COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Crew that won the MLS Cup four months ago is essentially the same team that will take the field Saturday at Houston in its first title defense, with the notable exception of a new coach and a big hole to fill in the middle.
Former Crew player and longtime assistant Robert Warzycha was promoted to head coach after Sigi Schmid left for Seattle. While Schmid was not officially on board at the time of the expansion draft it's no secret why the Sounders selected Crew midfielder Brad Evans.
Evans proved to be a reliable two-way player after taking over the center midfield spot when Adam Moffat went out for the season with a knee injury. Evans scored five goals and was not afraid to thwart an attack with his aggressive play, much in the manner Moffat did in scoring twice in seven matches before undergoing surgery.
While the Crew was hoping Moffat would be ready for the season opener it's clear he's weeks away from playing. His absence has likely given second-year midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo the opportunity in front of defensive midfielder Brian Carroll.
Warzycha liked how Ekpo handled himself during the preseason trip to England and favors him at the moment over veteran Duncan Oughton and Stanley Nyazamba, who was signed to a discovery contract in September after finishing his rookie season with Richmond of the USL Second Division and has no MLS experience.
"(Ekpo) is very technical and a good passer," Warzycha said. "For him, it's understanding the spacing and the tactics a little bit more and he's going to be fine."
Although running the flanks with wicked speed would seem to best suit Ekpo for flank play -- the first of his two goals came June 28 after blowing past the Colorado defense -- he is comfortable in his new role.
"Centerfield midfield is where I started playing football. I'm OK with that. Even back home in the national team camp I play center mid," said the member of Nigeria's silver medal team at the 2008 Summer Olympics. "There's difference in the positioning. I prefer playing in the center mid. I can play the wide side but I prefer to play in the middle."
He appeared in 17 regular season matches and three more in the playoffs but admits to still finding his way in MLS.
"I'm beginning to get used to the way to play soccer here in America so I think I'll be OK," Ekpo said. "In MLS, there's a lot of running, people on the ball and off the ball. That's quite different than the way we play back home where the ball does most of the running. Here, even without the ball you need to run because everyone is running. I'm a soccer player so I like to run ... but not all the time."
Ekpo might have to change his way of thinking. The Crew depended on Moffat and then Evans to carry their weight at both ends of the field. Their play was a reason the Crew was second in goals scored and third in fewest allowed last season.
"It's important now that Manu becomes a box-to-box player and covers as much space as some other guys have in the past," forward Alejandro Moreno said. "Manu is a different player than, say, Brad Evans at the end of the season or even Adam Moffat earlier last year.
"He's a more technical player, perhaps a guy more offensive oriented. It will take some time for us to get a rhythm but when Manu's quick with the ball and when he allows us to change the point of attack with some speed and a change of pace then we become very dangerous. The more he does that and the more he allows us to get balls into the space the better off we'll be."
Whether Ekpo maintains his spot when Moffat returns is up to him. Warzycha said he knows what he's getting in Moffat despite the Scotsman not playing in any preseason matches.
"I'm not judging him now because he's coming off injury," Warzycha said. "I'm judging him off last year and how he fit in with our team. He's not ready but we all remember what he did last year. "
After scoring twice in helping the Crew to a fast start Moffat underwent the surgeries -- the second on the left knee was the more serious -- and was ruled out for the season in June. He spent many hours with the medical staff away from the team.
"The first couple of months I didn't want to come into practice, really," he said. "I would work out outside the facility because I knew it was going to be at least six months before I could even kick the ball. I was sad but the guys around me really helped. As soon as that season finished I wanted to start again. My break was too long."
He will have to wait a bit longer as Warzycha is targeting mid-April for his return. The opening is there for Ekpo.
"A player with the ability he has is going to be more effective in the middle because he is very technical so he is going to have more touches," Warzycha said. "Obviously, his first touch is very good so I'm hoping he brings something that we didn't have before to our game because if his passing is very good, he can put through balls. His shot is very good, too, and he can dribble with speed. If you take everything together we can be very, very good with him."
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