Columbus Crew Pecat Henrik Rydstrom dan Tunjuk Laurent Courtois

Klub Major League Soccer Columbus Crew resmi memberhentikan Henrik Rydstrom dari jabatannya sebagai pelatih kepala pada Minggu, 17 Mei 2026, setelah performa tim memburuk dalam beberapa bulan terakhir.

Manajemen klub kemudian menunjuk asisten pelatih Laurent Courtois untuk mengisi posisi pelatih sementara guna memimpin tim dalam sisa pertandingan musim ini.

General Manager Columbus Crew Issa Tall mengungkapkan bahwa keputusan ini diambil demi menjaga peluang klub dalam bersaing memperebutkan gelar juara.

"We unfortunately have not capitalized on opportunities or produced the results that our club and supporters deserve," kata Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew dalam rilis resmi klub melalui mlssoccer.com.

Issa Tall menambahkan bahwa komposisi skuad saat ini masih sangat kompetitif untuk bersaing di papan atas.

"We are confident that we have the talent on our roster to consistently compete for championships, and we believe this change best positions us to accomplish that goal with the number of matches we have left this season," lanjut Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew.

Pihak manajemen juga menyampaikan apresiasi atas dedikasi yang telah diberikan oleh juru taktik asal Swedia tersebut selama berada di Ohio.

"We thank Henrik for his commitment to the Crew, and we expect a successful transition based on Laurent’s familiarity with our club, players and league," tambah Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew.

Dalam wawancara terpisah dengan Massive Report, Issa Tall membeberkan kendala utama yang dihadapi Rydstrom adalah masalah adaptasi dan renggangnya hubungan dengan para pemain.

"The thing is, and similar to players, you don’t know what you get until they get here," kata Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew kepada Massive Report.

Proses adaptasi dinilai tidak berjalan mulus karena adanya jurang pemisah taktik yang gagal dijembatani oleh staf kepelatihan baru.

"So Henrik coming in, obviously, there was this adaptation phase where we had to fix some things here and there. And he had to adapt to us, the players had to adapt to him. But the one thing we couldn’t anticipate was the connection between the coach and the player. And that’s what we haven’t had," jelas Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew.

Masalah hilangnya kreativitas dan penurunan performa pada babak kedua juga memicu kekhawatiran mendalam di jajaran manajemen klub.

"If you look at our performances in the first half, in New England or Minnesota at home, even this past weekend in Philly, you could start seeing the way we wanted to play, but then there was this recurring thing in the second half, and even overall, where there was maybe lack of clarity and organization on the pitch, and it started to weigh on the players," ungkap Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew dalam konferensi pers yang disiarkan myfox28columbus.com.

Pihak manajemen melihat situasi ruang ganti sudah tidak kondusif dan performa tim dinilai sulit untuk membaik jika tidak ada perombakan.

"We didn’t think it was going to be any better," tegas Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew.

Kehilangan penyerang andalan Wessam Abou Ali akibat cedera ACL pada pertengahan April memperparah situasi, namun manajemen menilai hal itu bukan alasan utama kemerosotan tim.

"I think for any coach or any club in the league, if you lose your top striker, and in Wessam’s case, one of the best strikers in the league, of course, your team is not going to be the same. However, with Wessam, I think we only won one game," tutur Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew kepada Massive Report.

Klub juga kesulitan mendatangkan pengganti instan karena bursa transfer yang sudah ditutup serta kendala cedera pemain lain seperti Jamal Thiaré.

"And then I understand that we lost Wissam, but the window was closed and you cannot just bring another player just like that by snapping your fingers," urai Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew.

Di sisi lain, mantan gelandang Darlington Nagbe didatangkan untuk membantu transisi kepelatihan di bawah Courtois menjelang jeda Piala Dunia.

"I’m very grateful for him," kata Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew kepada dispatch.com mengenai kehadiran Nagbe.

Tall memastikan Nagbe hanya akan bertugas selama satu pekan karena sang pemain enggan melakukan perjalanan jauh demi keluarga.

"Even over the past few months, very grateful for his presence. But it's honestly just considered for a week," imbuh Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew.

Tall berkelakar mengenai penolakan Nagbe untuk mengambil peran asisten pelatih secara permanen demi menghindari konflik dengan istrinya.

"I said you have two home games, so you're not traveling anywhere. ... If I tried to convince him for anything longer, his wife will kill me," canda Issa Tall, General Manager Columbus Crew.

Sementara itu, Laurent Courtois menyatakan kesiapannya untuk menjawab kepercayaan manajemen dan membuktikan kapasitasnya sebagai manajer tim.

"I want to prove people right because there's a lot of people that trust me and I want to I want to make them feel good and stick to what I believe is a good mixture of the soccer that I love and the soccer that can be successful," cetus Laurent Courtois, Interim Head Coach Columbus Crew dalam laporan myfox28columbus.com.

Courtois juga merasa sangat didukung oleh seluruh elemen klub dalam mengemban misi penyelamatan musim ini.

"I just feel safe and confident About the club trusting me to help the guys and the club to move in the right direction," kata Laurent Courtois, Interim Head Coach Columbus Crew.

Kapten tim Sean Zawadzki menyambut positif perubahan ini dan menilai kehadiran Courtois mengembalikan motivasi para pemain di ruang ganti.

"We're ready to go and it's a new chance, new opportunity and we have someone like Laurent who's got familiarity with everyone and having that makes you feel confident and ready to show what we're capable of," ujar Sean Zawadzki, Kapten Columbus Crew.

Di bawah arahan Rydstrom, Columbus Crew mencatat rekor 3 kali menang, 7 kali kalah, dan 4 kali imbang dalam 14 laga MLS, serta nangkring di posisi 13 Wilayah Timur. Pertandingan perdana Courtois dijadwalkan berlangsung Rabu malam melawan New York City FC dalam babak perempat final U.S. Open Cup.