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By Neel Shelat

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The mastermind behind all this is Frenchman Wilfried Nancy, who became the first black head coach to win an MLS Cup title. He was appointed by the Columbus Crew at the end of the 2022 season when they failed to make the playoffs, and his tactical acumen made an instant impact that has transformed the Black and Gold into one of North America’s most tactically advanced teams.

Having lifted the MLS Cup just a few months ago, started the new season on the front foot and put together this historic CONCACAF Champions Cup run, the Crew are arguably enjoying the most successful period in their history. So, this is high time to take a closer look at how Nancy has got them here.

World Class Possession-Play

The standout attribute of the Columbus Crew under Nancy has to be their possession-play, which is quite clearly the most refined in Major League Soccer. Indeed, they could easily stake a claim to being the best in-possession team in all of CONCACAF, and watching them does not feel too different from watching some of the best teams in the world, from a stylistic standpoint at least.

So, what exactly do the Crew do? For one, they like to keep a lot of the ball. They had the highest possession average in MLS last season, which is quite a feat in a league that is renowned for always having very open, end-to-end and transitional games.

In general, they like to use a variation of the 3-4-2-1 formation. The five players that form the central base structure – the three centre-backs and two midfielders – are key to everything Nancy wants his side to do with the ball.

The Crew utilise their high possession average to conduct a lot of deep circulation among these five players in the base structure, who are all excellent ball-players with great technical quality and composure under pressure.

Darlington Nagbe is a particularly exceptional player in this respect. He can boast of the highest pass completion rate in all of MLS this season at a whopping 96.3%, and recently, he was named the best midfielder for ball retention under high pressure in the entirety of the world of men’s football, ahead of the likes of Rodri and Toni Kroos.

Thanks in no small part to his incredible composure and security on the ball, the Crew are able to adopt a multi-layered approach to their build-up play in possession. Their initial intention is to circulate the ball around the back and bait their opponents into pressing with passes to the midfielders that might appear a touch risky. Most of the time, though, Nagbe and Aidan Morris are both able to shake off or entirely evade the pressure, quickly circulating the ball to a free player in the base structure who then has time to look for a free attacker.

This approach is quite similar to what Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton & Hove Albion have been doing in the English Premier League, but the Seagulls have dropped off lately as opponents have discovered that their game plan can be dismantled by simply not pressing their build-up. The Crew, however, have no such weakness as they are also able to unlock compact blocks.

In such situations, their wide centre-backs assume a very important responsibility. One of them will often push up out wide or adopt a narrow position close to the midfield duo, intending to overload a certain area of the pitch in either case. Then, with quick, concise and secure passing, the Crew get the ball to the overloaded area and ultimately aim to find the free player, who can again look for an attacker to pass to.

In either case, the out-ball is often to someone on the wing, be it the high wing-backs or inside forwards who peel off wide to offer a passing option. It should be no surprise, then, that about three-quarters of the Crew’s attacks have originated on the wings this term.

However, as far as translating promising positions into goals that show up on the scoresheet is concerned, one man in the middle is the key player by some way. Colombian striker Cucho Hernández has scored about a third of his team’s goals in all competitions this term, and last season, none of his teammates reached even half of his goal tally in MLS!

Room for Improvement

There are a lot of reasons to be positive and optimistic for Columbus Crew fans right now, but a deeper dive into some of their stats also highlights some causes for concern.

The biggest issue is the team’s defensive record, which placed them in the worse half of MLS teams last year. They conceded 46 goals in 34 regular season matches, and then their record only worsened in the playoffs.

Nancy’s side kept just two clean sheets in six playoff games, conceding nine goals in the process. They quite simply succeeded by outscoring their opponents in matches such as the 4-2 win over Atlanta United and a 3-2 victory in the Eastern Conference final against FC Cincinnati.

This, coupled with a heavy reliance on one goal-getter, is not the most sustainable approach to knockout football, which is why it was a bit of a surprise to see the Columbus Crew lift the MLS Cup last season even though their quality is undeniable. Over the winter, though, Nancy and his coaching staff seem to have recognised this issue and worked on it.

With a more disciplined defensive block out of possession and an even heavier emphasis on ball retention, the Crew have pulled their average down to just one goal conceded per game in the early days of the MLS season. In the Champions Cup, this figure is even better.

As the Columbus Crew prepare to take on Monterrey in the Champions Cup semi-final, first leg on Wednesday with the potential of a final against Club América or Pachuca, they will back themselves to create more history by lifting their first-ever continental title. Of course, the matches against these top-class Mexican sides will be far from easy, but close to a year-and-a-half in to Nancy’s tenure, they seem better placed than ever to go the distance.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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