2011 Columbus Crew season

Columbus Crew

2011 season
Investor-operators	Clark Hunt Dan Hunt Lamar Hunt Jr. Sharron Hunt Munson Ron Pizzuti and a group of local investors
Head Coach	Robert Warzycha
Stadium	Columbus Crew Stadium
Major League Soccer	Conference: 4th Overall: 9th
MLS Cup Playoffs	Wildcard Round
U.S. Open Cup	Third Round
CONCACAF Champions League	Quarterfinals
Trillium Cup	Runners-Up (3 - 5)
Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup	Winners (2 - 2)
Atlanta Pro Soccer Challenge	Champions
MLS Reserve League	Conference: 1st Overall: 1st
Top goalscorer	League: Andrés Mendoza (13) All: Andrés Mendoza (13)
Highest home attendance	21,203 (9/24 v. LA)
Lowest home attendance	1,845 (6/28 v. RIC)
Average home league attendance	12,185 (64.3%)
Biggest win	CLB 4–1 COL (6/26) NE 0-3 CLB (10/15)
Biggest defeat	SEA 6-2 CLB (8/27)
Home colors Away colors

The 2011 Columbus Crew season was the club's 16th season of existence and their 16th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of soccer in the United States and Canada. The first match of the season was on March 19 against D.C. United. It was the third season under head coach Robert Warzycha.

The Crew opened its 2011 campaign with a Champions League quarterfinal fixture against fellow MLS competitor, Real Salt Lake. The match, the first leg of a quarterfinal series, was at Columbus Crew Stadium on February 22, 2011 and ended in a 0-0 draw. Columbus was trying to advance past the Quarterfinal stage after falling to Toluca 5-4 on aggregate last season.

On March 1, Columbus traveled to Rio Tinto Stadium and fell to Real Salt Lake by a score of 4-1, thus ending the Crew's run in the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League.

Two and a half weeks later, Columbus opened up its Major League Soccer campaign by traveling to Washington, D.C. to take on D.C. United on March 19. The club's MLS home opener was one week later, when the Crew hosted Red Bull New York on March 26.^[1]

As of September 3, 2011.^[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 William Hesmer 2 DF  USA Rich Balchan 3 DF  USA Josh Williams 5 DF  USA Danny O'Rourke 6 MF  CMR Tony Tchani 7 MF  VEN Bernardo Añor (INT) 9 FW  IRQ Justin Meram 10 FW  PER Andrés Mendoza (INT; DP) 11 MF  USA Dilly Duka 12 MF  USA Eddie Gaven 14 DF  USA Chad Marshall (captain) 15 MF  USA Kevin Burns 16 DF  USA Eric Gehrig (SUP) 17 MF  NGA Emmanuel Ekpo 18 MF  USA Robbie Rogers

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  USA Cole Grossman 20 FW  VEN Emilio Rentería (INT) 21 DF  CHI Sebastián Miranda (INT) 22 MF  SRB Dejan Rusmir (INT) 23 DF  USA Korey Veeder (SUP) 24 DF  USA Ben Sippola (SUP) 25 GK  USA Alex Riggs (SUP) 26 DF  TRI Julius James 27 FW  USA Aaron Horton (HGP; SUP) 28 MF  ARG Santiago Prim (INT; SUP) 29 DF  JAM Shaun Francis (INT) 30 GK  USA Andy Gruenebaum 31 MF  USA Josh Gardner 32 FW  USA Tom Heinemann 33 FW  USA Jeff Cunningham

Position	Staff
President/General Manager	Mark McCullers
Technical Director	Brian Bliss
Head Coach	Robert Warzycha
Assistant Coach	Ricardo Iribarren
Assistant Coach	Mike Lapper
Goalkeeper Coach	Vadim Kirillov
Strength/Fitness Coach	Mike Tremble
Athletic Trainer	David Lagow
Assistant Trainer	Skylar Richards
Director of Team Operations	Tucker Walther
Equipment Manager	Rusty Wummel

The Crew started preseason in Columbus and played games in Arizona, Tennessee and Georgia before returning to Ohio. The Crew brought in the following trialists during training camp: Caleb Patterson-Sewell, Mark Blades, Neri Bandiera, Pat McAfee, Ray Burse, Alex Fraga, Alex Riggs, Josh Gardner and Eric Gehrig.^[4][5]

Unsigned draft picks Rich Balchan, Justin Meram, Cole Grossman, Bernardo Añor, Ben Sippola and Andy Adlard also joined the team for preseason.^[6]

