The 2021 Columbus Crew season was the club's 26th season of existence and their 26th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of soccer in the United States and Canada. The first match of the season was on April 18 against Philadelphia Union. It was the third season under head coach Caleb Porter.
The 2021 season saw Columbus defending their 2020 MLS Cup championship, as well as the opening of Lower.com Field, the club's new downtown stadium. They hosted the 2021 Campeones Cup against Cruz Azul, the winner of the Liga MX's Campeón de Campeones winning 2–0. The club also participated in the CONCACAF Champions League, their first appearance since the 2010–11 tournament.
The team began playing the season under the name Columbus Crew SC until a rebrand on May 10, 2021, after which the name was changed to Columbus SC. However, after criticism over the rebrand was spurred by its fans, the club announced that it would return to its original name. The "SC" was dropped and the club was once again the Columbus Crew.
This was the last season in which Columbus Crew played at Historic Crew Stadium, where the team played their final match against the Chicago Fire on June 19, 2021, with a 2–0 win. The team then moved to Lower.com Field near downtown Columbus, where they would play their first match at the new stadium against the New England Revolution with a 2–2 draw on July 3, 2021.
Roster
Out on loan
(on loan to Austin FC)
Technical Staff
Non-competitive
Preseason The Crew played preseason matches in Florida. They brought six academy players with them to training camp: Anthony Samways, Elton Chifamba, Noah Hall, Samuel Sarver, TJ Presthus and Levi Stephens
Competitive Overview
MLS
Standings
Eastern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results On March 10, 2021 the league announced the home openers for every club, with Columbus playing Philadelphia Union at Historic Crew Stadium.
MLS Cup Playoffs
The Columbus Crew failed to qualify for the playoffs in this season.
CONCACAF Champions League
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Campeones Cup
U.S. Open Cup
On July 20, US Soccer announced that the tournament would be cancelled for 2021 and would resume in 2022.
Statistics Appearances and goals Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.
|colspan=12 align=center|Players who left Columbus during the season:
Disciplinary record No. Pos. Name MLS CONCACAF Champions League Campeones Cup Total 1 GK Eloy Room10000010 2 MF Perry Kitchen20000020 3 DF Josh Williams30000030 4 DF Jonathan Mensah50100060 5 DF Vito Wormgoor30000030 6 MF Darlington Nagbe20100030 7 MF Pedro Santos50000050 8 MF Artur10000010 9 FW Kevin Molino00000000 10 MF Lucas Zelarayán10200030 11 FW Gyasi Zardes00100010 12 MF Luis Díaz30001040 13 GK Eric Dick00000000 14 DF Waylon Francis40100050 16 MF Isaiah Parente10000010 17 DF Marlon Hairston10000010 18 MF Sebastian Berhalter00000000 19 DF Milton Valenzuela20000020 20 MF Alexandru Mățan10000010 21 MF Aidan Morris00100010 22 MF Derrick Etienne Jr.40000040 23 DF Grant Lillard00000000 24 GK Evan Bush00000000 25 DF Harrison Afful31000031 26 MF Saad Abdul-Salaam20000020 27 FW Miguel Berry00000000 30 DF Aboubacar Keita20000020 31 DF Steven Moreira20000000 33 FW Erik Hurtado30000030 99 FW Bradley Wright-Phillips00000000Players who left Columbus during the season: 28 FW Matt Lampson00000000
Clean sheets
No. Name MLS CONCACAF Champions League Campeones Cup Total Games Played 1 Eloy Room720934 13 Eric Dick00000 24 Evan Bush10125Players who left Columbus during the season: 28 Matt Lampson00000
Transfers
In Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource DF Waylon Francis Columbus Crew SC Signed as a free agent January 6, 2021 MF Kevin Molino Minnesota United FC Signed as a free agent January 7, 2021 GK Eric Dick Sporting Kansas City Selected in Stage 2 of the 2020 MLS Re-Entry Draft January 8, 2021 MF Isaiah Parente Wake Forest Signed to Homegrown Player deal. January 11, 2021 MF Perry Kitchen LA Galaxy Signed as a free agent January 28, 2021 MF Marlon Hairston Minnesota United FC Signed as a free agent March 3, 2021 MF Alexandru Mățan Viitorul Constanţa Transfer, $1,800,000 transfer fee. Acquired under the MLS U-22 initiative.March 8, 2021 DF Saad Abdul-Salaam FC Cincinnati Picked up off waivers April 17, 2021 FW Erik Hurtado CF Montreal Traded for $200,000 in 2021 general allocation moneyJuly 8, 2021 DF Steven Moreira Toulouse FC Signed as a free agentAugust 23, 2021 GK Eloy Room Columbus Crew Signed a new contract December 3, 2021 MF Pedro Santos Columbus Crew Signed a new contract December 8, 2021
