Tough end tinges Crew's remarkable '09
Early playoff exit left Columbus shy of final goal in follow-up to Cup-winning season
Related
- Five big questions for the Columbus Crew
- Columbus Crew: Season In Review
Watch
Losing the series 4-2 on aggregate, including a 3-2 defeat at home in the second leg when they blew a two-goal advantage, exposed the Crew's flaws and opened coach Robert Warzycha to second-guessing.
It was not the way the Crew had envisioned the season ending, especially after tearing through their MLS opponents in the middle four months while holding their own in the CONCACAF Champions League.
By the time the Crew reached the end of the regular season with their third defeat in four games, they had still won a second consecutive Supporters' Shield thanks to a 13-7-10 record and were the lone MLS team to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals.
"I'm proud of the team," Warzycha said in the aftermath of the disappointing playoff series. "We won the Supporters' Shield. We are in the second round of the Champions League. We won the Eastern Conference -- all goals we talked about before the season. The last one was the championship. We came up short."
The season was like a roller-coaster: There was a slow incline in Warzycha's first full season as head coach in place of Sigi Schmid (Warzycha was the interim Crew boss for the final 16 games in 2005 before Schmid was hired).
Columbus crested and sat atop of the MLS world for weeks by suffering only one loss from April 5 to Aug. 30.
A rapid descent followed. Burdened by a heavy schedule of MLS and Champions League matches that took the Crew to three countries, Warzycha mixed and matched his lineup. The strategy worked well for awhile but by the end the chemistry and consistency needed to be a champion was lacking.
"You look when that (Champions League) kicked off (Aug. 18) and when our form dipped and you'd have to say it hurt a little bit, but there are no excuses," midfielder Duncan Oughton said. "We had a great season but had a hiccup at the end of the season. It happens."
The defending champions opened the 2009 season at Houston against the club that won the previous two MLS Cups. Reigning league MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto tied the match in the 81st minute in what Crew followers hoped would be a continuation of the championship season when late-game comebacks were the norm.
Instead, the Crew went the other way in the home opener against Toronto FC. Gino Padula's own goal in the 84th minute allowed the visitors to escape with a point and started a new trend -- losing points late.
A two-game trip followed and the Crew were run out of Rio Tinto Stadium by RSL, 4-1 in the first one, before dropping a 2-1 decision to Chivas USA. In the latter, defender Andy Iro was shown red, the first of seven ejections for the Crew throughout the season after having four in 2008.
A two-game homestand was not the elixir. More frustration mounted as Colorado scored in the 82nd minute for a 1-1 tie. That was followed by a 2-2 draw against Chicago that saw Padula red-carded, allowing the Fire to score twice in the final six minutes. Following a 1-1 tie at Toronto FC the Crew were 0-2-5.
"Overall, I was happy with the way we played," Warzycha said. "From the first game at Houston we showed we are a very good passing team, playing on the ground. It was nice to watch and we did that all the way to the end. The only game we didn't was at Salt Lake (in the playoffs) when we played conservative."
The Crew finally got their first win in the eighth game against Kansas City. However, the early-season problems resurfaced in the next match at Los Angeles. The Galaxy tied the score at 1-1 in stoppage time after the Crew's Danny O'Rourke was sent off for a second yellow near the end of regulation.
At that point the Crew were tied with New York for last in the Eastern Conference with nine points and only San Jose and FC Dallas were below them in the table.
The Crew needed a shakeup and they got one after the Galaxy match when a minor tremor struck Los Angeles area.
Ironically, the next match was against the Earthquakes and the Crew won to start a 2-0-1 streak. It was capped by a 2-1 victory against Chivas in which Schelotto scored his then-league-best ninth and 10th goals.
"We battled through that first part of the season and went on a run again," defender Frankie Hejduk said. "It's not easy to repeat and everyone knows that."
FC Dallas ended the Crew's nine-game unbeaten streak the next week with a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes, the last a Kenny Cooper penalty kick in the 87th on June 20.
The Crew would not lose again for more than two months, amassing a 6-0-2 mark that included three consecutive shutouts leading into mid-August.
Despite numerous injuries (including Schelotto missing 1-1/2 months with a hamstring strain), numerous national team call-ups and a fair share of suspensions, Warzycha kept the team rolling by giving some of the role players opportunities.
Midfielder Kevin Burns and defender Jed Zayner had expanded responsibiliities and first-year center back Eric Brunner became a fixture in the lineup. Backup goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum also excelled for injured starter William Hesmer.
"We all believe in each other. The important thing is we have a system and everyone fits into the system. We all know our roles," Hejduk said. "When someone leaves or is injured or gone with the national team we have a good system that someone can step in and it doesn't make a big change."
Warzycha was constantly tinkering with the lineup out of necessity but the results kept coming. The shuffling was different than 2008 when there were fewer disruptions to the starting XI.
