Columbus

Columbus Crew: Six burning questions

Is Issa the guy?

Michael Arace

10 Nov 2025 — 8 min read

Crew GM Issa Tall watches the postgame ceremony honoring Darlington Nagbe, Lower.com Field, Oct. 18.

Tim Bezbatchenko, a Westerville native and graduate of St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus, spent 65 months as president/general manager of the Crew. It seems to me they didn't let him do very much president-ing, but he might've been the best GM in MLS. He inherited a coach, Caleb Porter, who was hired by ownership. They won the MLS Cup in 2020, their second season together. It bought Porter enough time to post a 23-21-24 record over the next two, playoff-free seasons.

Bezbatchenko then went out and got the coach he coveted, Wilfried Nancy; he paid to get Nancy out of the last year of his contract with Montreal. What followed were the best 18 months in the history of the MLS's first chartered franchise. Nancy's system turned the Crew into one of the most watchable and compelling clubs in the league, and the results followed – and MLS Cup in December 2023, an appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League final in late spring of 2024 and a triumph in the second annual Leagues Cup tournament (MLS vs. Liga MX) two months later. At that point, the Crew were the top-ranked team in CONCACAF's club rankings. They had, arguably, the best GM, the best coach and the best player (Cucho Hernandez) in the league.

Bezbatchenko got an offer he couldn't refuse and, just prior to Leagues Cup, he accepted a job as director of the Black Knight Football Club. BKFC is an umbrella for a group of teams in the control of Bill Foley, owner of the NHL Vegas Golden Knights. BKFC's properties include Bournemouth of the English Premier League, Aukland AFC of New Zealand, FC Lorient of France's Ligue 1 and the Scottish club Hibernian FC. Bezbatchenko's job is to"to improve and better coordinate player development and recruiting, enhance player pathways and optimize commercial opportunities across the group to deliver on-field success and financial performance."

As of this writing, Bournemouth is in ninth place in the EPL, just behind Liverpool and just ahead of Crystal Palace. Auckland is in third place in the National League, Lorient is in 17th place and having a hard go in Ligue 1 and Hibernian is in third place in the Scottish Premiership.

Bezbatchenko, 44, always said that no one is irreplaceable. He left a full cupboard for his longtime mentee, right-hand man and eventual successor. Issa Tall, 37, is now 16 months into his tenure as Crew GM. Tall and Nancy have known each other for more than a decade and they work closely on all personnel decisions. While they keep a tight lid on things at 1 Black and Gold Blvd., my impression is that Nancy's carries a lot of weight when it comes to fishing and cutting bait. I'm not saying that's good or bad – in fact, it's probably very good given Nancy's intricate system, his ability to get the most out of his players and his winning track record.

Which brings us to our burning questions.

At TQL Stadium in Cincinnati Saturday, the Crew were eliminated from the playoffs by their arch rivals. FC Cincinnati moves on from Round One Hell is Real to the Eastern Conference final. Their opponent will be Lionel Messi and cheatin' Miami. The Crew bussed back to Columbus to face a long offseason. Last year, same thing – they were eliminated in the first round.

What's next?

One: Wherefore Wilfried Nancy?

Headline: "Celtic-linked Wilfried Nancy handed disappointing end to MLS season."

Subhead: "Celtic's hunt for a permanent manager could make serious progress over the international break."

This are from a blog posted Sunday at 67hailhail.com, a site focused on Celtic of Glasgow, one of the two powerhouses of the Scottish Premiership. Nancy has been linked to the Celtic job over the past two weeks. He has also been linked to jobs in his native France. His reputation has grown to the point where, if a job opens up in Europe, his name gets floated. It can be difficult to discern the smoke from a real fire.

It has been written a million times: Nancy will leave Columbus sooner or later. He's just too good.

