1996 Columbus Crew season

Columbus Crew

1996 season
Investor-operators	Lamar Hunt Clark Hunt Dan Hunt Lamar Hunt Jr. Sharron Hunt Munson Ron Pizzuti and a group of local investors
Head Coach	Timo Liekoski (until August 2)[1] Tom Fitzgerald (interim) (from August 2)
Stadium	Ohio Stadium
Major League Soccer	Conference: 4th Overall: 8th
MLS Cup Playoffs	Conference Semifinals
Top goalscorer	League: Brian McBride (17) All: Brian McBride (19)
Highest home attendance	31,550 (9/15 v. NY)
Lowest home attendance	12,832 (7/25 v. TB)
Average home league attendance	19,058 (75.8%)
Biggest win	CLB 4–0 DC (4/13) KC 1–5 CLB (9/7)
Biggest defeat	CLB 0–4 NY (6/30)
Home colors Away colors

The 1996 Columbus Crew season was the club's first season of existence and their first season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of soccer in the United States. The first match of the season was on April 13 against D.C. United. It was the first season under head coach Timo Liekoski who resigned on August 2. Tom Fitzgerald took over as interim head coach through the rest of the season.

As of August 10, 1996^[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  USA Bo Oshoniyi 1 GK  USA Brad Friedel 2 FW  USA Mac Cozier 3 DF  USA Mike Clark 4 DF  USA Janusz Michallik 5 DF  USA Paul Caligiuri 6 MF  USA Todd Yeagley 7 DF  USA Shane Battelle 8 DF  USA Brian Bliss 9 FW  USA Billy Thompson 10 MF  USA Brian Maisonneuve

No. Pos. Nation Player 11 FW  URU Adrián Paz 12 FW  USA Pete Marino 15 MF  RSA Doctor Khumalo (captain) 16 MF  USA Rob Smith 18 GK  USA David Winner 19 MF  POL Robert Warzycha 20 FW  USA Brian McBride 21 DF  ARG Ricardo Iribarren 22 FW  ARG Marcelo Carrera 29 GK  USA Pat Harrington

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  USA Ricci Greenwood (on loan to Ohio Xoggz) 17 DF  USA Todd Miller (on loan to Milwaukee Rampage)

Position	Staff
General Manager	Jamey Rootes
Head Coach	Timo Liekoski until August 2 Tom Fitzgerald after August 2
Assistant Coach	Tom Fitzgerald until August 2 John Ellinger after August 11
Assistant Coach	Oscar Pisano
Goalkeeper Coach	Greg Andrulis
Head Trainer	Amy Baer

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Major League Soccer	April 13, 1996	September 21, 1996	Matchday 1	4th	32	11	17	4	59	60	−1	034.38
MLS Cup Playoffs	September 25, 1996	October 2, 1996	Conference Semifinals	Conference Semifinals	3	1	0	2	2	7	−5	033.33
Total					35	12	17	6	61	67	−6	034.29

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tampa Bay Mutiny	32	19	1	12	66	51	+15	58	MLS Cup Playoffs
2	D.C. United	32	15	1	16	62	56	+6	46
3	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	12	3	17	45	47	−2	39
4	Columbus Crew	32	11	4	17	59	60	−1	37
5	New England Revolution	32	9	6	17	43	56	−13	33

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SOW	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
6	NY/NJ MetroStars	32	12	3	17	45	47	−2	39
7	San Jose Clash	32	12	3	17	50	50	0	39
8	Columbus Crew	32	11	4	17	59	60	−1	37
9	New England Revolution	32	9	6	17	43	56	−13	33
10	Colorado Rapids	32	9	2	21	44	59	−15	29

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
32	37	11	17	4	59	60	−1	8	8	0	32	27	+5	3	9	4	27	33	−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