"This year is much different than last year with all the national team qualifiers, Confederations Cup and Gold Cup and the Champions League. You can't really compare the two," Hejduk said. "We've adapted this year because everybody believes in the system."
A home game against the Puerto Rico Islanders on Aug. 18 marked the Crew's first foray into the Champions League and the six-match group stage. The Crew took a 2-0 victory but eight days later were thoroughly beaten 5-0 in Mexico City by powerful Cruz Azul.
It was a blow to the ego and the Crew returned to MLS play with a 1-0 loss at last-place New York on Aug. 30.
The Crew got a needed two-week break before starting a stretch of seven games in 21 days. They opened with a 2-1 victory at Crew Stadium against Houston to fend off the Dynamo's challenge for the Supporters' Shield lead. Eddie Gaven converted the winner in stoppage time after a controversial penalty call.
Up next was a trip to Saprissa of Costa Rica and Gaven scored the lone goal to give Columbus the first win at the famed "Monster's Cave" in eight tries by an MLS team.
The schedule didn't get any easier as Schelotto scored his final two goals of the regular season (his first since the Chivas match) for a 2-2 tie at Chicago to prevent from pulling even with the Crew atop the East.
A return match with Cruz Azul didn't go well -- a 2-0 defeat was the first at home since June 2008.
However, the Crew shook it off and dominated visiting Los Angeles 2-0 to once again keep a team from prying the Shield from their grasp. That was followed by a disheartening 1-1 tie with the Saprissa at home. By yielding a stoppage time goal the Crew were unable to clinch a berth in the next round of the Champions League.
"We did OK in that stretch when we had seven games," Warzycha said. "We played some good teams. We played LA and we played Houston and we beat both of them. We tied Chicago there. The approach for that was good. The players were fresh."
Columbus started to look vulnerable in its own venue and Schmid made a triumphant return when his expansion Seattle Sounders FC scored a stunning 1-0 win to snap the Crew's MLS-record 24-game (including two playoff wins) home unbeaten streak.
A lack of scoring would doom the Crew the rest of the way. They got a fluky free kick goal by Padula to beat New England 1-0 to clinch the Eastern Conference. Then they lost 1-0 at D.C. United but still managed to secure the third Supporters' Shield in team history.
A 1-1 tie at Puerto Rico advanced the Crew in the Champions League but the regular season ended with a 1-0 defeat to New England at Crew Stadium.
Another whitewashing came in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Real Salt Lake as Warzycha elected to play for a tie and not use Schelotto. The strategy worked until Robbie Findley scored late to give RSL an important 1-0 advantage heading to Columbus.
Schelotto was on fire in the second leg with a pair of goals but it wasn't enough and questions about Warzycha's management will dog him in the offseason.
"You have to understand that at the end of the season we had some Champions League and we had some different things than other teams," Warzycha said. "Some teams were preparing for the playoffs. We were trying to go to the second round of the Champions League.
"We had more games, more travel and more pressure on ourselves. That's why it's not possible to play the same guys all the time."
Looking ahead to next season the Crew have two main priorities. The first is re-signing Schelotto.
"I want to come back but I need to talk to the Columbus Crew because I don't know what they're idea is," he said.
"He's fantastic. He's just a gamer," Hesmer said. "When it matters the most he shows up and brings his best. That's why guys in here respect him so much."
Number two is making sure Warzycha still has the players' respect.
While there was heavy grumbling in the locker room about the decision not to play Schelotto in the semifinal first leg, the same players earlier were praising the coach for his handling of the roster through two competitions.
Oughton, the longest-tenured Crew player after completing his ninth season, was asked if the team still has confidence in Warzycha.
"I think so. They scored in the 87th minute in Salt Lake. If that doesn't happen maybe they don't ask questions about certain things," he said.
"We had a good season. We started off solid but we weren't winning. We were tying a lot because of the transition then we showed how good we were in the middle stretch of the season. If you look at the overall picture it was a pretty good picture."
The Crew yielded five fewer goals but scored nine less than in 2008.
Changes have to be made. A scoring threat in the middle of the park in front of holding midfielder Brian Carroll is badly needed. The loss of Brad Evans (five goals in 2008) to Seattle in the expansion draft was never overcome.
A reliable striker is also on the list and better flank play -- whether it's from Gaven, Robbie Rogers, Emmanuel Ekpo or a newcomer -- is a must. Hejduk and left back Gino Padula are getting older and Schelotto will be 37 in May.
"With the salary cap, with everything we have to go through, we know we're not going to have the same team next year. It's not possible. The team is going to be a little bit different next year," Warzycha said.
No one, he said, had a career year yet the team still had success.
"If everybody had a breakout year it would be easy to win," said Warzycha.
Hesmer's wish is that the team reload, not rebuild.
"There's a lot of talent in this room," he said. "I wish like hell we can keep this group together again and go after the Champions League and another MLS Cup. I think this is a really good group."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
