Riding the 2023 season all the way to the MLS Cup Final meant that the already short MLS offseason window would be made even smaller for the Crew.

With just 77 days between last year's championship match and this year's season opener, center back Steven Moreira cut his break from the field in half, returning to action in the Africa Cup of Nations 36 days after the final.

Representing Cape Verde, Moreira started his 2024 international play on Jan. 14 and helped lead his team to tournament's quarterfinals before falling to South Africa in penalty kicks. Allowed a bit of rest after his international duty, the 29-year-old joined the Crew over halfway through the second leg of training camp in Santa Barbara, California, on Feb. 13.

Having experience playing professional soccer in France prior to signing as a free agent with Columbus in 2021, Moreira is used to the quick season turnarounds that are common across European leagues.

"See me, I want to play all games," Moreira said. "Training, I like training but not too much. … This year is good because we have a lot of games, less training and more games to compete and to win again and again."

Claiming he doesn't want coach Wilfried Nancy resting him, the likelihood of Moreira playing in every Crew game this season is slim. He led the club in minutes played last year with 2,925, and the Crew are gearing up to see a significant uptick in number of games played as the reigning champions, including the club's first CONCACAF Champions Cup appearance since 2021.

"We’ll see if he’s going to start or not because, as you know, we’re going to have many games," Nancy said in regard to Saturday's opener against Atlanta. "But he’s fit, he’s happy to back and we’re happy also he’s back because he’s a really good player, yes, but he is also a really good person to connect with everyone."

A deeper connection for Wilfried Nancy

Nancy, who knows that national team call-ups represent the development within the club's system, is always quick to show his support for players sent on international duty. Watching Moreira play for Cape Verde was a little more personal for the French native.

"This is the country of my mother, and this is a small country and they’re really good players," Nancy said. "I was pleased to watch him on TV, and I wanted to be only the fan, but it was difficult for me, so I did both. Sometimes I was a fan and sometimes I was a coach."

While watching Cape Verde's games, Nancy saw Moreira do more than just help advance a team that is so special to him.

Though the defender was put at the right back position for Cape Verde rather than center back, where Moriera usually plays for the Crew, he still brought some of his coach's playing style to the national team. For Moreira, the success of last season carried over with him to international play.

"I was happy to see that he had an influence in the team, the way we play," Nancy said. "He tried to add certain things that we do in our team."

Feeling the support from his teammates, who were texting him throughout the tournament, Moreira felt the additional meaning his time in the tournament had for his coach.

"He told me he just wants to be proud of me, proud of the country, and that makes me very, very happy," Moreira said. "I can tell he feels very, very proud, like I was his kids or something. It is because, it’s the same country and like, (he) understands more than everybody else."

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15

Get more Columbus Crew news by listening to our podcast

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew defender Steven Moreira is ready to play in 2024 season