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		MLS		MLS Cup Playoffs
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	USA	Bo Oshoniyi	13	0	13+0	0	0+0	0
1	GK	USA	Brad Friedel	12	0	9+0	0	3+0	0
2	FW	USA	Mac Cozier	13	0	0+13	0	0+0	0
3	DF	USA	Mike Clark	30	1	27+0	1	3+0	0
4	DF	USA	Janusz Michallik	32	0	28+3	0	1+0	0
5	DF	USA	Paul Caligiuri	25	3	21+1	3	3+0	0
6	MF	USA	Todd Yeagley	25	1	14+8	1	3+0	0
7	DF	USA	Shane Battelle	16	0	10+5	0	1+0	0
8	DF	USA	Brian Bliss	19	1	19+0	1	0+0	0
9	FW	USA	Billy Thompson	24	2	24+0	2	0+0	0
10	MF	USA	Brian Maisonneuve	18	5	13+2	5	3+0	0
11	FW	URU	Adrián Paz	30	7	19+8	6	3+0	1
12	FW	USA	Pete Marino	32	11	18+11	11	3+0	0
15	MF	RSA	Doctor Khumalo	26	3	23+2	3	1+0	0
16	MF	USA	Rob Smith	12	0	9+0	0	3+0	0
17	FW	USA	Ricci Greenwood	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
17	DF	USA	Todd Miller	4	0	2+1	0	1+0	0
18	GK	USA	David Winner	7	0	6+1	0	0+0	0
19	MF	POL	Robert Warzycha	23	2	20+0	2	3+0	0
20	FW	USA	Brian McBride	31	19	28+0	17	3+0	2
21	DF	ARG	Ricardo Iribarren	19	1	15+1	1	3+0	0
22	FW	ARG	Marcelo Carrera	33	4	12+18	4	2+1	0
29	GK	USA	Pat Harrington	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0
			Own Goal	0	2	-	2	-	0
Players who left Columbus during the season:
13	DF	CAN	Mark Watson	14	0	14+0	0	0+0	0
14	FW	NGA	Obi Monome	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
17	FW	JAM	Paul Young	4	0	1+3	0	0+0	0
17	FW	USA	Dante Washington	3	0	3+0	0	0+0	0
21	MF	USA	Brandon Ward	6	0	3+3	0	0+0	0
-	GK	ENG	Ron Fearon	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS		MLS Cup Playoffs		Total
1	GK	Bo Oshoniyi	3	0	0	0	3	0
1	GK	Brad Friedel	1	0	1	0	2	0
2	FW	Mac Cozier	1	0	0	0	1	0
3	DF	Mike Clark	4	2	0	0	4	2
4	DF	Janusz Michallik	2	0	0	0	2	0
5	MF	Paul Caligiuri	2	1	2	0	4	1
6	MF	Todd Yeagley	2	1	1	0	3	1
7	DF	Shane Battelle	2	0	0	0	2	0
8	DF	Brian Bliss	3	0	0	0	3	0
9	FW	Billy Thompson	1	0	0	0	1	0
10	MF	Brian Maisonneuve	1	0	0	0	1	0
11	FW	Adrián Paz	1	0	0	0	1	0
12	FW	Pete Marino	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	MF	Doctor Khumalo	2	0	0	0	2	0
16	MF	Rob Smith	2	0	0	0	2	0
17	FW	Ricci Greenwood	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	DF	Todd Miller	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	FW	Paul Young	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	GK	David Winner	2	0	0	0	2	0
19	MF	Robert Warzycha	6	0	2	0	8	0
20	FW	Brian McBride	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	DF	Ricardo Iribarren	5	1	2	0	7	1
22	FW	Marcelo Carrera	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	GK	Pat Harrington	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left Columbus during the season:
13	DF	Mark Watson	2	0	0	0	2	0
14	FW	Obi Monome	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	FW	Paul Young	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	FW	Dante Washington	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	MF	Brandon Ward	0	0	0	0	0	0
-	GK	Ron Fearon	0	0	0	0	0	0