The hope here is that after a roller-coaster of a season, he'll want to stick around long enough, with a roster he helped build, and take at least one more run at the MLS trophy he covets most – the Supporters' Shield, which goes to the team with the best regular-season record. He believes this mark of consistency is the highest laurel.

Two: Who replaces Darlington Nagbe?

He's not kidding: He's retiring to spend more time with his family.

Is Darlington Nagbe the greatest holding midfielder in MLS history? He played his last game Sunday and then went home to spend time with his family. Unlike most athletes, he's not just saying that – he is truly looking forward to spending time with his family. It's why he retired.

Nagbe's retirement LEAVES A HUMONGOUS HOLE in the Crew midfield.

Will Sean Zawadzki, repurposed as a (very effective) center back, return to the center of the park? Will Tall (and Nancy?) go big-game hunting for a No. 6 during the winter transfer window? Which leads to the next question ...

Three: How many windows will close before a new center back is signed?

Coming out of last season, Tall named midfield and center back among the priority positions he wanted to strengthen. Then, in February, CB Rudy Camacho suffered what was, for all practical purposes, a season-ending pelvis injury. Zawadzki was planted in the middle of the back line and was terrific. Yet, the Crew are still thin back there, and the lack of depth has at times haunted them.

Will Tall (and Nancy?) look to add a substantial piece to the back line? Is there an answer within the system (Cesar Ruvalcaba?). Is there a college player who is Super Draft-able?

Four: What to do with Daniel Gazdag?

All season, the elephant in the room was Cucho Hernandez, who finished a close second to Lionel Messi in MVP voting last year – and who was sold to Real Betis of Spain's La Liga in February. He left a hole at least as large as Nagbe is leaving, maybe larger.

Before Wessam Abou Ali was transferred from Al Ahly of Egypt on a $7-million fee in August, Tall moved to buttress the front line by acquiring Daniel Gazdag, the Philadelphia Union's all-time leading scorer, in a $4-million cash deal. Gazdag then signed a DP contract worth $2 million annually, the second-largest salary on the team (behind Diego Rossi).

All season, what Crew fans heard was, "He'll be fine. He fits well in Wilfried's system. His actions are excellent. He just needs to score one, and the goals will come." Well, Gazdag finished the season with four goals and four assists in 26 appearances. By time time the playoffs came around, he was being used as a sub. Sunday in Cincinnati, he didn't check into the game until the 90th minute.

It could be that Gazdag becomes integral to the Crew's attack. Right now, however, Gazdag looks like an expensive mistake. I would only add that he looked much more dangerous working in combination with Abou Ali before Abou Ali fractured his ankle and went on the shelf seven weeks ago.

Five: Wherefore Max Arfsten?

If you were pressed to name the Crew players who were consistently excellent in 2025, you'd say (in some order), "Diego Rossi, Sean Zawadzki, and Max Arfsten."

It is in the realm of possibility that Arfsten, a wingback, departs before Nancy or anyone else. Now an important piece in Mauricio Pochettino's U.S. national team, Arfsten has been in the Euro rumor mill for months. The most compelling of the rumors had Arfsten on the radar of Middlesbrough of the English Championship – where another Crew Homegrown Player, Aidan Morris, has taken his talents.

Six: Is Issa the guy?

There's a reason Bezbatchenko has had a personal and professional relationship with Tall for so many years. Tall is talented, whip-snap smart and he's an extraordinarily likable human being. Tall has also just gone through his first full season as a rookie boss, and that is never easy. He knows. He lived through it. And now he has Disrespected Media sniping at him.

Yet, as one soccer correspondent noted as we were set down these burning questions, "All of these are just different ways of saying, 'Is Issa the guy?'"

I think he is the guy. In the coming months, we'll know more on the subject. In the interim some perspective might be called for: Gazdag, for instance, isn't a good look right now – but at least he's not Johnny Manziel or Deshone Kiser or Shedeur Sanders or, gah, Deshaun Watson. It can always be worse with Haslam Sports Group.

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