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Major League Soccer	March 19, 2011	October 22, 2011	Matchday 1	9th	34	13	8	13	43	44	−1	038.24
MLS Cup Playoffs	October 27, 2011	October 27, 2011	Wildcard Match	Wildcard Match	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
U.S. Open Cup	June 28, 2011	June 28, 2011	Third Round	Third Round	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
CONCACAF Champions League	February 22, 2011	March 11, 2011	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3	000.00
Total					38	13	9	16	45	51	−6	034.21

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
2	Houston Dynamo	34	12	9	13	45	41	+4	49	MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
3	Philadelphia Union	34	11	8	15	44	36	+8	48
4	Columbus Crew	34	13	13	8	43	44	−1	47	MLS Cup Play-In Round
5	New York Red Bulls	34	10	8	16	50	44	+6	46
6	Chicago Fire	34	9	9	16	46	45	+1	43

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
7	Colorado Rapids	34	12	9	13	44	41	+3	49
8	Philadelphia Union	34	11	8	15	44	36	+8	48
9	Columbus Crew	34	13	13	8	43	44	−1	47
10	New York Red Bulls	34	10	8	16	50	44	+6	46
11	Chicago Fire	34	9	9	16	46	45	+1	43

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
34	47	13	13	8	43	44	−1	9	3	5	27	18	+9	4	10	3	16	26	−10

Last updated: November 6, 2011
Source: MLSSoccer.com
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

With a fifth-place overall finish last season, the Crew secured direct qualification into the third-round proper of the U.S. Open Cup.

Pos	Club	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Columbus Crew Reserves (C)	10	9	1	0	29	10	+19	27
2	D.C. United Reserves	10	5	1	4	21	14	+7	19
3	New England Revolution Reserves	10	4	5	1	14	22	−8	13
4	New York Red Bulls Reserves	9	2	5	2	10	20	−10	9
5	Toronto FC Reserves	9	2	5	2	15	15	0	8
6	Philadelphia Union Reserves	10	2	7	1	9	17	−8	7

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		U.S. Open Cup		CONCACAF Champions League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	USA	William Hesmer	33	0	32+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
2	DF	USA	Rich Balchan	22	1	18+1	1	1+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
3	DF	USA	Josh Williams	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
5	DF	USA	Danny O'Rourke	7	0	5+1	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
6	MF	CMR	Tony Tchani	1	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
7	MF	VEN	Bernardo Añor	14	1	6+7	1	0+0	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
9	FW	IRQ	Justin Meram	20	0	4+13	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+2	0
10	FW	PER	Andrés Mendoza	32	13	25+4	13	1+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
11	MF	USA	Dilly Duka	24	2	16+6	2	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
12	MF	USA	Eddie Gaven	29	5	26+0	5	1+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
14	DF	USA	Chad Marshall	33	0	32+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
15	MF	USA	Kevin Burns	20	0	15+4	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
16	DF	USA	Eric Gehrig	9	0	4+4	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
17	MF	NGA	Emmanuel Ekpo	34	1	29+3	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
18	MF	USA	Robbie Rogers	31	2	24+3	2	1+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
19	MF	USA	Cole Grossman	5	1	0+2	0	0+0	0	1+0	1	2+0	0
20	FW	VEN	Emilio Rentería	20	8	14+4	8	0+1	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
21	DF	CHI	Sebastián Miranda	37	0	34+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
22	MF	SRB	Dejan Rusmir	19	0	13+5	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
23	DF	USA	Korey Veeder	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
24	DF	USA	Ben Sippola	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
25	GK	USA	Alex Riggs	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
26	DF	TRI	Julius James	33	1	31+0	1	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
27	FW	USA	Aaron Horton	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
28	MF	ARG	Santiago Prim	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
29	DF	JAM	Shaun Francis	6	0	5+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
30	GK	USA	Andy Gruenebaum	3	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
31	MF	USA	Josh Gardner	25	2	21+1	2	1+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
32	FW	USA	Tom Heinemann	30	3	12+16	3	0+1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
33	FW	USA	Jeff Cunningham	25	2	4+17	2	0+1	0	1+0	0	1+1	0
			Own Goal	0	3	-	3	-	0	-	0	-	0
Players who left Columbus during the season:
4	DF	ENG	Andy Iro	7	0	2+2	0	0+0	0	0+1	0	2+0	0
6	MF	USA	Andy Adlard	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
13	MF	FRA	Leandre Griffit	2	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
27	DF	SUI	Kwaku Nyamekye	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
34	GK	USA	Ray Burse	2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
34	GK	USA	Chris Konopka	2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS		MLS Playoffs		U.S. Open Cup		CONCACAF Champions League		Total
1	GK	William Hesmer	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
2	DF	Rich Balchan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
3	DF	Josh Williams	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	DF	Danny O'Rourke	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1
6	MF	Tony Tchani	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	MF	Bernardo Añor	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
9	FW	Justin Meram	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
10	FW	Andrés Mendoza	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
11	MF	Dilly Duka	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
12	MF	Eddie Gaven	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	DF	Chad Marshall	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
15	MF	Kevin Burns	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
16	DF	Eric Gehrig	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
17	MF	Emmanuel Ekpo	8	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	2
18	MF	Robbie Rogers	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
19	MF	Cole Grossman	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	FW	Emilio Rentería	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
21	DF	Sebastián Miranda	5	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	8	0
22	MF	Dejan Rusmir	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
23	DF	Korey Veeder	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	DF	Ben Sippola	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	GK	Alex Riggs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	DF	Julius James	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
27	FW	Aaron Horton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	MF	Santiago Prim	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	DF	Shaun Francis	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
30	GK	Andy Gruenebaum	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	MF	Josh Gardner	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
32	FW	Tom Heinemann	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
33	FW	Jeff Cunningham	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left Columbus during the season:
4	DF	Andy Iro	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
6	MF	Andy Adlard	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	MF	Léandre Griffit	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	DF	Kwaku Nyamekye	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	GK	Ray Burse	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	GK	Chris Konopka	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

