A Q&A with Crew GM Tim Bezbatchenko: 'I've had more fun this year than I've had in years.'
Crew president/general manager Tim Bezbatchenko, coach Wilfried Nancy and goalkeeper Patrick Schulte took a few questions from the media four days after their Dec. 9 victory over the defending champions, Los Angeles FC, to win the MLS Cup at Lower.com Field. After the presser, Bezbatchenko sat down for an exclusive interview with Dispatch beat writer Brianna Mac Kay and sports columnist Michael Arace.
Here are excerpts from the presser and the more intimate interview, edited for length and clarity:
Q: How much term is left on Nancy’s contract?
Bezbatchenko: Multiple years. I’ll say it’s not up at the end of next year. If anyone’s following MLS, he’s certainly at the center (of the conversation). Even things like becoming the first Black coach to be in the finals and win, I think that’s fantastic. As he has said, it shouldn’t be that way, but for him to win, and also the way he did it, I think that’s what’s bringing so much attention. And the way he carries himself. How you see him in the media or on the pitch, that’s the way we see him every day around the building. It’s not like there’s one side that’s different from another side on the pitch. And I think if you’re looking to build a club that’s based on good people and values, he has those qualities in abundance.
Q: There has been some patter about Aidan Morris and/or Cucho Hernandez being transfer targets. Have you heard anything? What can you say at this point?
Bezbatchenko: First off, we haven’t received anything official yet. The number of international scouts that have come to our games has increased quite a bit this year, so when they ask for tickets, you always know who’s in your building. But there’s nothing formal. But I will say, I think it’s a trend across our league. The word is out on MLS and the word is out on our team, so we would expect interest in our players. We will prepare for multiple scenarios, as we always do. It’s probably more important this offseason than ever. We don’t want to lose anyone; we would want to keep this group together. But at the same time, players have goals, and some players, it may benefit them to go and see a different environment. … There’s also call-ups, a number of players who are going to be called up to the U.S. and a number of national teams, Columbian national team, Cape Verde, so we’ll find time with players to discuss those goals and then work through things as they come.
Q: Reports out of Mexico are that you’ve already signed Marino Hinestroza, a 21-year-old midfielder who plays for Pachuca of Liga MX. There are also reports out of Belgium, not of recent vintage, that you have been linked to 21-year-old midfielder Jarne Steuckers. What can you say about these players at this point?
Bezbatchenko: Nothing is officially done with Hinestroza, but we are working through it in terms of finalizing paperwork. It’s well down the road, is the way to put it. He’s a winger, a 7/11 who can come inside. Hinestroza would be a guy who can beat you off the dribble, has some speed. A different element to our attack that we don’t have. He has the skill on the ball to play on the inside, but we’d put him more wide right or wide left. Steuckers is less likely. We’re less down the road with him. He’s an 8/10 (central midfielder/attacking mid), and we’re still working on profiles at that position.
Q: What else are you working on?
Bezbatchenko: Goalkeeper depth. We did not extend Brady Scott. We’ve got Pat (Schulte) and Evan (Bush) and we really like the way (Crew 2 keeper) Stanislav Lapkes is improving, but we might have to look there. Center back position. You can never have enough of those, especially the way we play with our wide centerbacks who can play in the midfield, whether it’s Sean Zawadzki, Steven Moreira, Malte Amundsen or Yevhen Cheberko. We’re excited about the way Cheberko came along by the end of the year and just showed a level of growth from a physical standpoint. But then in the middle with Rudy Camacho, Phil Quinton, do we need an additional player given the slate of games we have? Maybe someone a little different, a little more physical, can help close out games – like games where we’re facing big strikers.
Q: As Nancy says, “The game is infinite.” In your case, the worldwide search for talent never ends, right?
Bezbatchenko: Beyond those positions I just named, the question then becomes: Does anyone come for any of our players? So, we’re constantly scouting all the positions in case there is something for Cucho, Diego (Rossi), Aidan, Pat Schulte. It’s the fun part of the job, but you’ve got to be well down the road. We’ve got four or five stages of scouting. We’ve got to be on stage two to three on all positions, just because if you wait and then you trade them or move them, it kind of takes three months.
Q: Given all the commitments that an MLS champion has the following season, you may play more than 50 games next season. You’ll need a lot of depth – as you’ve said previously, perhaps as many as 40 players. How does Crew 2 figure into the equation?
