Cucho Hernandez set to debut for Columbus Crew and begin partnership with Lucas Zelarayan
The first time he spoke publicly on the club record signing of Colombian striker Cucho Hernandez, Crew coach Caleb Porter was asked what he thought the potential was for the duo of Hernandez and Lucas Zelarayan to be among the top attacking partnerships in MLS.
Porter gave a coach’s answer, saying he had to get Hernandez acquainted with the team first, and that time will tell. But no one would blame him or anyone in the Crew front office for envisioning what so many fans and media did after the 23-year-old Hernandez was announced as the Crew’s new designated player.
Saturday’s match at Chicago Fire will be Hernandez’s debut and the first chance to see how Hernandez and Zelarayan work together. Since the start of the 2020 season, Zelarayan has shown the ability to take over games. There have also been painful moments when he has missed another attacking threat. He hasn’t scored in 10 games after scoring four times in three games.
More: Darlington Nagbe's expertise aids development of Columbus Crew’s young midfielders
The Crew hope adding Hernandez gives the club someone who can ease the burden on Zelarayan.
“I'm really excited to play together and I hope he adapts to the team as soon as possible," Zelarayan said. "I'll try to make him feel comfortable and make him feel good to play. We know that we are playing well and we are creating a lot of chances. Hopefully he can score many goals and we will try to help him, too.”
Hernandez most likely come off the bench on Saturday. He hasn’t played since a 45-minute shift for the Colombian national team on June 5. Porter said he would play a maximum of 30 minutes.
"Realistically, people need to understand he's basically starting his preseason, so it's going to take several weeks for him to get ready to play major minutes,” Porter said. “But could he factor in off the bench, yes. But probably just going to have to be smart with how many minutes that is.”
The Crew have found recent success with a 3-5-2 formation. With Hernandez in the fold, there’s a question as to what formation the Crew might use. The 4-2-3-1 has been Porter’s tried-and-true formation.
On paper, the connection should work well. Zelarayan will have a main target now who is also able to create opportunities for himself, and possibly give Zelarayan more scoring chances. Having the two top attacking players from the same part of the world isn’t a bad thing, either.
"Always when the Latin guys is coming, it's good for me,” Zelarayan said. “I know he's a great player. He's coming from Europe, so I'm sure that he's going to help us. I'm really excited to play together and I hope he adapt to the team as soon as possible.”
Off the field, Hernandez and Zelarayan have started to build a relationship. Zelarayan said they’ve had mate — tea that’s popular in South America — and they both like asado, a South-American style barbecue.
"He's a good guy,” Zelarayan said. “Like me, very humble, very friendly. Yes, I'm sure we're going to be great friends."
Columbus Crew
Record: 5-5-7, 22 pts., 10th in East
Projected Starting XI (3-5-2):
Eloy Room (goalkeeper), Josh Williams (center back), Jonathan Mensah (center back), Miloš Degenek (center back), Pedro Santos (left wingback), Sean Zawadzki (central midfielder), Darlington Nagbe (central midfielder), Aidan Morris (central midfielder), Steven Moreira (right wingback), Lucas Zelarayan (forward), Erik Hurtado (forward)
What to watch: Darlington Nagbe has impressed with his ability to join the attack in the past two games. Ideally, the Crew would like to grab a goal and the lead before Hernandez enters the game in the second half. Watch for Nagbe to lead the charge in getting the ball into the attacking third.
Chicago Fire
Record: 4-9-5, 17 pts., 14th in East
Projected Starting XI (4-2-3-1):
Gabriel Slonina (goalkeeper), Jonathan Bornstein (left back), Rafael Czichos (center back), Carlos Teran (center back), Boris Sekulic (right back), Gaston Gimenez (central midfielder), Federico Navarro (central midfielder), Fabian Herbers (right winger), Xherdan Shaqiri (attacking midfielder), Chris Mueller (left winger), Kacper Przylbylko (forward).
Player to watch: Xherdan Shaqiri arrived in Chicago as the biggest signing in club history and has delivered for a club that hasn’t come close to even modest expectations. Shaqiri leads the Fire with six assists and is tied for first on the team with three goals.
Prediction
Columbus 2, Chicago 0: The Fire is tied for the fewest goals scored in MLS this season and is about to face a defense that has allowed one goal in the past three games and three in the past five games. The question for the Crew is can they pounce on an early opportunity like they did at Toronto last week. This is a winnable road game for a team that has been solid on the road this season.
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Crew at Chicago
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: With Crew debut, Hernandez and Zelarayan begin partnership
