Haslams, Columbus Crew coach Wilfried Nancy reflect on problem with Champions Cup format
During the Crew's 12-day break between a 3-0 loss in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final and their return to MLS regular-season play, coach Wilfried Nancy has attempted to evaluate what happened against CF Pachuca.
It was Columbus' largest margin of defeat since Nancy's debut as the Crew's coach in 2023, but the team played the Champions Cup match with more than half its players and the whole coaching staff dealing with food poisoning. Nancy says the game is unfair representation of the Crew's ability.
"It’s true that something happened over there," Nancy said. "We were all good, and suddenly when we woke up, we were all sick. So, it was difficult for me, during the game also, to assess and to do changes and to help my team to get better because they (weren't in) a normal state."
Nancy said he hopes that will spur change to the Champions Cup format.
Throughout the CONCACAF tournament, teams played in two-match home-and-home series until the final. According to Crew co-owner Jimmy Haslam, he and his wife/fellow Crew co-owner Dee Haslam have tried, unsuccessfully, to get an explanation for why this is.
"I have complained to CONCACAF, and I've complained to MLS," Jimmy Haslam said. "We had the hardest path to the finals, there's no question about it."
Crew news: Crew midfielder Aidan Morris leaving Columbus for EFL Championship's Middlesbrough FC
And then, once the Crew reached the final, Haslam pointed out, they didn't get to have a home game. The Haslams and Nancy would like to see either a continuation of the two-match series, or a match at a neutral site.
Under the current format, Pachuca had home-field advantage in the Champions Cup final due to the club earning 14 points with a record of 4-0-2 starting from the round of 32. The Crew had 12 points with a record of 3-0-3.
After reaching the Champions Cup title match by defeating MLS' Houston Dynamo, in addition to Liga MX clubs Tigres and CF Monterrey, Jimmy Haslam would have liked to see one more CONCACAF game played at Lower.com Field along with the one in Pachuca. Nancy pointed out, however, it is more common for a continental final to be held at a neutral site.
"Don’t get me wrong, Pachuca won 3-0," Nancy said. "The way I’ve been educated is when you lose 3-0, you shut your mouth. You go home, and that’s it. But that’s not the case because I would have liked the equal state of mind to play, and the physical point to play. So, to do it, I think that it could be fair for the future."
Get more Columbus Crew content by listening to our podcast
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Should Champions Cup final change its format? The Haslams think so