Bezbatchenko: Our goal is to have two players a year move up to the big team and then have one sort-of impact player every two to three years, meaning a top-15, regular starter. I think we’ve exceeded those numbers this year (with Crew 2 graduates Mo Farsi, Schulte and Zawadzki, among others). I think next year we’re going to have at least one or two (on the big club), whether or not they’re impact players. Taha Habroune (a 17-year-old forward), Stanislav Lapkes, (midfielder) Cole Mrowka, (forward) Jordan Knight, (defender) Chris Rogers, (midfielder) Tristan Brown … You can go through the lineup, and if they’re playing Crew 2, they have a chance. I know we’ve done well with one championship in two appearances in the (MLS Next Pro) finals, and it’s important to experience winning in different environments, but we’re not filling the roster at Crew 2 to win the championship in MLS Next Pro. We’re there to develop players for the first team. Period.
Q: You’ve now built three MLS Cup championship teams, 2017 Toronto FC, 2020 Crew, 2023 Crew, with three different coaches. What have you learned, and how do you go about building another one here?
Bezbatchenko: All the builds are different. The challenge is after you win, and there are some similarities – the schedule congestion, the idea that you’re going to get every team’s best game. They know you better. They might not even have to scout you, because at some point, some of the biggest teams, you just know how they’re going to play. So, you have to change things up, and you have to keep things fresh. Each one is unique. Each one is meaningful in its own way. I’m excited to have Wilfried and the coaches and this staff together because I had more fun this year than I’ve had in years, building this and watching this team grow into what it is now.
In Toronto, we got to that point, but in Toronto, we were the highest- or one of the highest-spending teams, and with that came all sorts of issues. I probably learned a lot about entitlement, giving so much over to various individuals, more than I probably should have, so that it can create a different dynamic within the club. Maybe that comes with the star-player model, when you’re spending that much. (Note from Arace: When the Crew met Toronto in the Eastern Conference final in 2017, the $6-million salary of one Toronto player, Michael Bradley, equaled the Crew’s entire payroll).
I think here, we took a very different approach, very much a club-centered, one-team model where we’ve got to think beyond even next year and about ownership’s values and what values we have as a club, the values we want to push down through our academy. So, we haven’t done it (defended the title) yet, but I think we’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned a lot.
In Toronto, when we were in Champions League (in 2018), we went all out, and we lost in the final on penalty kicks. But we had to sacrifice MLS games for that and we wound up not making the playoffs. That was frustrating. We beat Tigres and Club America and then played away at Guadalajara – the three biggest clubs in Mexico. I think that was one of the strongest rosters MLS has had to that point. But then, on the Saturdays between these (Champions League) games, we had to call up players from USL teams because we couldn’t even call them up from our second team. I think that’s where this league has shifted, even in the last five to six years: We have deeper rosters on the first team, we have more players on Crew 2, we’ve gone through the trials and tribulations of Champions Cup (formerly, Champions League). And so I think it’ll be more balanced.
Q: You grew up with the Crew. Your parents have been season-ticket holders since the inaugural season of 1996. You wore your tux to the first game at the old Crew Stadium in 1999, to make a quicker getaway to the prom. What has the past week been like?
Bezbatchenko: (Lucas) Zelarayan (the MVP of the 2020 MLS Cup team who was sold to a Saudi team last summer) has been in touch with the players. He has been very supportive. Milos (Degenek, who requested a trade last summer), same thing. Jonathan Mensah (former captain who was traded earlier in the season) was at the match Sunday with a lot of other former players. They’re all a part of the team. We’re trying to honor and remember our alumni. I think that’s what really separates us from a lot of clubs – our history, almost 30 years now. I got a string of texts that had (Brian) McBride, (John) Harkes, Blissy (Brian Bliss), Dante (Washington) … they all know each other. Brian Maisonneuve. Todd Yeagley. I was a fan when they were playing, and they’ve stayed in touch. Just to see the way they still support the team, you don’t see that every place in MLS. Pete (Dr. Pete Edwards, minority owner and longtime team doctor) keeps it together. He’s the glue.
Q: We took note that you had gathered your father and mother, Mike and Ellen, your wife Annie and your kids, Sarah and Jack, on the field right after your team won the championship. Fair to say you won’t forget that anytime soon?
Bezbatchenko: It was incredible. I’ve seen my dad cry a few times – when his dad died, when the Browns left Cleveland … He was on the verge Saturday night, and he said it was one of the happiest days of his life. And my mom was the same way. And Annie. My kids say they remember the previous championships, but now they really do because they’re old enough. Just to be able to be there with your wife and kids, that’s … it means more. It’s so special.
Get more on the Crew's MLS Cup victory down at the Speakeasy
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: MLS Cup in hand, Crew architect Bezbatchenko talks about what's next
