# 2020 Columbus Crew SC season

The 2020 Columbus Crew SC season was the club's twenty-fifth season of existence and their twenty-fifth consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. Columbus were also set to compete in the U.S. Open Cup, before its cancelation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season covers the period from November 11, 2019 to the start of the 2021 Major League Soccer season.
The 2020 season saw Columbus earn their second ever MLS Cup championship, their first since 2008. Columbus defeated Seattle Sounders FC, 3–0 in the championship match.

## Roster

    As of match played November 8, 2020
| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Signed in | Previous club | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Eloy Room | GK | (1989-02-06)February 6, 1989 (aged 30) | 2019 | PSV | 29 | 0 |
| 13 | Andrew Tarbell | GK | (1993-10-07)October 7, 1993 (aged 26) | 2020 | San Jose Earthquakes | 7 | 0 |
| 28 | Matt Lampson | GK | (1989-09-06)September 6, 1989 (aged 30) | 2020 | LA Galaxy | 16 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Chris Cadden | DF | (1996-09-19)September 19, 1996 (aged 23) | 2019 | Motherwell | 8 | 0 |
| 3 | Josh Williams | CB, RB, LB | (1988-04-18)April 18, 1988 (aged 31) | 2017 | Toronto FC | 142 | 9 |
| 4 | Jonathan Mensah | CB | (1990-07-13)July 13, 1990 (aged 29) | 2017 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 100 | 3 |
| 5 | Vito Wormgoor | DF | (1988-11-16)November 16, 1988 (aged 31) | 2020 | SK Brann | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | Waylon Francis | LB | (1990-09-20)September 20, 1990 (aged 29) | 2019 | Seattle Sounders FC | 104 | 0 |
| 19 | Milton Valenzuela | LB | (1998-08-13)August 13, 1998 (aged 21) | 2019 | Newell's Old Boys | 49 | 1 |
| 24 | Grant Lillard | CB | (1995-December-05)December 5, 1995 (aged 24) | 2020 | Inter Miami CF | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Harrison Afful | RB | (1986-07-24)July 24, 1986 (aged 33) | 2015 | ES Tunis | 138 | 6 |
| 30 | Aboubacar Keita | CB, LB | (2000-04-06)April 6, 2000 (aged 19) | 2019 | Virginia Cavaliers | 21 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 6 | Darlington Nagbe | CM | (1990-07-19)July 19, 1990 (aged 29) | 2019 | Atlanta United FC | 15 | 1 |
| 7 | Pedro Santos | RM, LM, AM, RW, LW, LB | (1988-04-22)April 22, 1988 (aged 31) | 2017 | Braga | 94 | 18 |
| 8 | Artur | DM, AM, CM | (1996-03-11)March 11, 1996 (aged 23) | 2018 | São Paulo | 108 | 2 |
| 10 | Lucas Zelarayán | CM | (1992-06-20)June 20, 1992 (aged 27) | 2020 | UANL Tigres | 16 | 6 |
| 12 | Luis Díaz | RM, LM, RW | (1998-12-06)December 6, 1998 (aged 21) | 2019 | Herediano | 34 | 2 |
| 16 | Hector Jiménez | RM, LM, RB, LB | (1988-11-03)November 3, 1988 (aged 31) | 2014 | LA Galaxy | 133 | 2 |
| 18 | Sebastian Berhalter | MF | (2001-05-10)May 10, 2001 (aged 18) | 2020 | North Carolina | 9 | 0 |
| 20 | Emmanuel Boateng | LW, RW | (1994-01-17)January 17, 1994 (aged 26) | 2020 | DC United | 10 | 0 |
| 21 | Aidan Morris | MF | (2001-11-16)November 16, 2001 (aged 18) | 2020 | Indiana | 10 | 0 |
| 22 | Derrick Etienne | MF | (1996-11-25)November 25, 1996 (aged 23) | 2020 | New York Red Bulls | 21 | 1 |
| 26 | Fatai Alashe | CM | (1993-10-21)October 21, 1993 (aged 26) | 2020 | FC Cincinnati | 8 | 1 |
| 34 | Youness Mokhtar | LM, RM, LW | (1991-08-29)August 29, 1991 (aged 28) | 2019 | Stabæk | 27 | 4 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Fanendo Adi | ST | (1990-10-10)October 10, 1990 (aged 29) | 2020 | FC Cincinnati | 11 | 0 |
| 11 | Gyasi Zardes | ST | (1991-09-02)September 2, 1991 (aged 28) | 2018 | LA Galaxy | 82 | 44 |
| 17 | Jordan Hamilton | ST | (1996-03-17)March 17, 1996 (aged 23) | 2019 | Toronto FC | 6 | 0 |
| 29 | Krisztián Németh | ST | (1989-01-05)January 5, 1989 (aged 31) | 2020 | Dunajská Streda | 4 | 1 |
| Out on loan |||||||||
| 24 | Jon Kempin | GK | (1993-04-08)April 8, 1993 (aged 26) | 2018 | LA Galaxy | 8 | 0 |
| 27 | Miguel Berry | FW | (1997-09-16)September 16, 1997 (aged 23) | 2020 | San Diego Toreros | 0 | 0 |

