During Wednesday’s Columbus Crew media availability, head coach Wilfried Nancy was asked if he had decided who would start at right wing back, Julian Gressel or Mohamed Farsi, for Saturday’s Eastern Conference Final. Nancy chuckled and then said, “At the moment, we still have three days, so we’ll see.”

Nancy was being coy in the press conference. He knows who’s going to start. And in all likelihood, it will be Farsi. But the fact that this is even a question is something most Crew fans wouldn’t have expected this summer.

Farsi was a regular starter for the Black & Gold for the first half of the season. The young Canadian was in Nancy’s starting lineup for 24 of the first 27 matches in all competition. But in late July, Columbus acquired veteran wing back Julian Gressel from the Vancouver Whitecaps. 

Gressel, who became available because he and his wife wanted to be closer to the East Coast, has played in 213 MLS regular season games over his seven-year career, helped Atlanta United win the MLS Cup in 2018 and has played for the United States Men’s National Team six times. He is widely considered one of the best wing backs in the league.

Farsi, by comparison, is in just his second professional season in MLS. After coming through the Canadian soccer pipeline, Farsi was acquired by Crew 2, the Black & Gold’s reserve team, ahead of the 2022 season. Due to injuries, he was loaned up to and eventually signed on a permanent basis to the first team, playing in seven games under head coach Caleb Porter last season. Under Nancy this year, he was the team’s right wing back until Gressel arrived.

After taking over the spot, the expectation was that Gressel would be Columbus’ first-choice wing back, at least through the rest of this season. That was the case until Farsi started in a winner-take-all Game 3 against Atlanta in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs. Farsi again was the starting wing back in the Eastern Conference semifinal win at Orlando City SC last week.

“I know I didn’t play for a long time, and stepping in those games, it means that they (the coaches) trust me,” Farsi said this week. “So it’s my job to do well and help the team. At the end of the day, I just want to help the team and just want to win. So I’m very happy.”

Farsi has helped the team in these last two playoff games. His energy, always a strength, has been needed to get up and down the wing and the chemistry he developed with right center back Steven Moreira has picked up where it left off.

“It’s not easy in terms of the decision, but this is my job to do it,” Nancy said of the choice between Gressel and Farsi. “It’s all about the moment, the present moment. So I had the feeling the last games that we needed Mo because the way we want to aggress the opposition without the ball and with the ball and we want a bit more speed, I would say. So Julian is a really good player with good qualities technically and also to deliver the ball. But tactically, I wanted to have a different profile. So that’s why I decided to go with Mo.”

After Gressel arrived, Farsi started just three matches and was an unused substitute in three of the Crew’s 15 games, including the postseason, before starting against United. During that stretch, Farsi played a total of 441 minutes. However, when Nancy turned to the Canadian to step back into the starting 11, he was ready.

Farsi credits his preparation to the coaching staff, who ensures each player prepares the right way every week.

“To be honest, fitness-wise, I was okay,” the defender said. “The game against Atlanta, I was feeling good. Against Orlando as well. I think because we train very well. We’re just ready. We train all year in a certain way that makes us ready for those types of games.”

The idea that any player could be called upon at any moment was something Nancy instituted with his team when he arrived.

“This is the story of a player,” Nancy said. “So, the first meeting that I had with my players, we were talking about clarity of the role for everyone. And it’s, I call it, the dynamic set circle. That maybe a few players are going to start in the beginning, the middle of the year, the subs are going to start and maybe at the end of the year, the guy out of the team is going to be on the bench and so on. So this is the way I see it.”

Nancy credited both Gressel and Farsi for the way they’ve handled this situation. After Farsi lost his spot, he kept his head up and trained hard despite not playing as much as he had earlier in the season. Gressel, toom has remained in good spirits despite being moved to the bench during the MLS Cup playoffs. 

The two have worked together since Gressl arrived and Farsi has learned a lot from the veteran.

“To be honest, we talk on the field (in practice) because we’re on the same side,” Farsi said. “So, for example, we’re doing an exercise on the right side, like a crossing exercise, we talk together. And even before games, he gives me advice as well. So it’s very appreciated. I know how good he is to find this pass in the last third and the cross, his quality to cross and to be composed in the last third. I remember before one game, he told me, ‘When you have an idea, just go for it. Whether you shoot or cross, just go for it and make a decision.’ So I think it’s helpful to be around him because he has experience.”

Saturday’s match is not only an Eastern Conference Final, but a third Hell Is Real Derby of the year. It will be an intense rivalry game, with the winner hosting the MLS Cup Final the following week. 

The game could also mark the biggest match of Farsi’s young career. That is if Nancy elects to start him for a third straight time in the postseason.

“It’s gonna be a very nice game,” Farsi said. “We know how the atmosphere is going to be. We know how important it is for the fans and for us as well. And we know at the end of the day, the winner is going to host the MLS Cup Final. So I think that the most important is to go there and give everything.”