The Columbus Crew SC’s Round One playoff exit to the 
NY Red Bulls was one of the biggest playoff upsets in 
MLS history.
After Caleb Porter’s tenure ended after the 2022 season, the Crew ownership took a rarely-seen swing in MLS, going out and compensating 
CF Montreal to get Wilfried Nancy out of his contract and bring him to Ohio.
Under Wilfried Nancy, the Crew have put together a remarkably successful two seasons. They won MLS Cup in 2023 and Leagues Cup in 2024 and made it to the Concacaf Champions Cup final in 2024, all while playing the most aesthetically-pleasing and fearless soccer MLS has ever seen.
Does their surprise exit from the playoffs signify the end of an era?
An Innovative Style Of Play
Under Wilfried Nancy, the Crew developed a bold and attack-oriented approach that captured imaginations
In Columbus, Nancy continued the same style of play he used in Montreal. Unlike in Montreal, though, Columbus backed up Nancy’s vision with ambitious roster building, putting together a team capable of playing Nancy’s model of football at the highest level. Darlington Nagbe and Cucho Hernandez were already in Columbus when Nancy arrived, high-level acquisitions who were perfect fits for his approach.
While Lucas Zelarayan was a consistent Best XI caliber No. 10, he wasn’t a perfect fit. Instead of staying put, the Crew made the difficult and risky decision to replace him with Diego Rossi, a move few teams would have attempted and one that paid off brilliantly.
The frontline of Cucho Hernandez, Diego Rossi and Christian Ramirez was one of the most well-rounded and dynamic attacks in MLS, capable of playing fluid and free-flowing soccer and combining for a staggering 66 goals and 49 assists between them in the regular season.
Almost exclusively based out of a 3-4-2-1 formation, the Crew defended and attacked with possession. Since Nancy took over, the Crew averaged 57.9 percent possession, leading the league in 2023 and behind only 
Houston Dynamo in 2024.
It wasn’t just possession for its own sake, though. The Crew developed consistent, repeatable and attractive ways to open up defenses and create chances. Typically, using two converted fullbacks as outside center-backs, their ability to build from the back and play line-splitting passes from deep consistently created chances for their attackers. Malte Amundsen’s gorgeous MLS Cup assist was a prime example of this.
Teams have achieved similar results in MLS before. None have done it while playing this way.
An Unprecedented Run Of Success
The Crew balanced competition for silverware in multiple tournaments without compromising their identity
After their 2023 MLS Cup win (their third as a club), the Crew kick-started a string of performances in multiple competitions. They became just the seventh team in MLS history to make it to the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup, taking out Mexican giants Tigres in penalties and dominating Monterrey en route to the final.
The Crew added to their trophy cabinet again, winning the 2024 Leagues Cup with a dominant 3-1 win over Los Angeles FC, scoring twice in second-half stoppage time to earn their second piece of silverware under Nancy. Their 3-2 comeback win over 
Inter Miami CF was one of the most entertaining matches in recent memory.
They did all of this in truly dominant fashion, putting up numbers rarely seen in American soccer.
Playoff Exit Leaves the Crew With Many “What ifs”
Despite their impressive two-year run, they left opportunities on the table
While it’s hard to have too many complaints with how the Crew have performed over the last two years, it’s also hard not to wonder what if.
What if the team hadn’t gotten food poisoning ahead of their Concacaf Champions Cup final defeat to Pachuca, an unfortunate turn that clearly impacted their performance and left fans wondering how they would have fared if fully healthy.
What if they had somehow been able to stick around in the Supporters’ Shield race? For two-thirds of the season, the Crew were neck-and-neck with Inter Miami for the Supporters’ Shield, a pace no MLS team has ever maintained after making a deep run in a continental tournament. It’s probably an unfair complaint to levy at a team who played 49 matches in eight months (a brutal pace of a game every 5.16 days), and maintained a high level throughout. Still, fans will be left wondering what could have been.
What could have been if Club America goalkeeper Luis Malagón hadn’t played an unreal match in the Campeones Cup to keep things level at 1-1, before the Crew fell in penalty kicks, missing on a chance to win their third trophy in nine months?
What could have been if the Crew hadn’t fallen flat in their first leg against the Red Bulls, failing to finish their chances and digging themselves in a hole before running out of steam in the second leg? While they’ve won more than enough silverware to satisfy most teams under Nancy, they’ve had opportunities for more. With MLS’s parity-based structure, it’s hard to maintain this type of level at a sustained rate, especially when other underperforming teams can turn their fortunes around in a single offseason. In MLS, as in any league, chances to win silverware don’t come around that often.
2024 was a good season for the Crew. It could have, should have, been one of the greatest ever for an MLS side. And while there’s plenty to celebrate and plenty of gorgeous goals and special moments to look back on, the overarching feeling when looking back will ultimately be one of disappointment.
What’s Next?
Can the Crew run it back for a third year in 2025?
After their brutal playoff exit, can the Crew have a similar season in 2025? They’ve qualified for the Concacaf Champions Cup again and will be in the hunt for multiple trophies once again.
The easy answer is yes, with a caveat. As things stand, the Crew will go into next season with one of the best and most proven rosters in MLS, a committed ownership group willing and able to spend, and one of the best coaches the league has ever seen in Nancy.
Keeping the group together, though, is no guarantee. After four spectacular seasons as a head coach in North America, Nancy will get plenty of offers from Europe and elsewhere. More than any MLS coach before him, he should be able to translate his success across the Atlantic, and may want to test himself at a higher level. Can the Crew hold onto him for another year?
Likewise, Cucho Hernandez is a man in demand after his MVP-caliber campaign. His form with the Crew has brought him back into the Colombian national team picture, with Mexican powerhouse Monterrey reportedly interested in the star attacker. Cucho isn’t even in the top 10 highest-paid MLS players. Will a new contract and a significant raise be enough to keep him in Ohio for the foreseeable future?
If the Crew can keep their core together under Wilfried Nancy for another year, they should be among the favorites in every competition they compete in next season. It’s a big ask, though.
If Saturday was how this era ultimately ended, the last two seasons will be remembered as some of the best and most aesthetically pleasing years in MLS history, while still being haunted by the ghosts of missed opportunities.