## Competitive
### MLS
#### Standings
##### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 1 | Philadelphia Union | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 44 | 20 | +24 | 47 | 2.04 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League |
| 2 | Toronto FC | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 44 | 1.91 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League |
| 3 | Columbus Crew SC (C) | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 21 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League |
| 4 | Orlando City SC | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and Leagues Cup |
| 5 | New York City FC | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 39 | 1.70 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and Leagues Cup |
* ↑ As Supporters' Shield winners
* ↑ Canadian clubs could not qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League through the MLS regular season or playoffs.
* ↑ As 2020 Canadian Championship finalists (awarded by Canada Soccer)
* ↑ As MLS Cup 2020 champions

##### Overall table

2020 MLS overall standings :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 2 | Toronto FC (V) | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 44 | 1.91 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 3 | Sporting Kansas City | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 39 | 1.86 | 2021 Leagues Cup |
| 4 | Columbus Crew SC (C) | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 21 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 5 | Orlando City SC | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | 2021 Leagues Cup |
| 6 | Seattle Sounders FC | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 44 | 23 | +21 | 39 | 1.77 | 2021 Leagues Cup |
* ↑ As 2020 Canadian Championship finalists (awarded by Canada Soccer) (CAN1)
* ↑ As 1st, Western Conference (MLS1)
* ↑ As MLS Cup 2020 champions (USA1)
* ↑ As 4th, Eastern Conference (MLS2)
* ↑ As 2nd, Western Conference (MLS3)

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 20 | 32 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 6 | +14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 15 | −6 |
Source: MLS standings Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Stadium | H | A | N | N | N | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | D | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | D | W | W | L | D | L | L | W | D | L | W | L | W |

#### Match results

On December 5, 2019, the league announced the home openers for every club, with Columbus playing New York City FC at Mapfre Stadium. The schedule for the remainder of the season was released by the league on December 19, 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the original schedule had to be shortened and was released in installments. The remainder of the regular season schedule was announced on September 22, 2020.

### MLS is Back Tournament

Group E results :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Columbus Crew SC | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 9 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | FC Cincinnati | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 3 | New York Red Bulls | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Atlanta United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0 | |