Loan in Pos.PlayerParent clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource MF Liam Fraser Toronto FC Sent $50,000 in 2021 general allocation money May 3, 2021 December 11, 2021
Out Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource GK Jon Kempin D.C. United Traded for third-round draft pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft January 8, 2021 MF Chris Cadden Hibernian F.C. Transfer, Columbus retains a percentage of any future Transfer fee Hibernian receives January 15, 2021 GK Matt Lampson Hartford Athletic Placed on waivers August 25, 2021 GK Eloy Room Columbus Crew Contract expired December 1, 2021 MF Pedro Santos Columbus Crew Contract expired December 1, 2021 DF Milton Valenzuela FC Lugano Contract expired December 1, 2021 GK Evan Bush Columbus Crew Contract expired December 1, 2021 DF Harrison Afful Charlotte FC Contract expired December 1, 2021 DF Grant Lillard Loudoun United Contract expired December 1, 2021 GK Eric Dick Minnesota United FC Option declined December 1, 2021 DF Waylon Francis CS Herediano Option declined December 1, 2021 DF Saad Abdul-Salaam San Antonio FC Option declined December 1, 2021 DF Vito Wormgoor IK Start Option declined December 1, 2021 FW Erik Hurtado Columbus Crew Option declined December 1, 2021 FW Bradley Wright-Phillips Retired Option declined December 1, 2021
Loans out Pos.PlayerLoanee clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource MF Sebastian Berhalter Austin FC Acquired $50,000 in 2021 general allocation money. The Crew will receive $50,000 in allocation money if Berhalter meets certain performance conditions in 2021. Austin FC retains the option to trade for the rights on a permanent basis. March 3, 2021 November 7, 2021 FW Miguel Berry San Diego Loyal SC Columbus retains the right to terminate the loan at any time. May 28, 2021 June 29, 2021 GK Eric Dick Indy Eleven Columbus retains the right to terminate the loan at any time. June 24, 2021 August 22, 2021
MLS Draft picks
Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. The picks for Columbus Crew are listed below: Round Pick Player Position College 127 Justin MalouDFSan Diego252 Joshua Jackson-KetchupDFOhio State
Stage Round Pick Player Position Team 214 Brady ScottGKAustin FC
Awards +MLS Team of the WeekWeekStartersBenchOpponent(s)Link 4 Lucas Zelarayán D.C. United 6 Lucas Zelarayán New York City FC 7 Pedro Santos Toronto FC 8 Gyasi Zardes Pedro Santos Chicago Fire FC 11 Gyasi Zardes New England Revolution 12 Lucas Zelarayán FC Cincinnati 13 Darlington Nagbe Eloy Room New York City FC 15 Jonathan Mensah Eloy Room Atlanta United FC 22 Lucas Zelarayán Miguel Berry FC Cincinnati 25 Jonathan Mensah Inter Miami CF New York Red Bulls 26 Eloy Room New England Revolution 27 Gyasi Zardes CF Montréal 30 Pedro Santos Gyasi Zardes Inter Miami CF 33 Lucas Zelarayán New York Red Bulls Orlando City SC 34 Lucas Zelarayán D.C. United 35 Steven Moreira Chicago Fire FC
MLS Player of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink 6 Lucas Zelarayán New York City FC 27 Gyasi Zardes CF Montréal 30 Gyasi Zardes Inter Miami CF 34 Lucas Zelarayán D.C. United
MLS Goal of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink 6 Lucas Zelarayán New York City FC 12 Lucas Zelarayán D.C. United 34 Lucas Zelarayán D.C. United
2021 MLS All-Star Game Starters MF Lucas Zelarayán
Postseason MLS Fair Play Team Award
Crew Team Awards Most Valuable Player – Lucas Zelarayán Golden Boot Winner – Lucas Zelarayán Defender of the Year – Eloy Room Kirk Urso Heart Award – Miguel Berry Humanitarian of the Year – Josh Williams Academy Player of the Year – Tyler Crawford
Kits
Type Shirt Shorts Socks HomeWhiteGoldGold AwayBlackBlackBlack
References