We are BACK baby!

The Columbus Crew kick off their 2026 campaign Saturday in the Pacific Northwest against the Portland Timbers. The winds of change have blown through Central Ohio this offseason as the Crew have watched Wilfried Nancy depart for Celtic FC in Scotland and club legend Darlington Nagbe retire. In addition, the Crew sold Jacen Russel-Rowe to French club Toulouse for a reported $2 million dollars plus add ons. 

The Black & Gold welcomed new Head Coach Henrik Rydström in from Sweden along with Gambian central midfielder Sekou Bangoura and Azerbaijani attacker Nariman Hakhundzade. The Crew also recently announced the free agent signing of Andres Gomes who will join the Black & Gold after spells at Benfica, Barcelona, Everton and Lille.

As the head coach, Rydström will have the biggest impact on the Black & Gold’s fortunes in 2026. Coming from a successful stint with Swedish club Malmo, he joins the Crew with talk of “evolution, not revolution” of the Crew’s playing style. Rystrom has indicated that the framework laid by Wilfried Nancy has helped him and his staff tremendously as they look to implement new ideas. We will see these new ideas at work for the first time as the Crew open their 2026 campaign in a hostile Providence Park.

Portland Timbers at a Glance:

2025 Record: 11-11-12, 44 points

2025 Leading Scorer: Antony, Felipe Mora, Kevin Kelsy (7)

2025 Assist Leader: Antony (7)

Player to Watch: Antony

As you can see above, Antony has been the main source of attacking production for this Timbers team since joining in the summer of 2023. 2025 was by far his most productive with 14 goal contributions. Antony has shown the versatility to play on both wings for Portland, but primarily operates on the left. Being right footed, this means the Brazilian naturally drifts inside when attacking areas and looks to attack defenses centrally and combine with teammates or finish chances himself. Antony has shown technical brilliance as both a ball striker and a 1v1 attacker making him a threat every time he is on the ball in the attacking third. 

How Portland plays: 

Match Day 1 of any season across the globe brings fun questions about how teams will play, what changes coaches will make, how new players fit into their new homes etc.

The Portland Timbers may not carry quite as many uncertainties as the Columbus Crew, but they’re far from a finished product.

Head coach Phil Neville is now in his third season in Portland, and stylistically, there’s been notable consistency dating back to his tenure with Inter Miami CF in the pre-Messi era. Neville has typically favored a back four, deploying either a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. That’s why his decision to roll out a 3-5-2 at the Coachella Valley Invitational raised eyebrows. Still, it would be surprising if that shift proved permanent.

More important than the formation, however, is the underlying identity of Neville’s teams. They generally prefer to keep the ball when possible while maintaining defensive structure without it. In 2025, Portland ranked fourth in MLS in Passes Per Defensive Action (PPDA), meaning only three teams allowed opponents more possession. At the same time, they were roughly league average in PPDA Against, suggesting their own possession share was similarly middle-of-the-pack.

Yet there’s a stylistic tension in those numbers. Portland ranked eighth in long passes, signaling either a deliberate willingness to play direct or difficulty breaking down organized defenses through sustained buildup. In practice, Neville’s sides often appear neither fully committed to dominating possession nor particularly aggressive in pressing high to win it back.

Given that profile, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Portland adopt a pragmatic approach—sitting compact, conceding stretches of possession, and looking to strike in transition. Against a Columbus side opening a new chapter under a different manager, that counterattacking posture could be a calculated attempt to exploit any early tactical growing pains.

How the Crew can win:

1. Counterpress: Rydstrom has been relatively vocal about hiss desire to improve the Crew’s counterpressing in 2026. Rystrom also indicated that he thought the counterpress may have dropped off from its best in 2023 and 2024 (cough, cough, Aidan Morris) and has expressed the importance of effective counterpressing in his game model. Look for the Crew to swarm numbers around the ball and win it back quickly as much as possible on Saturday.
2. Box Defending: Another hot button topic around the Ohio Health Performance Center has been the Crew’s lack of ability to defend in the box last season and a need to improve in this phase of play. Essentially, they need to stop giving up soft goals and be far more commanding defending the area. Look for the Crew to have a renewed vigor in defending crosses and attacks as they enter the box and limit mistakes that lead to goals.
3. Attack with Speed: Maybe the biggest talking point of the offseason coming from Rydstrom, Issa Tall and the players themselves has been a new willingness to go forward, attack with speed and be a bit more direct in attacking play. By no means does this mean the Crew are going to turn into a “kick it forward and run” team, but it does mean that when they sniff an opportunity to attack quickly and go forward, they may be more willing to do that in 2026. This is exciting for Crew fans because it should mean more goals and attacking play. It should also be a bit new for MLS opponents who may be used to a slower, more deliberate attack from the Black & Gold. Look for Columbus to maintain possession and build attacks in the middle and defensive third, when they get into the attacking third, don’t be surprised if they shift through the gears pretty quickly on their way to goal.