Despite distractions of Austin, Crew focus on immediate task
Columbus faces Sunday test against Atlanta United.
As Crew SC’s fate was being discussed 1,200 miles away, Major League Soccer’s oldest team was busy at the first training center of its kind, preparing for a Sunday showdown against the league’s top team, Atlanta United.
It almost felt as if the implications of Wednesday’s City Council meeting in Austin, Texas, didn’t have much bearing on the proceedings at the EAS Training Center in Obetz, where the Crew put in another day’s worth of work under cloudy skies. That’s by design.
“I think we’ve handled it extremely well, better than most people probably would have expected,” said Crew midfielder Wil Trapp, the team’s captain and a Gahanna native. “I think it comes from Gregg (Berhalter) and the way he’s approached it and allowing us to just focus on what our job is, and our job is to play soccer. That has been our sole purpose since the announcement was made last year and until this point.”
Working his way back to full fitness, midfielder and designated player Federico Higuain spent some time working on his own before retreating to the locker room. United States national team goaltender Zach Steffan was active and aggressive in short-sided scrimmage situations, at one point punching a wayward ball back to midfield after the final whistle. Even Panamanian midfielder Cristian Martinez, who has been away for nearly two months while attending to personal matters, was back and jogging laps around the field with a trainer.
As Berhalter, the team’s coach, has often pointed out since investor-operator Anthony Precourt announced his intentions to move the team nearly 10 months ago, the job of the players and coaching staff is to perform. That’s all they can focus on, he said, even with the looming threat of relocation for the Crew.
“The overarching goal every year, by players and staff, is performance,” Berhalter said. “Because guess what: If we don’t perform, we’re not here. That’s even greater than a sense of moving or relocation or staying. We have to perform for our jobs.
“That’s big enough that I think that trumps most situations, the fact that we’re in the performance business, we’re only as good as our last game and we need to perform every single day to maintain this position.”
From the perspective of the coach and his players, the relocation saga has not overshadowed the pursuit of another run at MLS Cup. While expressing his support for the team’s supporters, Berhalter pointed out that they likely have a differing viewpoint.
“The major difference is that the fans can choose to be there or not,” he said. “We can’t choose.”
Austin City Council didn’t agree on a vote to approve the term sheet with Precourt Sports Ventures until roughly 3 p.m., more than three hours after training was complete. Berhalter demurred when asked if he’d receive information from his higher-ups on the proceedings but said he’d likely get more information later in the day.
Justin Meram, recently acquired from Orlando City after he was traded from the Crew during the preseason, praised his teammates for how they’ve handled the situation.
“We’ve all been dealing with it — all of us in this city and on this team,” he said. “For me, it’s no different. I’m proud of this group for how we stay out of the way and focus on our task and let those pieces fall into the place of the people dealing with that situation. We’re just being good pros and this coaching staff is preparing us to win games. Whatever may be happening on the outside, that’s way above my head.
“I didn’t come back thinking about that situation, I came back to help this club win.”