How will Columbus Crew handle returning to the pitch as reigning MLS Cup champions?

brianna mac kay, columbus dispatch

Fri, Feb 23, 2024, 6:00 PM·4 min read

"It has been proven to be really difficult to stay at the top," Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said of his team's effort to defend the MLS Cup championship.

With a third star added above the Crew's logo, the 2023 season is now in the club's history books. It is time for the reigning MLS Cup champion to start writing a new story for 2024.

"We cannot live in the past," coach Wilfried Nancy said. "We have to use the past to get better, and it’s going to be a new challenge – but an exciting challenge because I believe that we know that this is really difficult. It has been proven to be really difficult to stay at the top when you are the top. And the challenge that I gave them is what can we do to seek for improvement all the time?"

Nancy entered this preseason wanting his team to find balance, embracing a role as defending champion and knowing that this season is a new test. This concept aligns with the coach's belief that soccer is an "infinite game." As Nancy has explained, it is always his job to help his players move forward. There is always ground to gain.

Coach Wilfried Nancy and the Crew are hoping to be the first MLS team since 2012 to win back-to-back titles.

With all the players from the MLS Cup Final starting lineup returning, many of whom – like Nancy – had their first experience winning the title that night, the expectations are high for Columbus. But Nancy's expectations are not based on what happened in 2023.

"The objective is to be good day to day, is to want to improve and to grow as a person and as a player and to be consistent," Nancy said. "Consistency is going to be key this year, and after that, we're going to be able to win something if we can."

'Opportunity to do something special'

Aidan Morris is one of the two current Crew players who was with the club when the team won it all in 2020. Though the midfielder would be sidelined the following season with an ACL tear, he did spend the preseason with the 2021 team and saw how it handled the pressure of trying to repeat.

"I think that year was a bit more, I would say like drill sergeants," Morris said. "And now I think we're a bit more relaxed. We all know what we (have) got to do, and I think there's just a vibe around the group that's really positive. I think that it's a mix of positivity and also realizing that we've got to put last year behind us."

The last time an MLS team won back-to-back titles was when the Los Angeles Galaxy accomplished the feat in 2011 and 2012 with David Beckham, so the question is what roadblock keeps clubs from repeating?

In 2024, Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe, left, will attempt to win the MLS Cup for the fifth time in his career.

Darlington Nagbe, a four-time MLS Cup winner who has twice hoisted the trophy with Columbus, explained that opponents will approach games against the Crew differently this year. Teammate Malte Amundsen, who won his first MLS Cup back in 2021 with New York City FC, agreed.

"It's going to be harder," he said, "and we have to adjust to that."

Though every team will want to take down the champions, forward Cucho Hernandez is confident in his team's ability to survive being a target. As the Crew's leading scorer with 16 goals last season, the 24-year-old has a lot of trust in Nancy's system.

"I don't believe that we have to adapt," Hernandez said via a translator. "We have to continue to play our game. We don't have to adapt, I believe the opponent has to adapt to our playing style."

"We don't have to adapt," Crew forward Cucho Hernandez said. "I believe the opponent has to adapt to our playing style.”

Columbus' 2024 goals go beyond winning another MLS Cup championship. Participating in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and Leagues Cup – among other competitions – there is a lot of potential for gold.

But that also means the Crew have to be ready for an increased number of games, something that will require many players to contribute. Will Sands is expected to make his way back from an ACL injury, the club made several offseason signings and there are young players whom the Crew can pull up from Crew 2.

"I think this club has a really big opportunity to do something special," Sands said. "There's a lot of trophies to play for, especially because of how well we did last year, and I think the depth on every position in the field is going to be huge if we want to compete for as many trophies as we can, which I think that's the goal.”

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15