### U.S. Open Cup

The 2020 edition of the U.S. Open Cup was canceled on August 17 due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | MLS is Back Knockout Stage | MLS is Back Knockout Stage | MLS Cup Playoffs | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | CUW | Eloy Room | 19 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Chris Cadden | 10 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Josh Williams | 16 | 0 | 11+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | GHA | Jonathan Mensah | 28 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | NED | Vito Wormgoor | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | USA | Darlington Nagbe | 19 | 2 | 14+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | POR | Pedro Santos | 26 | 8 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | BRA | Artur | 27 | 3 | 20+2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 9 | MF | NGA | Fanendo Adi | 12 | 0 | 1+10 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Lucas Zelarayán | 21 | 8 | 12+4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 11 | FW | USA | Gyasi Zardes | 26 | 15 | 20+1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | CRC | Luis Díaz | 26 | 0 | 14+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | USA | Andrew Tarbell | 10 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | CRC | Waylon Francis | 5 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | USA | Hector Jiménez | 10 | 0 | 4+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | CAN | Jordan Hamilton | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | USA | Sebastian Berhalter | 9 | 0 | 4+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ARG | Milton Valenzuela | 24 | 0 | 17+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | GHA | Emmanuel Boateng | 12 | 0 | 3+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | USA | Aidan Morris | 11 | 0 | 2+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | USA | Derrick Etienne | 24 | 2 | 8+13 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 23 | DF | USA | Grant Lillard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | USA | Jon Kempin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | GHA | Harrison Afful | 26 | 1 | 20+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | USA | Fatai Alashe | 9 | 1 | 6+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | ESP | Miguel Berry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | USA | Matt Lampson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | HUN | Krisztián Németh | 5 | 1 | 2+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | USA | Aboubacar Keita | 12 | 0 | 10+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | MAR | Youness Mokhtar | 19 | 3 | 10+9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who left Columbus during the season: ||||||||||||
| 44 | DF | SWE | Axel Sjoberg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Columbus stats

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Name | MLS | MLS | MLS is Back Knockout stage | MLS is Back Knockout stage | 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs | 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs | Total | Total |
| 1 | GK | Eloy Room | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Chris Cadden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Josh Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Jonathan Mensah | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Vito Wormgoor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Darlington Nagbe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Pedro Santos | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Artur | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Lucas Zelarayán | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Gyasi Zardes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Luis Díaz | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Hector Jiménez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Sebastian Berhalter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Milton Valenzuela | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Emmanuel Boateng | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Aidan Morris | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Harrison Afful | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Fatai Alashe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | Aboubacar Keita | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Youness Mokhtar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Source: Columbus stats

### Clean sheets

| No. | Name | MLS | MLS is Back Knockout stage | MLS Cup Playoffs | Total | Games Played |
| 1 | Eloy Room | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 18 |
| 2 | Andrew Tarbell | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
Source: Columbus stats

## Transfers
### In

| Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes | Date |
| MF | Darlington Nagbe | Atlanta United FC | Atlanta receives $700,000 in Targeted Allocation money (TAM), $150,000 in GAM and an international roster spot for the 2020 MLS season, as well as $200,000 in TAM for the 2021 MLS season. | Nov 13, 2019 |
| MF | Axel Sjöberg | Colorado Rapids | Claimed off waivers. | Dec 4, 2019 |
| GK | Matt Lampson | LA Galaxy | Signed as free agent. | Dec 12, 2019 |
| DF | Vito Wormgoor | SK Brann | Signed as free agent. | Dec 18, 2019 |
| MF | Lucas Zelarayán | Tigres UANL | Reported $7,000,000 transfer fee. Acquired as a designated player. | Dec 19, 2019 |
| MF | Aidan Morris | Indiana | Signed to Homegrown Player deal. | Jan 14, 2020 |
| MF | Sebastian Berhalter | North Carolina | Signed to Homegrown Player deal. | Jan 17, 2020 |
| FW | Fanendo Adi | FC Cincinnati | Selected off Major League Soccer's Waiver List. | Jan 27, 2020 |
| MF | Derrick Etienne | New York Red Bulls | Signed as a free agent. | Feb 4, 2020 |
| GK | Andrew Tarbell | San Jose Earthquakes | San Jose receives $75,000 in GAM. | Feb 19, 2020 |
| FW | Miguel Berry | San Diego | Selected in the First Round of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft (7th overall). | Feb 27, 2020 |
| MF | Emmanuel Boateng | DC United | DC United receives defender Axel Sjoberg. | Aug 14, 2020 |
| DF | Grant Lillard | Inter Miami CF | Inter Miami CF receives a Third Round Pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. | Aug 14, 2020 |
| DF | Fatai Alashe | FC Cincinnati | FC Cincinnati receives a Second Round Pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. FC Cincinnati will instead receive $50,000 of General Allocation Money (GAM) for the 2021 MLS season should Alashe meet certain performance conditions. | Aug 17, 2020 |
| FW | Krisztián Németh | Dunajská Streda | Signed as free agent. | October 5, 2020 |

