October saw the Columbus Crew season end in disappointment. After so much hope and all the expectations at the beginning of the season, the Crew had a rough season ending with a tying record of 16 games. With all the talent on the team the expectations were high. The management let head coach Caleb Porter go after the season ending loss and began to look for a new face for the club.

Fastforward to December. The Crew have been a busy team. In early December, The Black & Gold hired former CF Montreal coach Wilfred Nancy as the new head coach and a new direction for the club.

On December 20th, the league released all 29 team's schedules for the upcoming 2023 season. Merry Christmas Crew fans! The expectations are even higher this year as Cucho Hernandez and Lucas Zelarayan will have a full season together. The 2023 season on paper looks to be in the favor of Columbus, and they will be considered on the favorites to come out of the East this year.

After going over the schedule, there are 10 matches that stick out that should be interesting.

February 25th Philadelphia vs Columbus: Columbus will open the Season against the Philadelphia Union. With Nancy taking over as head coach, this will be an interesting match to watch as both teams will likely play similar styles of pressing and similar formations.

March 4th Columbus vs DC United: This match will be a bitter-sweet match with former Crew favorite Pedro Santos returning to Columbus for the first time with his new team. Expected there to be high emotions for him and Crew supporters in this matchup.  Merry CREWSMAS!!!

April 29th Columbus vs Inter Miami: This will still be an interesting matchup. Last two times the Crew played Miami, they saw the highs and lows. This will be a redemption game for the Black & Gold. 

May 17th Columbus vs LA Galaxy: this will be the first time since 2019 the Galaxy has played Columbus. This match will be a showcase of stars. It will be interesting to see Lucas and Cucho go up against Chicharito Hernandez and Riqui Puig. Look for the rivalry of two MLS originals to reignite.

May 20th FC Cincinnati vs Columbus: The first leg of "Hell is Real" 2023 begins in Cincinnati. Last time out, the Crew had a late game comeback for a draw against FC Cincinnati. With FC Cincinnati coming off their first playoff berth and building the club up around their stars, look for this matchup to have a lot of intensity and emotions.

Hell is Real. picture courtest of The Columbus Crew
Hell is Real!!!! picture courtesy of The Columbus Crew

 

May 28th Nashville vs Columbus: Welcome back to the East. In their only meeting of the season, Columbus travels to Nasville for the first time since Nashville Joined MLS. last time out saw Nashville win 1-0 over the Crew in Columbus. With a new look and feel for the Crew look for them to leave Nashville and Mukhtar singing the blues.

July 15th Portland vs Columbus: Who is ready to pull an all-nighter and ready for some MLS after dark vibes and fireworks? For the first time since 2018 Columbus will travel to Portland. Last time out, Columbus fell victim to a stoppage time goal that led to a draw in a crucial game for Columbus. There will be no love lost for both teams as these two teams meet again before going into the break for the Leagues Cup tournament.

August 20th Columbus vs FC Cincinnati: "Hell is Real" final round comes to Columbus right out of the break. FC Cincinnati has not won in Columbus in its existence. Look for the Black & Gold to continue to torment their in-state rival.

September 2nd CF Montreal vs Columbus: This will be an emotional match for Nancy as he leads his new team against his former team. Last time these two teams met, Kai Kamara sparked a comeback win for Montreal in Columbus. Look for the Crew to play with high emotions and win it for Nancy.

October 21st Columbus vs CF Montreal: decisions, decisions, decisions. For the last two seasons, it came down to "Decision Day " as Columbus missed the playoffs by a combined 3 points. It could possibly come down to "Decision Day" once again for the Black & Gold. Look for this match to possibly be the spark for a run for the cup.

Now that the schedule has been released, it is a favorable one for Columbus. This season is sure to finally bring Columbus Back to Glory.

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