Road to the Champions Cup Final: Columbus Crew

MIAMI – The Columbus Crew stands on the brink of a historic moment, with one more victory separating them from their first-ever Concacaf Champions Cup triumph.

Five months ago, the club won its third MLS Cup trophy. The conquest earned the Crew a spot in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup and a bye to the Round of 16, where the team started its campaign last March.

The Black & Gold traveled to Houston Dynamo for the first leg. Scoreless through ninety minutes, Columbus took a dramatic win in the 90’+6 as Alexandru Matan took his chance inside the box to obtain the club’s first CCC win over a fellow MLS club.

The return leg signified another first: the CCC debut of Lower.com Field, the Crew’s home stadium, which opened in 2021. Juan Camilo Hernández scored the series winner in the 40’ to win 2–1 on aggregate, as Houston took a consolation goal through a 90’ penalty.

The Crew’s opponent in the quarterfinals would be 2020 winners Tigres UANL. After a two-hour kickoff delay due to thunderstorms, André-Pierre Gignac and Diego Rossi would trade goals in a 1-1 draw. The same would happen in the second leg as Gignac and Rossi scored at the Estadio Universitario.

With extra time not enough to separate the sides, penalties would decide the series. Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte stopped Tigres’ first two attempts from club legends Gignac and Guido Pizarro. Maximilian Arfsten, one of the youngest players on the squad, converted the deciding kick as the Crew won 4-3 on penalties to become the first MLS side to claim a penalty shootout victory on Mexican soil.

After advancing to its first semifinal appearance, the Crew was paired with five-time CCC winners CF Monterrey. Hernandez again scored the opening goal at home for Columbus before Maximiliano Meza tied at the start of the second half. Jacen Russell-Rowe, who assisted Hernandez on the first goal, scored the first-leg winner in the 73’ as the MLS side prepared for a consecutive trip to Monterrey, Mexico.

Rayados started the second leg by tying the series in the 11’ as Maximiliano Meza chipped Schulte, forcing an own goal from defender Yevhen Cheberko. Aidan Morris, one of the rising stars in the United States, scored the series-winning goal after intercepting a ball and making an individual play before halftime. Rossi and Russell-Rowe scored at the start and end of the second half, respectively, to help the Crew achieve a 5–2 victory on aggregate and the club’s first CCC final appearance.

In the process, the Crew became the first MLS side to eliminate two Liga MX clubs in consecutive two-leg series without sustaining a defeat in Mexico and only the second MLS side to advance to the final after defeating a Liga MX club in the semifinals since the 2008-2009 edition.

The Crew is undefeated through its six matches in the 2024 edition. Its success has led to the team’s rise to the number-one overall spot in the Concacaf Club Rankings.

Wilfried Nancy was named the club’s head coach in December 2022 and led the club to its most recent league title in his first season. One match separates him from his first international silverware as a manager and the club’s first FIFA Club World Cup participation.

A victory on June 1 would make Columbus the fourth MLS club to win the Concacaf Champions Cup and the most recent since Seattle Sounders (2022). Founded in 1996, the club could become the third MLS original club to win, joining the likes of D.C. United (1998) and Los Angeles Galaxy (2000).