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| Friday, September 14, 2001 24:18 EST |
2000 Columbus Crew at a glance
[SportsTicker]
Division: Central
Stadium: Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Soccer capacity: 22,555
Investor/Operator: The Hunt Family, along with a group of local investors
Head coach: Tom Fitzgerald
1999 record and finish: 19-13 (45 points), second place in East
1999 offensive ranking: 6, (48 goals, 1.50 per game)
1999 defensive ranking: 4, (39 goals, 1.22 per game)
Top returning scorer: Jeff Cunningham (12 goals + 5 assists = 29 points)
Key returning players: Brian McBride, Robert Warzycha, Jeff Cunningham, Brian Maisonneuve
New players of note: John Wilmar Perez, Dante Washington, Mike Duhaney
Key departed players: Stern John, Thomas Dooley, Andy Williams, Juergen Sommer
Outlook
"America's Hardest Working Team" did more than just unveil
the most intimate facility in MLS with the May 15, 1999 introduction of
the new, 22,555-seat soccer-specific Columbus Crew Stadium.
Tom Fitzgerald's team led the league in attendance, averaging 17,696 fans
per game at the venue, and won nearly two-thirds of its games with the
passionate and knowledgeable Columbus fans serving as the team's 12th man.
Under the league's realignment, Columbus moves to the Central Division
in 2000, away from perennial East power and Crew nemesis, D.C. United.
The loss of Stern John, Thomas Dooley and Andy Williams will not be
easy to overcome, but Fitzgerald is confident that a younger, faster Crew
team will be more dangerous in 2000.
Left back Mike Duhaney, picked up from the MetroStars in the late January
trade for Dooley, will certainly help, but midfield could be a challenge
for the Crew while Brian Maisonneuve is out recovering from offseason ankle
surgery. Polish veteran midfielder Robert Warzycha was one of the
Crew's best players at MLS Spring Training 2000, and Fitzgerald will have to
lean heavily on Warzycha during the first few months of the season.
Colombian National Team midfielder John Wilmar Perez, who signed with the
Crew in mid-March after Fitzgerald saw him during the 2000 Gold Cup,
could be the playmaker Crew fans have wanted. The SuperDraft-day
acquisition of forward Dante Washington (if healthy) adds depth
and firepower up front.
Players to watch
F Brian McBride (5 goals, 10 assists in '99) will
once again become the Crew's go-to player up top with the departure of Stern
John to Nottingham Forrest. F Jeff Cunningham is a good complement to
McBride, and speedster Brian West might also see time at striker.
Veteran hard man Mike Lapper had a solid '99 season and will team with
Trinidadian Ansil Elcock and 1997 MLS Rookie of the Year Mike Duhaney
in the back. Mark Dougherty, the league's all-time winningest 'keeper
(54 wins) who went 18-12 in 1999, remains the starting goalkeeper with Matt Napoleon as the backup.
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