The 2021 Columbus Crew season was the club's twenty-sixth season of existence and their twenty-sixth consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The season covers the period from December 13, 2020, to November 7, 2021. It is the third season under head coach

Caleb Porter Caleb Porter (born February 18, 1975) is an American soccer coach who most recently served as the head coach of Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew from 2019 to 2022. He was previously head coach of the Portland Timbers from 2013 until 2017. ...

. The 2021 season sees Columbus defending their 2020 MLS Cup championship, as well as the opening of

Lower.com Field Lower.com Field is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It serves primarily as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, replacing the club's previous home, Historic Crew Stadium. The new stadium cost $ ...

, the club's new downtown stadium. They hosted the 2021 Campeones Cup against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

, the winner of the Liga MX's

Campeón de Campeones ''Campeón de Campeones'' ( es, Champion of Champions) is an annual Mexican football competition established in 1942. In its current form, the winner of the Apertura season faces the winner of the Clausura season, for both Liga MX and Liga MX Feme ...

winning 2-0. The club also participated in the CONCACAF Champions League, their first appearance since the 2010–11 tournament. The team began playing the season under the name Columbus Crew SC until a rebrand on May 10, 2021, after which the name was changed to Columbus SC. However, after criticism over the rebrand was spurred by its fans, the club announced that it would return to its original name. The "SC" was dropped and the club was once again the Columbus Crew. This was the last season in which Columbus Crew played at

Historic Crew Stadium Historic Crew Stadium, previously known as Columbus Crew Stadium and Mapfre Stadium, is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It primarily served as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from 1999 u ...

, where the team played their final match against the Chicago Fire on June 19, 2021, with a 2–0 win. The team then moved to

near downtown Columbus, where they would play their first match at the new stadium against the New England Revolution with a 2–2 draw on July 3, 2021.

Roster

* (HG) = Homegrown Player * (DP) =

Designated Player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

* (INT) = Player using International Roster Slot

Non-competitive

Preseason

Competitive

MLS

Standings

= Eastern Conference

=Overall table

Results summary

Results by round

Match results

On March 10, 2021

the league ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...

announced the home openers for every club, with Columbus playing Philadelphia Union at

U.S. Open Cup

On July 20, US Soccer finally announced that the tournament would be cancelled for 2021 and would resume in 2022.

Qualifying

On March 29, 2021, US Soccer announced that qualification for MLS clubs would be determined by the highest number of regular season points per game at the conclusion of the first three weeks of MLS play (April 16 – May 4).

CONCACAF Champions League

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Campeones Cup

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Under "Apps" for each section, the first number represents the number of starts, and the second number represents appearances as a substitute.

Disciplinary record

Clean sheets

Transfers

In

Loan in

SuperDraft

The following players were selected by Columbus in the MLS SuperDraft.

Out

Loans out

Kits

Notes

References

{{2021 in American soccer Columbus Crew seasons

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...