SoccerMove over Jack, there's another winner in town

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I knew of its existence many years ago but my knowledge had nothing whatever to do with soccer. Indeed, when I first learned of Columbus, Ohio, it didn’t have a soccer team, which was probably just as well since there was no such thing as Major League Soccer.

I had no idea, geographically speaking, where to find Columbus but it didn’t matter. It was a landmark in my teenage world, an ocean away for one reason alone. It was the hometown of the Golden Bear. It still is and once a year the superstars from the PGA Tour descend on the upscale neighbourhood of Dublin to accept Jack Nicklaus’ invitation to play in his tournament, the Memorial at Muirfield Village.

Nicklaus apart, Columbus does not boast an iconic sporting history. It has had an NHL team for several years but the Blue Jackets are hardly setting hockey pulses racing. It is, in fact, the only active NHL franchise never to have advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Columbus is also home to the famous Buckeyes of Ohio State University, but in terms of professional team sports, the city is short on achievement - until last weekend when the Crew defeated the New York Red Bulls 3-1 in the MLS Cup.

Since the inception of MLS in 1996, Columbus has always taken its soccer seriously. Crew Stadium, opened in 1999, was the first soccer-specific stadium in the United States and though rarely full to capacity the franchise has a solid fan-base averaging around 15,000.

The Crew have tasted a modicum of success before. In 2004 they clinched the Supporters Shield after finishing first in the regular season but proceeded to fall at the first hurdle in the playoffs. Columbus missed the post-season altogether for the next three years, but in 2008, under the guidance of veteran coach Sigi Schmid, finally all the pieces fell together.

Schmid knows how to assemble a winning team - he did it for years in Los Angeles, a team he led to the MLS Cup final on three occasions before ultimately lifting the trophy in 2002. His return to the winner’s circle six years later is no fluke. His team has what every successful team needs: a strong spine.

Columbus boasts a reliable, if late blooming, goalkeeper in Will Hesmer, a robust central defender in Chad Marshall, an effective holding midfielder in Brian Carroll and an experienced striker in Alejandro Moreno.

And then they have their own mini-Maradona. At 35, Guillermo Barros Schelotto may be in the twilight of his career but you’d never have known it based on his performance against New York at the Home Depot Center on Sunday. Individually, it was the most complete performance I’ve seen since David Beckham’s one-man show for England against Greece in a crucial World Cup qualifier in 2001.

The veteran Argentine, watched by his twin brother Gustavo, ran the show in a town where stars shine brightly, setting up all three Columbus goals and only kept off the score sheet himself by the width of the woodwork. The league’s MVP became the game’s MVP on a day when the Red Bulls simply couldn’t contain him.

After a success-laden career in his homeland, Schelotto has enabled North American soccer fans to witness his talent and see for themselves why the sport is often referred to as the "beautiful game." He can do things with a football most players can only dream about, but just as importantly he manages to link the play in a coherent fashion his teammates can understand.

Close to the gates at Muirfield Village stands a statue of Jack Nicklaus teaching a youngster the rudiments of golf.

Now, Columbus has another winner, perhaps it’s time to call the sculptor.

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