New faces for Crew, familiar ones with Timbers for season opener

Shortly after he was announced as the Columbus Crew coach on New Year's Eve, former Malmo FF manager Henrik Rydstrom was asked by a newspaper in his native Sweden what he envisioned in MLS.

"I want a team that is like a f------ rock band," Rydstrom said.

The Crew (14-8-12, 54 points last season) will look to strike the right chords when they open the season Saturday at Portland (11-12-11, 44 points).

After losing perennial MVP candidate Juan "Cucho" Hernandez weeks before last season to Real Betis in Spain's La Liga, the Crew struggled to a seventh-place finish in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Designated players Diego Rossi, Daniel Gazdag and Wessam Abou Ali were on the field for only 150 minutes together last year, but in that span combined for five goals and three assists -- giving the Crew hope for a better 2026.

"I think that it's good that we started the season together, that we have the preseason also together," Rossi said.

The Crew will have to replace the retired Darlington Nagbe, a longtime presence in the midfield. Nagbe played the past six seasons in Columbus after starting his career with seven years in Portland -- playing two seasons in Atlanta in between.

The Timbers finished eighth in the Western Conference last season and won a wild-card game before being bounced from the first round of the playoffs by top-seeded San Diego.

Portland traded midfielder David Ayala to MLS Cup champion Inter Miami and cut injured forward Jonathan Rodriguez. Other than a trade with Colorado to acquire midfielder Cole Bassett, the Timbers' roster remains pretty much the same.

Midfielder David Da Costa is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and will miss the beginning of the campaign.

"This is my third year, and you know, I'm not embarrassed to say, I think this is a year when we've got to deliver," Timbers coach Phil Neville said. "And I'm super excited."

--Field Level Media