CARSON, Calif. -- It's not much of a secret of what makes the Columbus Crew the best team in Major League Soccer.
Take a crafty veteran coach in Sigi Schmid. Add a clever playmaker in Guillermo Barros Scheletto and mix it with an up-and-coming defender in Chad Marshall, a wise right fullback and team captain Frankie Hejduk and a talented supporting cast that can do a little damage itself.
Sometimes the best teams don't win. For example, the two-time defending champion Houston Dynamo could not get out of the first round of the playoffs against the New York Red Bulls.
On Sunday, the best and deserving team held the Philip F. Anschutz trophy high at The Home Depot Center as the MLS champions. After 12 long seasons of getting disappointed in the Eastern Conference semifinals and most recently as a non-playoff side, the Crew finally took a victory lap for the last game of the MLS season. Actually, it was a partial lap, as they took the new 43-lb. trophy to celebrate in front of their faithful.
• Crew capture first MLS Cup
• MLS Cup Notes: Crew win Cup
• Schelotto named MLS Cup MVP
• Hejduk adjusts style in MLS Cup
• Lewis: Right team took Cup
• Davis: Tactics trumped by talent
• Wolyniec rewards Osorio's faith
• Red Bulls waste strong first half
• Cup win sweet for Crew's Moreno
• Red Bulls can't dodge final dagger
• Crew win Cup with team effort
• Crew notebook: Trio hope to return
• Red Bulls notebook: Still proud
MLS Cup Sights & Sounds
Nov. 22 headlines
• Tactical surprises unlikely
• NY native Gaven still growing
• Sidelined Stammler supportive
Nov. 21 headlines
• Carroll is Crew's unsung hero
• Goldthwaite stabilizes Red Bulls
• Crew expect strong support
Nov. 20 headlines
• Backline is Crew's backbone
• Angel key to Red Bulls' success
• LA weather sweet as Crew train
SIGHTS & SOUNDS
The Crew led the way from start to finish over an eight-month span, kicking off the season with a 2-0 win against Toronto FC on March 29 and completing it with the best way possible -- a victory in the MLS Cup Final, a solid 3-1 triumph against the Red Bulls.
Columbus became the first Supporters' Shield winner to win the MLS Cup since the 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy accomplished the feat. The coach of that Galaxy side? One Sigi Schmid.
It certainly was no coincidence that the Crew did as well as they did this season.
"We found different ways to win at various times throughout the season, individual play through this guy next to me," said Schmid, referring to Schelotto. "Guillermo Barros Schelotto was tremendous. And other individuals stepping up at times was excellent as well."
On Friday, Red Bulls striker Juan Pablo Angel said the game would decided by mistakes.
As it turned out, he was right. The Crew made a minimal amount.
Schelotto, who plays somewhere between midfield and forward and sometimes in a league of his own, made the Red Bulls pay dearly for theirs.
In fact, each of his assists came through a different way.
His first, which set up Alejandro Moreno's goal in the 31st minute, picking up a loose ball that Red Bulls midfielder Dave van den Bergh thought was out of bounds. Schelotto fed Moreno down the right side.
"He does what needs to do," Schmid said. "And he has great instincts. He stole a ball that was going out of bounds. He's got the presence and vision to know where Alejandro was and to react and play very quickly. And it's those decisive moments that turn games and decide games."
The second goal came off a corner kick as Marshall, the defender of the year, nailed it from six yards past goalkeeper Danny Cepero in the 53rd minute, only two minutes after John Wolyniec equalized. It turned into a boost for the Crew and a backbreaker for the Red Bulls.
"Give credit to Schelotto," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "I believe he is the most effective player in the league on set plays."
"That kind of put a dagger into us for about 15-20 minutes," Red Bulls midfielder Dave Van den Bergh of the quick goal.
To top off a magnificent afternoon, Schelotto demonstrated that sometimes you don't have to put too much mustard on the ball by chipping it to Hejduk, who headed home the insurance goal in the 82nd minute.
Quite fittingly, he added the MLS Cup MVP award to his burgeoning award collection, which also includes the regular season MVP.
As for the Red Bulls, it was a great run while it lasted. They played hard, especially in the first half. They dominated play, but Columbus walked into the locker room with a 1-0 lead.
"I'm really proud of what we achieved this year," team captain and striker Juan Pablo Angel said. "If anyone told us at the end of the season, after the problems that we had, that we would be in the final, I would sign right away. That doesn't mean I'm happy because we lost the final. I'm devastated because although we were playing against the best team this year we felt could get a better result today."
Winning the cup in the stadium where he had guided the Galaxy certainly was vindication for Schmid, whom many felt he was unjustly dismissed as coach even with the team in first place in the Western Conference in August 2004.
"It's a very emotional moment for me winning the game here in L.A. in front of family and friends," Schmid said. "And to be honest, in a town that I was fired in. So it meant an awful lot."
Schmid proved that you can go home again in triumph -- and with the best professional soccer team in the United States. There's no doubt about that.
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