The last time Columbus Crew met Club América, the stakes weren’t as high.
Both teams had already qualified for the knockout stages of Leagues Cup 2023, and there was no clear matchup advantage to winning the group. Yet, Crew manager Wilfried Nancy made it abundantly clear in his pre-match speech: This was a big game.
“Wilfred challenged us that day,” recalls Crew forward Christian Ramírez. “Most of us will never forget that he told us, ‘Look, anybody who hides in this game can’t play for me.’ It really challenged everybody on that given night, and I think that’s why you saw the performance we were able to have.”
The Crew scored four goals after conceding first and made a huge statement with a 4-1 victory against an América team that would ultimately win back-to-back LIGA MX titles.
The Crew have added plenty of hardware since that mid-summer night, lifting MLS Cup 2023 presented by Audi, making the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup final and winning Leagues Cup 2024.
Now, they again come face-to-face with Club América. And there's plenty on the line this time: the Michelob Ultra Campeones Cup trophy, awarded Wednesday evening at Lower.com Field (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass; TUDN).
“We expect a different game. It’s a final,” said Crew forward Cucho Hernández. “Those games are 50-50, so we’ll see what happens, and hopefully it’ll be there for us.”
However, the Crew might not have this opportunity without the boost they received against América last summer.
“To be able to come out on top that day really gave us a sense of belief in what we’re doing here at this club and the sights we could set to win trophies,” Ramírez said. “It gave us a great sense of confidence being able to go up against such a historic and great side as Club América.”
Zelarayán's goodbye
Emotions were high on July 31, 2023 as Columbus prepared to meet América. Word was getting out that Lucas Zelarayán, the MLS Cup 2020 MVP presented by Audi and creative engine of the team, was leaving for a new opportunity in Saudi Arabia.
Wearing sneakers rather than soccer boots, Zelarayán came onto the field pre-game to say goodbye to the home crowd, hugging teammates with whom he’d formed close friendships.
“He was a really good teammate and a good friend, but we showed ‘Lucas is not going to be here anymore, but we have a good team,'" said defender Steven Moreira, who capped the night with the Crew’s fourth goal. “To play against a big team like this, we had to improve and played a good, good game. That was amazing.”
In addition to Zelarayán’s absence, something else stood out about the in-stadium environment. Plenty of fans watching on sported shirts with a brighter shade of yellow than Crew kits around them.
“Club América has a large following all over, and we saw that in that game,” said Crew homegrown midfielder Sean Zawadzki. “You hear their fans, you hear our fans kind of in a little battle in a sense. On the field, you see their quality. We don’t get to play them that often, so to play against them and see that firsthand, I think the way we fought and everything was two good teams playing against each other.”
Despite the difference in history of the two clubs, Nancy stressed his team shouldn’t have an underdog mentality.
“For me, the meaning of underdog is when you win, it’s by luck. We work every day! We do a lot of things to improve and get better,” Nancy said when asked about the pre-match speech his players recalled. “This is a really good team that I respect, but at the end of the day it’s 0-0 and I want you to be yourself.
“If I see a player hiding or he doesn’t want the ball or is afraid to play, he can’t play for me. He’s going to be on the bench.”
Meeting the moment
Even after that rousing message, Nancy remembers moments when the atmosphere was a surprise.
“The first 20 minutes, they had the momentum and the fans from América were doing the, ‘olé, olé, olé, olé' and we were struggling a bit," Nancy said. "After that, we found a way to come back and the last 20 minutes our fans were doing the ‘olé, olé, olé.”
Already qualified for the next round, it would’ve been easy for the Crew to pack it in when Kevin Álvarez secured the opening goal after receiving a quickly taken free kick.
“To start the game off going down a goal, it was like ‘Oh this can’t be happening today,” Ramírez said. “Then we started to find ourselves.”
Nancy often preaches about mentality, emphasizing the psychological aspect of the sport before the match. Yet, the French manager is also a master tactician and shifted the alignment of Cucho, Ramírez and Alex Matan. The tweak resulted in a pair of goals from Cucho on either side of the halftime break that turned the tide.
“They were really aggressive and wanted to match us," Nancy said. "After, I decided to change tactically the shape to attack. After that, they struggled a bit to stop us, and we were able to do what we like to do. During difficult moments, I liked the resiliency we had to stay together because they like to have the ball also.
“To be honest with you, it was one of the best games of my career because with the atmosphere, the level of the players … I’m really excited to play against them again.”
The Crew were knocked out of Leagues Cup 2023 in their next match, falling to Minnesota United in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw. But the spark had been lit. The belief was there. Zelarayán or not, the Crew could compete with anyone.
“I wouldn’t say it was a turning point in our season, but at the halfway point of the year, you lose a piece like Lucas, it was emotional," said goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. "Guys, how they felt about it, it was just out of nowhere a little bit. It happened so fast and allowed us to rally around each other."
Trophy chase
These days, few think of the Crew as underdogs against opponents from LIGA MX or MLS. After bringing Diego Rossi back to the league and getting more production from Cucho, the Crew not only covered for Zelarayán’s absence and beat teams like América, but consistently put together positive results.
That especially surfaced during the 2024 CCC, when they earned impressive series victories against two other top teams in LIGA MX, eliminating Monterrey and Tigres en route to the final. Then in Leagues Cup 2024, they rattled off four straight victories before beating LAFC in the final.
Nancy's side just keeps ascending.
“We’re enjoying ourselves. The style of football we play, the amount of goals we score, the guys in the locker room really get along,” Ramírez said. “We know how much fun these games are for our home fans, so to be able to put ourselves in situations to lift hardware in front of them is special.”
With the Campeones Cup trophy on the line Wednesday, no one expects another 4-1 victory. But that game last summer has given Columbus plenty of belief to play their style against anyone and keep lifting those trophies. The Crew can also become the second two-time Campeones Cup winner, having won in 2021 against Cruz Azul.
"Most of us that are here in this room were here in 2021 and we remember what it was," said general manager Issa Tall. "It was a big deal, a big game, and at the end, we ended up lifting a trophy on stage at home.
"The fact that we can do it again, it's a big deal for our club. We look forward to this game on Wednesday against a fierce opponent in our region, and we hope that we'll play in front of a packed house and have supporters behind us like they always are."
