Bad news, good news for MLS champion Columbus Crew

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Sigi Schmid’s decision to leave the Columbus Crew and head for the bright(er) lights of Seattle continues to cause the dominoes to topple in Ohio.

Schmid led the Crew to its first MLS title in November, then accepted an offer to coach the Sounders, who make their league debut on March 19. Columbus responded by elevating former Polish international and longtime assistant coach Robert Warzycha to the top spot.

Then, defender Ezra Hendrickson, having won a third MLS title, announced that he would retire as a player. Not long thereafter, Hendrickson, a former Galaxy standout, was introduced as Schmid’s assistant coach in Seattle.

On Thursday, the Crew filled Warzycha’s assistant coach position by naming former Crew defender Ricardo Iribarren of Argentina to the position.

The loss of Schmid and the retirement of Hendrickson were blows to Crew fans, but Columbus has since signed MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall to a new contract after the 24-year-old from Riverside had flirted with the idea of relocating to Europe.

Earlier, the Crew had exercised its option and announced that playmaking midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the MVP of of the MLS Cup final at the Home Depot Center, would be back in 2009. So the news is not all bleak in Columbus, especially with the U.S. national team coming to town for a key World Cup qualifier against Mexico at Crew Stadium on Feb. 11.

--Grahame L. Jones