No.	Name	MLS	MLS Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup	CONCACAF Champions League	Total	Games Played
		1	William Hesmer	8	0	0	0	8	33
25	Alex Riggs	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	Andy Gruenebaum	2	0	0	0	2	3
Players who left Columbus during the season:
25	Ray Burse	0	0	0	1	1	2
34	Chris Konopka	0	0	0	0	0	0

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 Reserve League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
6	MF	USA	Andy Adlard	4	0	1+3	0
7	MF	VEN	Bernardo Añor	7	4	6+1	4
-	MF	USA	Dominic Aracri	2	0	0+2	0
-	FW	COL	Jhonny Arteaga	2	0	2+0	0
-	MF	USA	Javier Alvial	0	0	0+0	0
-	FW	USA	JJ Bain	1	0	0+1	0
2	DF	USA	Rich Balchan	2	0	2+0	0
15	MF	USA	Kevin Burns	6	2	5+1	2
-	MF	USA	Tom Catalano	1	0	1+0	0
-	MF	USA	Khai Celestin	1	0	0+1	0
-	MF	CRC	Walter Chevez	1	1	0+1	1
33	FW	USA	Jeff Cunningham	4	2	4+0	2
-	MF	USA	Chris Davis	2	3	0+2	3
-	FW	USA	George Davis	2	0	0+2	0
17	MF	NGA	Emmanuel Ekpo	2	1	2+0	1
29	DF	JAM	Shaun Francis	5	0	5+0	0
31	MF	USA	Josh Gardner	4	1	4+0	1
16	DF	USA	Eric Gehrig	9	0	8+1	0
-	DF	USA	Greg Gehrig	2	0	0+2	0
-	DF	CRC	Esteban Granados	1	0	0+1	0
13	MF	FRA	Leandre Griffit	3	0	3+0	0
19	MF	USA	Cole Grossman	8	3	7+1	3
30	GK	USA	Andy Gruenebaum	8	0	8+0	0
-	GK	USA	Chase Harrison	0	0	0+0	0
32	FW	USA	Tom Heinemann	4	3	4+0	3
27	FW	USA	Aaron Horton	6	0	2+4	0
4	DF	ENG	Andy Iro	3	0	3+0	0
-	DF	USA	Mike Jones	1	1	1+0	1
34	GK	USA	Chris Konopka	1	0	1+0	0
10	FW	PER	Andrés Mendoza	1	1	1+0	1
9	FW	IRQ	Justin Meram	9	5	8+1	5
5	DF	USA	Danny O'Rourke	2	0	2+0	0
-	FW	NGA	John Owoeri	2	1	0+2	1
28	MF	ARG	Santiago Prim	7	0	3+4	0
20	FW	VEN	Emilio Rentería	1	1	1+0	1
25	GK	USA	Alex Riggs	4	0	1+3	0
18	MF	USA	Robbie Rogers	1	0	1+0	0
-	FW	MEX	Arnhold Rivas	1	0	0+1	0
22	MF	SRB	Dejan Rusmir	5	0	5+0	0
24	DF	USA	Ben Sippola	8	0	3+5	0
-	GK	USA	Alex Stout	0	0	0+0	0
6	MF	CMR	Tony Tchani	1	0	1+0	0
-	MF	NGA	Julius Ubido	1	0	1+0	0
23	DF	USA	Korey Veeder	9	0	8+1	0
3	DF	USA	Josh Williams	7	0	7+0	0
			Own Goal	0	0	-	0

