Photos by Sam Fahmi/Massive Report. Check out his gallery here at The Massive Report.
The biggest positive from Tuesday night for the Columbus Crew is that the new faces, not the old ones, stepped up and had the best games in the frigid opener.
New Chilean back Sebastian Miranda was aggressive and ran all day, Rich Balchan was fast and could chase down any attacker, Cole Grossman was physical in the middle and made his prescene known, and Josh Gardner filled in well on the left side in his first MLS action in half a decade.
So, what player is going to take those good vibrations and be the next star for the Crew this season. There's a poll on the bottom right side on Crewture's main page (for you to vote) and also would love to here your evaluations of all four new players right here in the comments section.
Sebastian Miranda.. One of the most impressive new faces according to the consensus by Crew fans from Tuesday night. The former captain, with over 200 caps for Chilean Premier side Union Espana, had the polished play and smarts of a professional on Tuesday.
Miranda was aggressive with his defensive decisions, no indecision, and had a motor that allowed him to run all 90 minutes Tuesday. More of that this season from Miranda will ease the loss of fan favorite Frankie Hejduk.
Cole Grossman looks like a great pick in the draft at #28 this season. Grossman was physical, at one point knocking a RSL player right off a ball and onto the ground on Tuesday. His youthfulness, didn't lack a mature-ness that you often see from Duke players (such as in basketball). Grossman made smart decisions. I'm very unconcerned with our defensive midfield position this season with Balchan and Grossman hopefully sharing the starting reigns.
If both can step up in that position, then we can put O'Rourke back on the backline with Marshall.
Rich Balchan who could be Warzycha's brother in the above picture, looks like he could have a similiar distinguished playing career like the coach who drafted him with the Crew's first #8 pick this year.
The Crew haven't made it a secret that they have been very pleased with Balchan in preseason, and he showed well in a makeshift central defense with Andy Iro on Tuesday.
Balchan has the ability to start from day one with the Crew and hopefully he has a long and distinguished career in front of him for the black and yellow.
Josh Gardner is the case of a highly valued player as a rookie, who was selected by LA at #13 in 2004, who however couldn't make a name for himself as a young player in MLS. So, Josh dropped down a division and from 2007-2010 got himself over 100 caps with the USL-1 version of the Seattle Sounders and the Carolina Railhawks of the NASL.
In 2007, Josh was instrumental in the Sounders side that won the USL-1 Championship. In 2010, Josh once again led the Railhawks to the USSF Division 2 Pro (USL-1 & NASL) final.
Gardner is a player that had his ups and downs, and fought his way back up to MLS with the Columbus Crew this season. I like a player who has been through some tribulations and hasn't just had the easy road, where everything is handed to him. Learning his trade in the less glamorous USL-1 makes Josh a tougher character.
If Gardner plays as well as he did on Tuesday, Francis may have some competition this season on the left side.
So what did you think of these new players, which ones do you see having a long term impact with the Crew? Leave a comment or vote on the main page.
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