| Club: | Columbus Crew |
| Season: | 2011 |
| League: | Major League Soccer |
| League Result: | Conference: 4th Overall: 8th |
| Chrtitle: | Owner |
| Chairman: | Clark Hunt |
| Mgrtitle: | Head coach |
| Manager: | Robert Warzycha |
| Highest Attendance: | 21,203 vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (24 September 2011, Major League Soccer) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 7,148 vs. Seattle Sounders FC (7 May 2011, Major League Soccer) |
| Average Attendance: | 12,185 [1] |
| Cup1: | MLS Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Wildcard round |
| Cup2: | U.S. Open Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Third round |
| Cup3: | CONCACAF Champions League 2010-11 |
| Cup3 Result: | Quarterfinals |
| Cup4: | Trillium Cup |
| Cup4 Result: | Runners-Up (3 - 5) |
| Cup5: | Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup |
| Cup5 Result: | Runners-Up (2 - 2) |
| Pattern La1: | _CREW_10h |
| Pattern B1: | _CREW_10h |
| Pattern Ra1: | _CREW_10h |
| Pattern Sh1: | _STRICON_BLACK |
| Pattern So1: | _3_stripes_black |
| Leftarm1: | FFFFFF |
| Body1: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm1: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts1: | FFE517 |
| Socks1: | FFE517 |
| Pattern La2: | _CREW_10a |
| Pattern B2: | _CREW_10a |
| Pattern Ra2: | _CREW_10a |
| Pattern Sh2: | _STRICON_ONBLACK |
| Pattern So2: | _3_stripes_yellow |
| Leftarm2: | FFFFFF |
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| Rightarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts2: | FFE517 |
| Socks2: | 000000 |
| American: | true |
| Prevseason: | 2010 |
| Nextseason: | 2012 |
The 2011 Columbus Crew season was the club's eighteenth year of existence, as well as their sixteenth season in Major League Soccer, and their sixteenth consecutive season in the top-flight of American soccer.
Columbus began its 2011 campaign by hosting Real Salt Lake in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal on February 22, 2011.[2]
See main article: 2010 Columbus Crew season.
The Crew opened its 2011 campaign with a Champions League quarterfinal fixture against fellow MLS competitor, Real Salt Lake. The match, the first leg of a quarterfinal series, was at Crew Stadium on February 22, 2011 and ended in a 0-0 draw. Columbus was trying to advance past the Quarterfinal stage after falling to Toluca 5-4 on aggregate last season.
On March 1, Columbus traveled to Rio Tinto Stadium and fell to Real Salt Lake by a score of 4-1, thus ending the Crew's run in the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League.
Two and a half weeks later, Columbus opened up its Major League Soccer campaign by traveling to Washington, D.C. to take on D.C. United on March 19. The club's MLS home opener was one week later, when the Crew hosted Red Bull New York on March 26.[3]
As of September 3, 2011.[4]
Columbus won the Atlanta Pro Soccer Challenge round-robin tournament title with a 2-0 record.[5]
See main article: 2011 Major League Soccer season.
See main article: 2011 U.S. Open Cup.
With a fifth-place overall finish last season, the Crew secured direct qualification into the third-round proper of the U.S. Open Cup.[6]
See main article: 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Last updated on 22 February 2011.[7] |}
| Date | Player | Position | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 15, 2010 | FW | [8] | ||||
| December 30, 2010 | DF | Undisclosed | [9] | |||
| January 12, 2011 | FW | Undisclosed | [10] | |||
| January 25, 2011 | Kwaku Nyamekye | DF | [11] | |||
| February 15, 2011 | DF | [12] | ||||
| February 17, 2011 | DF | [13] | ||||
| February 17, 2011 | FW | |||||
| February 17, 2011 | MF | |||||
| February 17, 2011 | MF | |||||
| February 21, 2011 |  Ben Sippola | DF | [14] | |||
| February 21, 2011 | Andy Adlard | MF | ||||
| February 21, 2011 | MF | Undisclosed | [15] | |||
| February 22, 2011 | GK | Unattached | Free; signed to short-term, hardship contract | [16] | ||
| February 22, 2011 | GK | Free | ||||
| February 28, 2011 | DF | Free | [17] | |||
| March 9, 2011 | MF | Undisclosed | [18] | |||
| March 17, 2011 | DF | Unattached | Free | [19] | ||
| April 26, 2011 | MF | Undisclosed | [20] | |||
| May 17, 2011 | FW | Homegrown Player | [21] | |||
| July 15, 2011 | MF | [22] |
| Date | Player | Position | Destination club | Fee/notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 16, 2010 | MF | Option declined, free transfer | [23] | ||
| November 16, 2010 | MF | None | Option declined, retired, then joined the Crew front office as assistant to the technical director. | ||
| November 16, 2010 | DF | Option declined | |||
| November 22, 2010 | MF | [24] | |||
| November 24, 2010 | MF | [25] | |||
| November 24, 2010 | DF | ||||
| December 3, 2010 | FW | [26] | |||
| December 15, 2010 | DF | ||||
| January 13, 2011 | FW | [27] | |||
| February 28, 2011 | Kwaku Nyamekye | DF | Waived | ||
| March 15, 2011 | GK | Released, free transfer | [28] | ||
| June 30, 2011 | Andy Adlard | MF | Waived | [29] | |
| July 15, 2011 | DF | ||||
| MF |
Columbus is in the #6 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.[30]
Columbus has 8 international roster spots. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots, which can be traded. There have been no reported trades involving Columbus international roster spots for the 2011 season. There is no limit on the number of international slots on each club's roster. The remaining roster slots must belong to domestic players. For clubs based in the United States, a domestic player is either a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident (green card holder) or the holder of other special status (e.g., refugee or asylum status).[30]
Future picks acquired: 2012 SuperDraft Round 2 pick acquired from D.C. United; 2015 SuperDraft Round 4 pick acquired from Houston Dynamo.
Future picks traded: None.
Columbus maintains the MLS rights to Aaron Hohlbein as the club selected him in the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft and he instead chose to sign with a non-MLS club.