Supporters’ XI: Real Esteli
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The start of a new season brings hope and excitement. For a team that is coming off a year where it won the MLS Cup, there also have expectations. On Thursday, the Columbus Crew starts trying to meet these expectations in the team’s first CONCACAF Champions League game since the 2010-11 season against Real Esteli.
In 2021, Massive Report will continue to ask you, the supporters, to tell us who you want to start for the Black & Gold. Right off the bat, with the first competitive match of the year, there are questions surrounding injuries and how new pieces fit.
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The rumors that were circulating for weeks were finally confirmed and Chris Cadden is no longer a Columbus Crew player. The Scottish defender returned to his home country to play for Hibernian FC after just one season in Major League Soccer and his departure opens up a spot in the roster the Black & Gold will have to fill prior to the start of the 2021 season.
Columbus’ starting right back spot has, for the most part of the last season, belonged to Harrison Afful, who for the entirety of that time has had the reliable cover of Hector Jimenez, who won’t return in 2021 as well after he signed with expansion franchise Austin FC. Considering Afful is 34, the Crew certainly need a viable option to allow the Ghanaian some nights off in what is expected to be an intense and demanding season and, more than that, the team could be in position to sign someone with the ability to replace the veteran in a year or two.
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When Tim Bezbatchenko announced the Columbus Crew’s first-round pick during the virtual MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, he did so sitting next to the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy. And unlike other teams that showcased past championships as they announced their selections, the Crew’s president and general manager did so with the most recently won MLS Cup by his side.
Because of the Black & Gold’s 3-0 MLS Cup Final win against the Seattle Sounders in early December, Columbus held the 27th overall pick, the last in the first round and the latest the Crew ever selected in the SuperDraft. But the club was more than happy to pick late after winning that trophy for the second time in franchise history.