COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus Crew coach Caleb Porter told members of the media Tuesday that the club will be “high on personality, spirit and chemistry” for the 2022 season, which starts Saturday against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Lower.com Field.
“There’s a great energy. Better than most,” Porter said. “The strengths of this team will be in our locker room, our chemistry, our fighting spirit, our mentality. We’re going to be a tough team.”
The Crew missed the playoffs last season after winning the MLS Cup in 2020. Eight players from the championship team are still in Columbus, and the Crew will also get a few players back who missed most or all of last season due to injury, including midfielder José Artur de Lima Junior (sports hernia) and midfielder Aidan Morris (ACL tear).
“It was good to feel again the feel of being on the field with the teammates and not just training by myself and doing rehab,” Artur said. “I don’t feel like I’m 100% yet, but I don’t think I’m going to get there right away, because it’s been 10 months since I’ve played with two surgeries. And I think it’s going to come with time.”
Columbus also added a few key pieces in free agency, including 24-year-old winger Yaw Yeboah from Wisla Krakow, which competes in the top-level Polish league Ekstraklasa. Yeboah was asked type of player he is and what supporters should expect from him this season.
“I’m a player who likes to have the ball, have fun with the ball,” Yeboah said. “My abilities are really good, I have really good technique and I’m also fast on the ball and without the ball, so I just want to enjoy the game.”
The Crew further shored up its midfield by adding James Igbekeme on loan from Spanish Segunda División club Real Zaragoza.
Players who joined the Crew
- Yaw Yeboah
- James Igbekeme
- Sean Zawadzki
- Jake Morris
- Miloš Degenek
- Jalil Anibaba
- Will Sands
- Bradley Scott
- Patrick Schulte
Players who left the Crew
- Liam Frasier
- Harrison Afful
- Bradley Wright-Phillips
- Saad Abdul-Salaam
- Waylon Francis
- Grant Lillard
- Milton Valenzuela
- Vito Wormgoor
Crew mainstays
Columbus’ best pieces are still the same from the last two seasons, starting with MLS all star Lucas Zelarayan holding down the midfield.
Up front, veteran Gyasi Zardes and second-year phenom Miguel Berry will provide a one-two punch at forward while Pedro Santos moves back to defense alongside Jonathan Mensah with goalkeeper extraordinaire Eloy Room serving as the last line of defense after signing a deal to keep him in Columbus through 2023.
