Crystal Palace to play Crew on July 23

A team familiar to Crew coach Gregg Berhalter is coming to town.

On July 23, the Crew will play host to English Premier League club Crystal Palace for its summer exhibition. On one of his stops during an 18-year professional playing career, Berhalter was a member of the Eagles in 2001 and ’02.

“There was a list of prospective teams that were available,” Berhalter said. “This was a good option. It made it even better because I had the connection with them.”

Crystal Palace finished the 2013-14 season 11th in the standings after winning promotion to the Premier League following the 2012-13 season. Coach Tony Pulis is familiar with Crew Stadium, having brought Stoke City to town for an exhibition two years ago.

Berhalter’s time with Crystal Palace was a mixed blessing. The chance to play professionally in England was a dream come true, he said, but a broken jaw suffered on an off-the-ball foul forced him to have his jaw wired shut for four weeks. Once Berhalter returned to health after losing a dozen pounds, the coaching staff had changed and he found himself unable to crack the lineup.

“It was a great learning experience for me,” Berhalter said. “In terms of when I was playing in Holland (before going to England), I was a lot more physical compared to the strikers there. Then you go to England and have these strikers who are all over you. It was great.”

From there, Berhalter transferred to German club Energie Cottbus, where he played until 2006 and was named to the team’s all-time Best XI.

This is the fourth straight season that an English club will visit the Crew. The Crew went 1-2 in the first three: a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United (2011), a 2-1 win over Stoke City and a 2-1 loss last year to Wigan Athletic. In all, the Crew is 3-4-2 against English teams.

Crystal Palace also will play exhibitions against MLS member Philadelphia on July 25 and United Soccer Leagues Pro Division club Richmond on July 28.