No.	Name	MLS	MLS Cup Playoffs	Total	Games Played
1	Bo Oshoniyi	2	0	2	13
1	Brad Friedel	4	0	4	12
18	David Winner	0	0	0	7
29	Pat Harrington	1	0	1	4
Players who left Columbus during the season:
-	Ron Fearon	0	0	0	0

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
MF	Doctor Khumalo	Kaizer Chiefs	Allocated by the league.	December 21, 1995	[5]
MF	Brian Maisonneuve	Indiana Hoosiers	Allocated by the league.	February 1, 1996	[6]
FW	Adrián Paz	Shanghai Pudong	Allocated by the league.	February 4, 1996	[7]
DF	Brian Bliss	FC Carl Zeiss Jena	Allocated by the league.	February 4, 1996	[7]
FW	Brian McBride	VfL Wolfsburg	Drafted in round 1 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 6, 1996	[8]
DF	Mark Watson	Vancouver 86ers	Drafted in round 2 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 6, 1996	[8]
FW	Billy Thompson	Tampa Bay Terror	Drafted in round 3 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 6, 1996	[8]
DF	Mike Clark	Richmond Kickers	Drafted in round 4 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 6, 1996	[8]
GK	Bo Oshoniyi	New York Centaurs	Drafted in round 5 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 6, 1996	[8]
MF	Brandon Ward	Hampton Roads Mariners	Drafted in round 6 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 6, 1996	[8]
DF	Janusz Michallik	New York Centaurs	Drafted in round 7 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
MF	Todd Yeagley	Richmond Kickers	Drafted in round 8 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
DF	Ramiro Corrales	California Jaguars	Drafted in round 9 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
FW	Marcelo Carrera	Canton Invaders	Drafted in round 10 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
DF	Shane Battelle	St. Louis Knights	Drafted in round 11 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
FW	Pete Marino	Bayer Leverkusen	Drafted in round 12 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
FW	Paul Young	Charleston Battery	Drafted in round 13 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
DF	Laurence Piturro	Long Island Rough Riders	Drafted in round 14 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
DF	Todd Haskins	Washington Warthogs	Drafted in round 15 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
MF	Manny Catano	Des Moines Menace	Drafted in round 16 of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
FW	Mac Cozier	Charlotte 49ers	Drafted in round 1 of the 1996 MLS College Draft.	March 4, 1996	[8]
FW	Ricci Greenwood	Seattle Pacific Falcons	Drafted in round 2 of the 1996 MLS College Draft.	March 4, 1996	[8]
DF	Todd Miller	Westminster Griffins	Drafted in round 3 of the 1996 MLS College Draft.	March 4, 1996	[8]
DF	Paul Caligiuri	FC St. Pauli	Drafted in round 1 of the 1996 MLS supplemental draft.	March 4, 1996	[8]
MF	Michael Robles	Montclair Standard Falcons	Drafted in round 2 of the 1996 MLS supplemental draft.	March 4, 1996	[8]
MF	Rob Smith	Delaware Wizards	Drafted in round 2 of the 1996 MLS supplemental draft.	March 4, 1996	[8]
GK	Kevin East	Jersey Dragons	Drafted in round 3 of the 1996 MLS supplemental draft.	March 4, 1996	[8]
GK	David Winner	Tampa Bay Cyclones		March 20, 1996	[9]
FW	Robert Warzycha	Budapest Honvéd	Signed via discovery.	June 4, 1996	[10]
GK	Ron Fearon	Leyton Orient F.C.	Signed via discovery.	June 11, 1996	[11]
FW	Dante Washington	Washington Warthogs	Signed as a free agent.	June 18, 1996	[12]
DF	Ricardo Iribarren	Belgrano de Córdoba	Allocated by the league.	June 28, 1996	[12]
GK	Pat Harrington	Kansas City Wiz	Picked up on waivers.	June 30, 1996	[13]
GK	Brad Friedel	Galatasaray	Rights traded from Dallas Burn for Dante Washington and a pick in the 1997 MLS supplemental draft.	August 9, 1996	[13]
MF	Altimont Butler	San Jose Clash	Traded for Mac Cozier	November 7, 1996	[14]

