When Tim Bezbatchenko took over as president and general manager of Columbus Crew SC at the beginning of 2019, he was taking over a club in flux, joined by a new ownership group and a new coach in Caleb Porter.
Porter's experience and pedigree and the stated commitment of those owners to helping build a consistent winner gave reason for optimism, but how long a turnaround on the field might take was anyone's guess.
Fast-forward to where we stand in 2020, and the Crew have emerged as an Eastern Conference contender, finishing 12-6-5 and securing the No. 3 seed ahead of the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Bezbatchenko discussed what led to this season's progress and his hopes for the future in an interview with Michael Arace of The Columbus Dispatch release on Saturday.
“Why can’t we be great? We’ve been ambitious from the start,” Bezbatchenko told Arace. “Was a route [to contend] there in 2019? No. Are we getting there now? Yes.”
“It was a giant step forward," he added. "We went from 20th in the league to fourth, out of 26 [teams]. I think that’s obviously a big improvement. We had the second-best point-per-game rate in club history, behind the 2008 team that won the MLS Cup.”
While it was an undeniably strong season for Columbus on the whole, they did cool down a bit down the stretch before winning two of their final three matches. The lack of road form was an issue, as Columbus didn't win away from MAPFRE Stadium in 10 tries (0-5-5).
If there's reason for hope that they can recapture their early-season form, though, it could come in the form of a clean bill of health. 2020 MLS Newcomer of the Year Lucas Zelarayan missed multiple stretches due to injury, while key contributors like standout midfielder Darlington Nagbe and goalkeeper Eloy Room have also found themselves on the sideline with knocks.
Bezbatchenko said he feels as though a complete squad could be what allows the Crew to revert back to form, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where the club was extremely dominant in those early weeks.
“Now we’ve got [Room] back and we’ve got a full team that, at one point, was at an historic level of not allowing goals," he said. “In the playoffs, we’ve got to be getting back to that.”
Bezbatchenko also discussed the challenges of roster building in Columbus compared to his previous gig at Toronto FC, and how he plans to keep the Crew in contention beyond 2020.
