Columbus Crew are hosting Premier League's Aston Villa in a friendly: Why is it important?
Wilfried Nancy's name is one of many that have come up in the search for a new United States men's national team coach, and Nancy has admitted his goal is to one day coach on the international stage.
But his ambition doesn't stop there.
As it is for a majority of soccer coaches and players, the English Premier League is the standard for Nancy. It's where he aspires to be.
"Why not me?" Nancy asked. "The passion that I have for the game, I would like to transmit and to see, with my staff and with myself if I can compete if I can face this kind of challenge. ... Present moment, I’m happy, but for sure the future I want to challenge myself with something different.”
On Saturday, Nancy will get a taste of this challenge when the Crew face the Premier League's Aston Villa in a friendly at Lower.com Field. The game falls during a rare break in Columbus' schedule, as the Crew were given a Leagues Cup bye after winning the 2023 MLS Cup title and are off until Friday, Aug. 9.
The chance to play against a Premier League team is enough for the Crew to embrace this friendly despite the schedule having been congested all season.
"It goes to show that we’re willing to test ourselves, day in and day out, week in and week out," Crew midfielder Sean Zawadzki said. "To go out there and compete against teams, the best teams in the world, the best teams in the league, and continue to play the way we play, I think it’s a good test. Not only for us, but to also show everyone else that we’re not afraid."
According to Nancy, Aston Villa is a "high-level" club. Last season, they finished fourth in the Premier League, qualifying the club for Champions League. The team is coached by Unai Emery, whom Nancy has looked up to since Emery's days coaching in France.
Most of the Crew's players spent their childhoods watching the Premier League every Saturday. That's true of Zawadzki, who grew up two hours from Columbus in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, and Malte Amundsen, who is from Denmark. That's why they understand the prestige of hosting any team from the league at Lower.com Field.
"It means a lot," Zawadzki said. "Flashback a little bit to when I was in the academy, the whole ‘Save the Crew’ stuff. Thinking back to that moment and I didn’t know if this is going to happen. And now, since that moment, two MLS Cups, really successful team last couple of years. And to be here, to play a team from the Premier League in Columbus, Ohio."
The Crew are looking at this game against Aston Villa as a way to continue putting Columbus and their club's style of play on the map. The organization believes it has made strides in taking its game "global" with its MLS Cup victory and advancing to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final.
But the task is far from finished.
The next step for the Crew is playing a competitive match with Aston Villa, even if it has no impact on Columbus' league standing and Aston Villa is still in preseason.
"It’s saying something, that we’re doing the right things here," Amundsen said. "Hopefully we can also show them that in the game, that they’re going to have to come here and fight. It’s not going to be easy, even though they’re the best league in the world.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew continue to grow their game with friendly vs Aston Villa
