Columbus Crew SC will be without perhaps their most important player on Wednesday when they take the field against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place (10 pm ET; TSN).
Midfield magician Federico Higuain is suspended for the match thanks to two yellow cards picked up in the club’s 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on March 28. And history shows that with Higuain out of the lineup, Columbus are not the same team.
Since his first appearance in 2012, Higuain has started 71 matches while being left out of the XI just 13 times. In those 13 matches, Crew SC have notched just three wins.
That’s a winning percentage of 23 percent compared to 43 percent with Higuain in the lineup. The club scores 1.5 goals per match with the Argentine and only 1.2 without him.
Head coach Gregg Berhalter says his No. 10 is important to the offense in multiple facets.
“The first thing is he can score goals for a midfielder-slash-forward – more of a midfielder in our system – and he’s good around the goal; he makes good runs into the penalty box,” Berhalter told MLSsoccer.com in a phone interview from Vancouver. “Another thing is that he can give a final pass. So in the assist column, he’ll be high. He’s one of the few players that can thread a perfect pass through to a guy running up.
“Finally, he draws attention. He pulls opponents out of the way to make space for other players. He does a good job doing that.”
But Higuain isn’t only missed on the offensive end.
Crew SC give up about 1.5 goals a game without Higuain and only 1.2 with him. Even for a player not known for his defense, Berhalter isn’t surprised by that effect either.
“We probably have more of the ball when he’s on the field versus when he’s not on the field,” Berhalter said. “He’s very good at keeping the ball. And if you have more of the ball, it’s difficult for the opponent to score.”
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Berhalter listed the likes of Kristinn Steindorsson, Mohammed Saeid, Ben Speas and Hector Jimenez as options to replace Higuain. Regardless of who that player may be, Berhalter is under no illusions that he’ll bring the same things to the table as his suspended playmaker.
“I think Federico interprets the way that position is played within our system in his own way,” Berhalter said. “We’re not going to ask someone else to do the same thing. We want that person to interpret it in their way. It may look a little different, but we’ll be comfortable with how that affects our system overall.”
Higuain may not be the only missing Crew SC player Wednesday.
Costa Rican international left back Waylon Francis appeared on the team’s injury report this week after “tweaking” his ankle while on national team duty. Berhalter said he “came back injured,” and isn’t willing to say whether he’s in Vancouver with the team or if he’s available.
“Just for competitive reasons, I don’t want to disclose who traveled or who didn’t travel or who’s open for selection,” he said. “Everyone is open for selection.”
Berhalter said winger Romain Gall is back at full strength, but midfielder Wil Trapp is still questionable with a calf strain. The Crew SC boss said Trapp “follows the same lines” as Francis and declined to comment on his status.