No.	Pos.	Name	MLS Reserve League		Total
6	MF	Andy Adlard	0	0	0	0
7	MF	Bernardo Añor	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Dominic Aracri	0	0	0	0
-	FW	Jhonny Arteaga	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Javier Alvial	0	0	0	0
-	FW	JJ Bain	0	0	0	0
2	DF	Rich Balchan	0	0	0	0
15	MF	Kevin Burns	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Tom Catalano	1	0	1	0
-	MF	Khai Celestin	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Walter Chevez	0	0	0	0
33	FW	Jeff Cunningham	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Chris Davis	1	0	1	0
-	FW	George Davis	0	0	0	0
17	MF	Emmanuel Ekpo	1	0	1	0
29	DF	Shaun Francis	0	0	0	0
31	MF	Josh Gardner	0	0	0	0
16	DF	Eric Gehrig	0	0	0	0
-	DF	Greg Gehrig	0	0	0	0
-	DF	Esteban Granados	0	0	0	0
13	MF	Léandre Griffit	0	0	0	0
19	MF	Cole Grossman	1	0	1	0
30	GK	Andy Gruenebaum	0	0	0	0
-	GK	Chase Harrison	0	0	0	0
32	FW	Tom Heinemann	1	0	1	0
27	FW	Aaron Horton	1	0	1	0
4	DF	Andy Iro	1	0	1	0
-	DF	Mike Jones	0	0	0	0
34	GK	Chris Konopka	0	0	0	0
10	FW	Andrés Mendoza	0	1	0	1
9	FW	Justin Meram	1	0	1	0
5	DF	Danny O'Rourke	0	0	0	0
-	FW	John Owoeri	0	0	0	0
28	MF	Santiago Prim	0	0	0	0
20	FW	Emilio Rentería	1	0	1	0
25	GK	Alex Riggs	0	0	0	0
18	MF	Robbie Rogers	0	0	0	0
-	FW	Arnhold Rivas	0	0	0	0
22	MF	Dejan Rusmir	3	0	3	0
24	DF	Ben Sippola	0	0	0	0
-	GK	Alex Stout	0	0	0	0
6	MF	Tony Tchani	0	0	0	0
-	MF	Julius Ubido	0	0	0	0
23	DF	Korey Veeder	0	0	0	0
3	DF	Josh Williams	0	0	0	0

No.	Name	MLS Reserve League	Total	Games Played
		30	Andy Gruenebaum	3	3	8
-	Chase Harrison	0	0	0
34	Chris Konopka	0	0	1
25	Alex Riggs	0	0	4
-	Alex Stout	0	0	0

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
FW	Tom Heinemann	Charleston Battery	Signed via discovery	January 6, 2011	[8]
DF	Kwaku Nyamekye	Harvard Crimson	Drafted in round 4 of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft	January 24, 2011	[9]
FW	Jeff Cunningham	FC Dallas	Selected in Stage 2 of the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft	January 28, 2011	[10]
DF	Korey Veeder	Crystal Palace Baltimore	Allocated via weighted lottery	February 15, 2011	[11]
DF	Rich Balchan	Indiana Hoosiers	Drafted in round 1 of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft	February 17, 2011	[12]
FW	Justin Meram	Michigan Wolverines	Drafted in round 1 of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft	February 17, 2011	[12]
MF	Cole Grossman	Duke Blue Devils	Drafted in round 2 of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft	February 17, 2011	[12]
MF	Bernardo Añor	South Florida Bulls	Drafted in round 3 of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft	February 17, 2011	[12]
DF	Ben Sippola	Butler Bulldogs	Drafted in round 2 of the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft	February 21, 2011	[13]
DF	Andy Adlard	Indiana Hoosiers	Drafted in round 3 of the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft	February 21, 2011	[13]
MF	Josh Gardner	Carolina RailHawks FC	Signed via discovery	February 21, 2011	[14]
GK	Alex Riggs	Missouri State Bears	Signed via discovery	February 22, 2011	[15]
DF	Julius James	D.C. United	Signed via discovery	February 28, 2011	[16]
MF	Dejan Rusmir	FCV Farul Constanța	Signed via discovery	March 9, 2011	[17]
DF	Eric Gehrig	Chicago Fire Premier	Signed via discovery	February 21, 2011	[18]
MF	Santiago Prim	San Lorenzo de Almagro	Signed via discovery	April 26, 2011	[19]
FW	Aaron Horton	Louisville Cardinals	Signed to a homegrown contract	May 17, 2011	[20]
MF	Tony Tchani	Toronto FC	Traded for Andy Iro and Léandre Griffit	July 15, 2011	[21]
DF	Carlos Mendes	New York Red Bulls	Selected in Stage 1 of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft	December 5, 2011	[22]
GK	Matt Lampson	Ohio State Buckeyes	Signed to a homegrown contract	December 15, 2011	[23]

