This MLS season has been eventful for every team in the playoffs or still in the race with one game to go. Nothing has been more intriguing than the Columbus Crew’s stunning fall from the top of the conference to the last team in.
The Crew have been viewed as one of the best and most consistent teams in the MLS for the past three seasons. Wilfried Nancy and his tactical genius have elevated this squad to a championship contender and a winner of two different cups.
That has made this season disappointing, as it started with so much hope despite a few key changes to the team’s core. It was still expected to be busy as usual for the Columbus Crew; instead, it was a slow fall to ninth place.
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Columbus Crew’s Stunning Fall in the East
A promising start
At the beginning of the year, we saw a Columbus Crew squad that seemed as if they hadn’t dropped off from the 2024 season. In 2024, they competed for the Supporters Shield and got eliminated as the two seed in the first round.
They didn’t let that affect them as they secured their midfield and ran in back with Diego Rossi as their center piece. When the squad was healthy and fresh to start the season, they were clearly one of, if not the best, teams in the East.
As the summer months heated up, they fell a few spots but remained as a top team and a contender for the Supporters’ Shield.
They hung around the sixth seed, trading places with teams like Orlando, Inter Miami, and Nashville, who all faced similar challenges as the Crew. It appeared that the Crew would be the best that this group had to offer until the injuries piled up over time.
The injury issue then led to where we are now and why the Crew has fallen so far behind.
Fall from Grace
The Crew’s fall was not sudden, and over time, it felt like an avalanche that suffocated their MLS Cup hopes. Though they are not out of contention as they are in the playoffs, they have to fight with a hungry Chicago Fire team that has overachieved this year.
The Crew suffered injuries in late July that they failed to ever bounce back from. They failed to create an offensive attack when falling behind teams or even in tied-up games in which they had the edge talent-wise.
Falling or drawing with teams below them became far too common in this stretch; teams like New England and Toronto gave them trouble even though most MLS fans would agree that the Crew is a tier ahead of those teams. On the Terms of organization, talent, and manager, the Crew had the advantage and still drew or lost to those teams.
Rossi falling out of the lineup due to injury in a must-win was another stab to the heart as the Crew was just starting to get healthy again after their long injury stretch.
Unfortunately for the Crew, their players being back on the pitch doesn’t necessarily mean that they are fully healthy.
Time will tell what is stored for the Columbus Crew and their potential playoff run. If the past three months tell us what is to come in the playoffs, it could be a short run for the capital of Ohio.
Main Photo
Credit IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire
Recording Date 16.09.2025