PRESSURE TEST
Nagbe, Room, Zelarayan lead Crew into playoffs
After one season in Columbus, Crew coach Caleb Porter had replaced the most adored players on the roster he inherited in Zack Steffen, Wil Trapp and Federico Higuain.
While Steffen’s transfer was set in stone, the club chose not to renew Higuain’s contract, and the Crew and Trapp mutually agreed to part ways. The moves paved the way for three players who not only had to perform well but also shoulder the responsibility of succeeding a club legend, a homegrown and America’s bright, young goalkeeper who represented the Crew through its most arduous seasons.
Lucas Zelarayan, Darlington Nagbe and Eloy
Nagbe
Zelarayan
Room have all either met or exceeded expectations in their first full season with the Crew as replacements for Higuain, Trapp and Steffen.
But to truly become synonymous with the championship culture Porter and the front office has pursued since early 2019, the big three's first playoffs with the Crew are as important to that vision of the club as any moment they've encountered thus far.
“The first game will be a big game to set the tone of what the club wants to accomplish,” Nagbe said, “and that's to win championships.”
The Crew opens its MLS Cup playoffs at 3 p.m. Saturday at Mapfre Stadium as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference against the No. 6 seed New York Red Bulls.
The experience of winning titles is something Porter explicitly looked for in his new goalkeeper and two central midfielders.
Zelarayan is a three-time Liga MX champion with Tigres UANL. Room has won two trophies with two separate clubs in the Netherlands. Nagbe has won three trophies in MLS, an MLS Cup with two teams, including in 2015 with Porter against the Crew.
“I've said from Day 1 that the leaders inside the lines, the players that have experience, the players that know what it takes to win trophies, they're going to be even more important during these four games,” Porter said. “It's a threeweek season and a four-game season that will determine what we do.”
The club's biggest, most expensive acquisition, Zelarayan, followed in Higuain's footsteps by winning MLS Newcomer of the Year.
Having missed seven games during the regular season with three injuries, there's a sense the Argentinian has only scratched the surface on what he's capable of doing with the Crew. When healthy, he has been one of the most efficient players in the league with six goals and four assists in 1,039 minutes.
A major motivator for Zelarayan's decision to come to Columbus was the desire to be the primary chance creator for a team hellbent on becoming a top club in MLS. Saturday will be his first chance on being that player when it matters most.
“I think we've shown that we're one of the better teams in the league and we hope to be able to finish what was a great season by winning a trophy,” Zelarayan said through a translator.
Porter has always had an affinity for Nagbe and tried to acquire him before the 2019 season. Despite an injurymarred 2020, Nagbe has stabilized and fortified the midfield with a calm, confident approach.
Room, too, was identified as an impact player, a potential successor to Steffen. His accurate passing out of the back and athletic saves have given the impression that what the Crew enjoyed in Steffen never left.
“I come here to win prizes and to build a club," Room said, “... This is a good moment to show everyone what we're capable of.”
Porter has seared into his team the idea of the regular season being an accomplishment but ultimately meaningless if the postseason isn't a success.
The first playoff appearance with his three biggest acquisitions doesn't have to end in a championship, but Porter has key players he identified already in place to win.
"We will eventually get there, but my belief is it will be this year,” Porter said. “I know the players believe that.” jmyers@dispatch.com
@_ jcmyers
49ers waive DE Takkarist Mckinley after failed physical
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The San Francisco 49ers have waived defensive end Takkarist Mckinley after he failed a physical.
The Niners claimed Mckinley off waivers earlier this week after he failed a physical in Cincinnati but then cut him Friday after he failed their physical as well.
—Wire services