Football Season Guide

The 2023 champs Columbus Crew had 2 average years since their triumph. The finish of the 2025 campaign was particularly painful. Eliminated in Round One of the playoffs 1-2 wins by their Ohio rivals Cincinnati. Won the home edition of this “Hell is Real” derby 4-0 but lost both away games by a goal. Not just that but the title-winning coach Nancy resigned after the season to seek opportunities in Europe. This means new era will have to begin. Opted for another European manager as a replacement. Henrik Rydström brought 2 titles to Malmo in the last 3 years. He has no experience outside Sweden though so it is yet to be seen how he will adapt to the MLS. The most notable departure was that of captain Nagbe. The star CM retired. Sekou Bangoura was added to fill the void. Also, it is likely Dylan Chambost will get much bigger role. Crew parted ways with 2 talented but sparsely used forwards. Replaced them with experienced Thiare and the very young Azeri striker Nariman Akhundzada (21). They will likely serve as back-ups for last summer’s arrival Wessam Abou Ali. The main chance creation will fall on the shoulders of the vastly experienced Rossi and Gazdag. With them orchestrating things and the trio of CFs rotating up front Columbus look like a team destined to be scoring lots of goals. For years under Nancy operated with 3-man defence. The new HC is known for favouring 4-man back line though. Some adjustments are likely and mixing what the players are used to with what the manager prefers in the opening months of the season is very likely.