Ghana’s Jonathan Mensah on leading Columbus Crew to glory after dark days
In 2018, the owners of the club based in Columbus, Ohio were determined to move more than 1,000 miles south to the more temperate – and potentially profitable – climes of Austin.
Adamant Columbus fans quickly launched a passionate rear-guard action under the #SaveTheCrew movement, in loyalty to one of the league’s founding teams.
The last two years has seen a reversal of fortunes for both Columbus Crew and its Ghanaian captain as they combined to beat Seattle Sounders 3-0 in the MLS Cup final to claim a second title.
“It’s such an incredible achievement for the team, because we’ve been through so much as a club, city and everyone connected to Columbus,” Mensah told BBC Sport Africa.
“The community and everyone behind the Save the Crew movement made it all happen, we the players and staff are just the vehicle that delivered it.
“Their determination, resilience and undying desire gave us the strength and determination to accomplish this mission, because this is pretty special.
“When you look at life in the past three years, what they’ve done off the field and how this year has been for all, this trophy is our little contribution to say ‘thank you’ for everything.”
What made the win in the final more remarkable is that Crew had to do it without two of their top performers, Darlington Nagbe (son of former Liberia international Joe Nagbe) and Pedro Santos after they both tested positive for coronavirus.
The 2020 MLS season originally kicked off on 29 February but was suspended in March due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
In order to try and restrict the spread of the disease the MLS teams were confined to life inside a bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida – effectively quarantined in their hotels when they are not playing or training.
“It’s a year like no other, not just our team but everyone in the world actually because we are still in the middle of a global pandemic,” Mensah continued.
“But we still go out there and do our job, make people happy. For us to be rewarded like this, it’s an amazing feeling.”
