3/26/09: Crew News

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Brunner roots in Columbus along with O'Rourke should be helpful to the team says McCullers (Pic by:MLSnet.com).

Eric Brunner Story by Craig Merz entitled "Brunner Has Long Roots In Columbus":

O'Rourke on Brunner:
"The more people we have on this team representing the city of Columbus the better. It's something we can sit down and talk about," said O'Rourke. "The fact he was a ballboy, now he's playing here is a story in itself. He had success at Ohio State so I'm sure he knows what it is to play in front of the home crowd. Hopefully, he can continue it here with the Crew."

McCullers on Brunner:
"It's always good to have someone like Eric. He's such a great guy. He's from the area," McCullers said. "I love people who have a passion for the club and you know when you have somebody who's from Columbus that they have some history with the Crew, that they were fans growing up. I love that part of it.

"That aside, we needed some depth in the backline. He's somebody we've had our eye on for a long time and been trying to negotiate with New York for a long time. He gives us that depth at center back and adds some versatility. He can play on the left as well."

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Grendi is likely to start for Rogers, if Rogers misses Saturday. (Pic by: MLSnet.com)

Alex Grendi On His First Game Via Craig Merz:
"It was real exciting for me," Grendi said. "I was happy to be out there with the top 18 (on the game roster). Anything else was a bonus for me. I was ready to play at any time but I definitely wasn't expecting to get out there."

Even though he wasn't anticipating it, the Crew staff had prepared for the possibility that Rogers' gimpy leg might force him out of the lineup.

"We used Alex in our last preseason game because we thought we might have to use him at Houston," Crew technical director Brian Bliss said. "It came down to that when Robbie had to come out. He came in and did a good job. It's never easy to come in as a sub. It's never easy to come in as a sub your first game as a rookie. He did well."

**Former Crew Draft Pick Ryan Miller Waived By DC United.

**Former Crew Midfielder Danny Szetela Ready For Seria A push with Brescia:
"I really like Italy, even though I ultimately want to play in England," the former Columbus Crew player admitted. "I'm very comfortable here at Brescia and want to continue playing here for now. We have 10 games left and we are just eight points behind Parma, the second place team.

"We want to get ourselves in one of the top two spots so we can qualify for automatic promotion and avoid a playoff scenario. I would love the chance to play in Serie A against teams like AC Milan, Inter and Juventus."

**Mark Noorzai Still Talking About A Las Vegas Expansion Team. Hopefully none of his plans include the Crew still:

“I’m very bullish,” Noorzai said. “Vegas will always be Vegas. The value of that asset has never changed. That won’t change. I still believe Las Vegas will be the market of markets for MLS.”

**Former Crew striker Joseph Ngwenya is Struggling In Europe. Joe is on loan to Antalyspor from Bayern Munich:
"Joe has been struggling in Turkey. He says that the coach hasn't been giving him a chance and, at one time, he told him that he was not in his plans," said a source close to the dreadlocked striker.

It remains to be seen whether Bayern's coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, a known admirer of the player, will have space in his squad to utilise him next season.