changed our shape. We haven't changed our mentality. We're still a fighting group."
The Crew of 2008 played 36 competitive games, including the playoffs and a two-game run in the Open Cup.
The Crew of 2010 will play 44 to 46 meaningful games. The 2009 team played 39.
MLS success has earned the Crew a spot in the Champions League group stage - the regional club championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean - the past two seasons, plus a schedule so hectic that Warzycha said it is impossible to compare with those of previous seasons.
"We used to use almost the same team every single week," Warzycha said. "That is simply not possible now. We're monitoring players every day for exhaustion, trying to limit their injury risk."
The Crew could collapse under such pressure. It hasn't.
"The experience of winning a championship keeps you winning," said Schmid, who has won two MLS Cups, two Open Cups and a Champions Cup (predecessor to the Champions League).
"Even when you bring new players in, there's always a group that's there that can guide others. You build with the tradition that's already there.
Current Crew coach Robert Warzycha is similarly engaged, tasked with figuring out how to manage his 24 players through almost four dozen games in nine months.
"Do I sleep? No," Warzycha said. "I wake up at night because I'm thinking about all of this. I don't go to bed saying, 'OK, we're playing Joe Public. Everything's going to be fine.' No. That never happens."
Under Schmid and top assistant Warzycha, the Crew surprised the league by winning the franchise's first MLS Cup in 2008.
The feat, unencumbered by a supplemental schedule of Champions League or U.S. Open Cup games, set a high standard that has demanded much from Warzycha and his team over the past 22 months - leading into a game tonight against Schmid and his Seattle Sounders.
How has the Crew fared?
"What's changed since the Crew won is the consistency of the team," Schmid said. "It's been a long time since the Crew was a team that (opponents) looked at and said, 'OK, we're going to get some points against them. We're going to win our game against them.'"
The Crew had the best regular-season record in MLS the past two seasons. It has a stout defense built around a dominant center back, Chad Marshall. It has a dangerous but unspectacular offense devoid of a star scorer but sparked by playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
The Crew has neither scored the most nor allowed the fewest goals this season or in the past two seasons, yet led the league in goal differential in 2008 and '09. The Crew is in contention to become the first MLS team to win three consecutive Supporters' Shields.
Schmid left for Seattle, an expansion franchise, after the 2008 season. A victory could put Columbus in a tie with Los Angeles atop the overall standings.
"The players are a little older and a little wiser, and there are some new guys in the fray, but not much has changed since we won a championship," Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer said. "We haven't changed our formation. We haven't changed our shape. We haven't changed our mentality. We're still a fighting group."
The Crew of 2008 played 36 competitive games, including the playoffs and a two-game run in the Open Cup.
The Crew of 2010 will play 44 to 46 meaningful games. The 2009 team played 39.
MLS success has earned the Crew a spot in the Champions League group stage - the regional club championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean - the past two seasons, plus a schedule so hectic that Warzycha said it is impossible to compare with those of previous seasons.
"We used to use almost the same team every single week," Warzycha said. "That is simply not possible now. We're monitoring players every day for exhaustion, trying to limit their injury risk."
The Crew could collapse under such pressure. It hasn't.
"The experience of winning a championship keeps you winning," said Schmid, who has won two MLS Cups, two Open Cups and a Champions Cup (predecessor to the Champions League).
"Even when you bring new players in, there's always a group that's there that can guide others. You build with the tradition that's already there.