Pos.	Player	Parent club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source
GK	Ray Burse	MLS Pool	Short term agreement	February 22, 2011	March 15, 2011	[15][24]
GK	Chris Konopka	MLS Pool	Short term agreements	July 26, 2011 September 11, 2011	July 31, 2011 September 15, 2011	[25][26]

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
FW	Steven Lenhart	San Jose Earthquakes	Traded for a 1st round draft pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money	January 13, 2011	[27]
DF	Kwaku Nyamekye	Retired	Placed on waivers	February 28, 2011	[16]
MF	Andy Adlard	Retired	Placed on waivers	June 30, 2011	[28]
DF	Andy Iro	Toronto FC	Traded with Léandre Griffit for Tony Tchani	July 15, 2011	[21]
MF	Léandre Griffit	Toronto FC	Traded with Andy Iro for Tony Tchani	July 15, 2011	[21]
MF	Josh Gardner	Montreal Impact	Selected in round 7 of the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft	November 23, 2011	[29]
MF	Santiago Prim	Rampla Juniors	Placed on waivers	November 23, 2011	[30]
MF	Dejan Rusmir	Olympiakos Nicosia	Placed on waivers	November 23, 2011	[30]
MF	Kevin Burns	Carolina RailHawks	Option declined	November 29, 2011	[31]
FW	Jeff Cunningham	Comunicaciones F.C.	Option declined	November 29, 2011	[31]
FW	Andrés Mendoza	Atlante F.C.	Option declined	November 29, 2011	[31]
GK	Alex Riggs	St. Louis FC	Option declined	November 29, 2011	[31]
DF	Ben Sippola	Torslanda IK	Option declined	November 29, 2011	[31]
MF	Robbie Rogers	Leeds United F.C.	Contract expired	December 31, 2011	[31]
DF	Emmanuel Ekpo	Molde FK	Contract expired	December 31, 2011	[31]

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:

2011 Columbus Crew SuperDraft Picks[32]
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	12	Rich Balchan	DF	Indiana
1	15	Justin Meram	FW	Michigan
2	28	Cole Grossman	MF	Duke
3	48	Bernardo Añor	MF	South Florida

2011 Columbus Crew Supplemental Draft Picks[33]
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
2	30	Ben Sippola	DF	Butler
3	48	Andy Adlard	MF	Indiana

2011 Columbus Crew Re-Entry Draft Picks[34]
Stage	Round	Pick	Player	Position	Team
1	1	9	Carlos Mendes	DF	New York Red Bulls

MLS Team of the Week

Week	Starters	Honorable Mentions	Opponent(s)	Link
2	Chad Marshall		New York Red Bulls	[35]
3	Chad Marshall		FC Dallas	[36]
4	Chad Marshall		Chivas USA	[37]
5	Dilly Duka Robert Warzycha		Sporting Kansas City	[38]
7	Emilio Rentería	Eddie Gaven William Hesmer	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	[39]
8		Chad Marshall	Seattle Sounders FC	[40]
10	Tom Heinemann		Portland Timbers	[41]
11	Andrés Mendoza		Chivas USA	[42]
12		Justin Meram Rich Balchan	New York Red Bulls	[43]
13	Julius James		Real Salt Lake Chicago Fire	[44]
14	William Hesmer Bernardo Añor	Rich Balchan Andrés Mendoza	Houston Dynamo	[45]
15	Rich Balchan Andrés Mendoza	Tom Heinemann	Colorado Rapids	[46]
17		William Hesmer Robbie Rogers	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	[47]
18		William Hesmer Julius James	San Jose Earthquakes	[48]
19	Chad Marshall		Los Angeles Galaxy	[49]
20	Robbie Rogers	Julius James Chad Marshall	Real Salt Lake	[50]
22	Julius James	Robbie Rogers Dilly Duka	New England Revolution	[51]
23	Julius James	William Hesmer Chad Marshall Robbie Rogers	Philadelphia Union	[52]
29	Eddie Gaven		Sporting Kansas City D.C. United	[53]
31	Andrés Mendoza	Dilly Duka Julius James	New England Revolution	[54]
32	Dilly Duka	Emilio Rentería	Chicago Fire	[55]