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Columbus Crew

The Columbus Crew is a professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio that participates in Major League Soccer. The club was owned by Lamar Hunt, who also owned the Kansas City Chiefs and FC Dallas until his 2006 death, upon which his son, Clark, took over his sports properties. The Crew currently play their home games at Columbus Crew Stadium, the first MLS soccer-specific stadium. From 1996–1999, the Crew played their home games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. The name "The Crew" is the result of a local fan contest. The team colors are black and gold. The team mascot is Crew Cat.

The Crew has won one tournament to date, the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, defeating the 2002 MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield winner Los Angeles Galaxy 1–0. The club has reached one other final, the 1998 Open Cup, which was postponed due to a hurricane and controversially relocated from Virginia Beach to Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Fire, who won the match in overtime 2–1.

The team has 3 major support groups: "La Turbina", "Hudson Street Hooligans" and "Crew Union". These three supporters groups sit together in a section in the northeast corner of Crew Stadium, known as the Nordecke. Nordecke (pronounced Nord-ek-uh), which is German for North Corner, is a tribute to the German heritage of Columbus.

History

The Columbus Crew are a charter member of Major League Soccer. The club played its home matches in Ohio Stadium from its inaugural year in 1996 through 1998. Beginning in 1999, the Crew played all of its home league matches in the newly built Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer specific stadium for a top flight club in the United States.

The Crew won its first trophy in 2002, capturing the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which in turn earned the club a berth in the 2003 CONCACAF Champions Cup. In 2004, the Crew won the Supporters' Shield for earning the most points during the MLS regular season.

Television and radio

In 2008, Crew matches are telecast locally on the Ohio News Network. Long-time Columbus Crew TV/radio announcer Dwight Burgess provides play-by-play coverage, while Dante Washington provides color commentary for away games. Bill McDermott provides color commentary for home games. Katie Witham is the sideline reporter for all games being broadcast by ONN.

A number of other matches will be televised nationally on ESPN2, Fox Soccer Channel, HDNet, and Telefutura.

English radio broadcasts can be heard on WTVN (610 AM) with play-by-play done by Neil Sika and color commentary from John Bluem. Spanish radio broadcasts can be heard on Radio Sol WDLR with Marcelo Carrera.

The Crew Soccer Updates air weekdays on WBWR(105.7 FM) and WRXS(106.7 FM).

During the first half of the 2008 MLS season, the Crew's matches were televised by the now defunct Columbus Sports Network.

Rivals

The Crew will compete with Toronto FC for the Trillium Cup each year starting in 2008. The two teams contested the opening game of the 2008 MLS season; Columbus won the match 2-0. The final two games were draws, 0-0 and 1-1, resulting in Columbus grabbing the inaugural Trillium Cup trophy on total points (5-2). Columbus currently leads the all-time series 3-0-3.

Other rivals of the Crew include the Chicago Fire and DC United.

Players

Current Roster

As of September 18, 2008.

Notable former players

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. It is clearly not yet complete and all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.

Edson Buddle (2001–2005)
Jon Busch (2002—2006)
Jeff Cunningham (1998–2004)
Thomas Dooley (1997–1999)
Mark Dougherty (1998-2001)
Ansil Elcock (1997–2001)
Robin Fraser (2004–2005)
Brad Friedel (1996–1997)
Luis Miguel Gallardo (2005-2006)
Marcos González (2006-2007)
Fredy Garcia
Mario Rodriguez (2005–2005)

John Harkes (2001–2002)
Stern John (1998–1999)
Doctor Khumalo (1996–1997)
Brian Maisonneuve (1996–2004)
Kyle Martino (2002–2006)
Brian McBride (1996–2003)
Billy Thompson (1996–2000)
Daniel Torres (2001–2003)
Robert Warzycha (1996–2002)
John Wilmar Perez (2000–2002)
Ian Woan (2001)

Head coaches

Nat	Name	Years
	Timo Liekoski	1996
	Tom Fitzgerald	1996–2001
	Greg Andrulis	2001–2005
	Robert Warzycha	2005 (interim)
	Sigi Schmid	2006–

Team records

Games: Mike Clark, 221
Goals: Brian McBride and Jeff Cunningham, 62
Assists: Robert Warzycha, 61
Shutouts: Jon Busch, 25

MLS regular season only, through 2006 season

All-Time regular season record: 149-158-61 (Through Oct. 21, 2007)

Stadiums

Ohio Stadium (1996–1999)
Columbus Crew Stadium (1999–current)

Results

Year-by-year

Year	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Open Cup	CONCACAF Champions' Cup	SuperLiga
1996	4th, East	Quarterfinals	Did not enter	Did not qualify
1997	3rd, East	Semifinals	Did not enter	Did not qualify
1998	2nd, East	Semifinals	Final	Did not qualify
1999	2nd, East	Semifinals	Semifinals	Did not qualify
2000	4th, Central	Did not qualify	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2001	2nd, Central	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals	Not held ^†
2002	2nd, East	Semifinals	Champions	Did not qualify
2003	5th, East	Did not qualify	Round of 16	Quarterfinals
2004	1st, East*	Quarterfinals	Round of 16	Did not qualify
2005	6th, East	Did not qualify	Round of 16	Did not qualify
2006	6th, East	Did not qualify	Round of 16	Did not qualify
2007	6th, East	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	Did not participate
2008	1st, East	Qualified	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	Did not qualify