#### SuperDraft

The following players were selected by Columbus in the MLS SuperDraft. Only Miguel Berry signed a contract with the club.
| Pos. | Player | College | Notes | Date |
| FW | Miguel Berry | San Diego | Selected in the First Round of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. | Jan 9, 2020 |
| GK | Remi Prieur | St. Mary's | Selected in the second round of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. | Jan 9, 2020 |
| MF | Danny Griffin | Providence | Selected in the second round of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. | Jan 9, 2020 |

### Out

| Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes | Date |
| GK | Ben Lundgaard | Atlanta United 2 | Option Declined. | Oct 21, 2019 |
| CB | Alex Crognale | Birmingham Legion | Option Declined. | Oct 21, 2019 |
| DM | David Guzman | Saprissa | Option Declined. | Oct 21, 2019 |
| MF | Edward Opoku | | Option Declined. | Oct 21, 2019 |
| MF | Eduardo Sosa | Fort Lauderdale CF | Option Declined. | Oct 21, 2019 |
| MF | Ricardo Clark | N/A | Retired. | Oct 21, 2019 |
| MF | Federico Higuain | D.C. United | Out of Contract. | Oct 21, 2019 |
| MF | Luis Argudo | Inter Miami CF | Selected by Inter Miami CF in the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft. | Nov 19, 2019 |
| DF | Lalas Abubakar | Colorado Rapids | Columbus receives $400,000 in 2020 General Allocation Money (GAM) and a 2020 international roster spot. | Nov 20, 2019 |
| MF | Connor Maloney | San Antonio FC | Option Declined. | Nov 21, 2020 |
| FW | Romario Williams | Miami FC | Free Transfer | Jan 1, 2020 |
| MF | Wil Trapp | Inter Miami CF | Columbus receives $100,000 in General Allocation Money and a 2020 international roster spot. | Jan 31, 2020 |
| FW | JJ Williams | Birmingham Legion | Waived | Feb 20, 2020 |
| MF | Axel Sjöberg | DC United | Columbus receives midfielder Emmanuel Boateng. | Aug 14, 2020 |

### Loan out

| Pos. | Player | Loanee club | Division | Length/Notes | Beginning | End | Source |
| GK | Jon Kempin | San Diego Loyal | USL Championship | Option to Recall | March 6, 2020 | End of Season | |
| FW | Miguel Berry | San Diego Loyal | USL Championship | Option to Recall | August 28, 2020 | End of Season | |

## Awards

MLS Team of the Week :
| Week | Starters | Bench | Opponent(s) |
| 1 | | Lucas Zelarayán | New York City FC |
| 2 | | Artur | Seattle Sounders FC |
| MLS is Back – Round 1 | Darlington Nagbe Lucas Zelarayán Gyasi Zardes | | FC Cincinnati |
| MLS is Back – Round 2 | Darlington Nagbe Jonathan Mensah | Lucas Zelarayán | New York Red Bulls |
| MLS is Back – Round 3 | | Darlington Nagbe | Atlanta United FC |
| 6 | Darlington Nagbe | Derrick Etienne | Chicago Fire FC |
| 9 | | Lucas Zelarayán | Philadelphia Union |
| 10 | Gyasi Zardes | | FC Cincinnati |
| 11 | Gyasi Zardes | | Chicago Fire FC |
| 12 | Jonathan Mensah | | Nashville SC |
| 13 | Pedro Santos Lucas Zelarayán | | Minnesota United FC |
| 19 | Andrew Tarbell | Pedro Santos Artur | New York City FC |
| 22 | Eloy Room | Artur | Philadelphia Union |

## Kits

| Home | Away |
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance / Record |
| Home | Gold | Gold | Gold | Match 1 vs. NYCFC |
| Away | Black | Black | Black | Match 2 vs. Seattle |