Pos.	Player	Parent club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source
FW	Obi Monome	Ohio Xoggz	Signed with Cleveland Crunch after his loan.	September 5, 1996	September 9, 1996	[15]

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
DF	Ramiro Corrales	San Jose Clash	Traded for the 13th overall pick in the 1996 MLS supplemental draft.	February 7, 1996	[8]
MF	Manny Catano	Hawaii Tsunami	Placed on waivers.	March 25, 1996	[16]
MF	Michael Robles	San Fernando Valley Golden Eagles	Placed on waivers.	March 25, 1996	[16]
DF	Laurence Piturro	Long Island Rough Riders	Placed on waivers.	April 3, 1996	[17]
DF	Todd Haskins		Placed on waivers.	April 3, 1996	[17]
GK	Kevin East	Central Jersey Riptide	Placed on waivers.	April 16, 1996	[18]
FW	Paul Young	South Carolina Shamrocks	Placed on waivers.	June 5, 1996	[19]
MF	Brandon Ward	Richmond Kickers	Placed on waivers.	July 2, 1996	[20]
DF	Mark Watson	New England Revolution	Placed on waivers.	July 16, 1996	[21]
FW	Dante Washington	Dallas Burn	Traded for the rights to Brad Friedel and a pick in the 1997 MLS supplemental draft.	August 9, 1996	[13]
GK	Ron Fearon	Chelmsford City		August 9, 1996
FW	Mac Cozier	San Jose Clash	Traded for Altimont Butler	November 7, 1996	[14]
GK	Bo Oshoniyi	Connecticut Wolves	Placed on waivers.	November 7, 1996	[14]
GK	Pat Harrington	Detroit Safari	Placed on waivers.	November 7, 1996	[14]
DF	Shane Battelle	Retired	Placed on waivers.	November 7, 1996	[14]
FW	Ricci Greenwood	Columbus Invaders	Placed on waivers.	November 7, 1996	[14]

Pos.	Player	Loanee club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source
FW	Ricci Greenwood	Ohio Xoggz	Columbus retains right to recall	April 16, 1996	End Of Season	[18]
DF	Todd Miller	Milwaukee Rampage	Columbus retains right to recall	April 16, 1996	End Of Season	[18]

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. The picks for the Columbus Crew are listed below:

1996 Columbus Crew Inaugural Player Draft Picks
Round	Pick	Player	Position	Team
1	1	Brian McBride	FW	VfL Wolfsburg
2	11	Mark Watson	DF	Vancouver 86ers
3	21	Billy Thompson	FW	Tampa Bay Terror
4	31	Mike Clark	DF	Richmond Kickers
5	41	Bo Oshoniyi	GK	New York Centaurs
6	51	Brandon Ward	MF	Hampton Roads Mariners
7	61	Janusz Michallik	DF	New York Centaurs
8	71	Todd Yeagley	MF	Richmond Kickers
9	81	Ramiro Corrales	DF	California Jaguars
10	91	Marcelo Carrera	FW	Canton Invaders
11	101	Shane Battelle	DF	St. Louis Knights
12	111	Pete Marino	FW	Bayer Leverkusen
13	121	Paul Young	FW	Charleston Battery
14	131	Laurence Piturro	DF	Long Island Rough Riders
15	141	Todd Haskins	DF	Washington Warthogs
15	151	Manny Catano	MF	Des Moines Menace

1996 Columbus Crew College Draft Picks[22]
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	10	Mac Cozier	FW	UNC Charlotte
2	20	Ricci Greenwood	FW	Seattle Pacific
3	30	Todd Miller	DF	Westminster College

1996 Columbus Crew Supplemental Draft Picks[23]
Round	Pick	Player	Position	Team
1	10	Paul Caligiuri	DF	FC St. Pauli
2	13	Michael Robles	MF	Montclair Standard Falcons
2	20	Rob Smith	MF	Delaware Wizards
3	30	Kevin East	GK	Jersey Dragons