This Columbus Crew superstar is starting to draw league-wide attention

On Wednesday, August 23, the Columbus Crew played in the semifinals of the Leagues Cup against the Philadelphia Union. When all was said and done after 90 minutes of back-and-forth action, the Crew came out victorious by a final score of 3-1.

Leading the charge for the Crew was the incredible play of forward Diego Rossi, who in recent weeks has started turning heads at an alarming rate. Over the course of the last four Leagues Cup outings, Rossi has buried six goals en route to incredible wins being found for Columbus as they look to compete in the championship round this Sunday.

“For me, Diego is an example of the day-to-day work, the ability to do the job, the humility to do the dirty job, and also he is coachable,” said Wilfried Nancy in a post-match interview with MLS. “What I like about him, he is able to do many things. So I challenge him with his head; he scored. Now I'm going to challenge him with something else now. But listen, it's a really good example in terms of work ethic and also as a leadership, a quiet leadership. This is something that I like also with Diego.”

Back at the beginning of August, the Crew kicked off their first match in Leagues Cup play against Sporting KC in the Round of 32. With the team getting a bye through the knockout stages, it opened up the window of opportunity for the Crew to have a leg up over their opponents.

They marched into the Round of 32 and dominated Sporting KC with a 4-0 showing. That outing, which came back on August 9, saw Rossi pound two goals in to lead the charge for the Crew. Just four days later, the team had to continue playing strong and take on the reigning Leagues Cup champions, Inter Miami.

The Crew had their work cut out for them from the opening jump. The veteran-led Miami squad pounced on the home team early as they scored a goal in the opening 10 minutes of play. With the Crew's back up against the wall, they would give up another in the 62nd minute to fall down into a two-goal deficit. However, that is when Rossi turned it on and led the Black & Gold offense to a 3-2 comeback of the ages.

He finished the game against Miami with two goals, one being the opener to the comeback with the other directly resulting in the victory. His high pace of play and relentless passion in an attempt to lead Columbus back into the game was seen across the entire league as they took down the reigning champs.

With a win in the Round of 16, they moved into the quarterfinal round against New York City FC, who as of late, have been providing staggering defense. While Rossi was unable to find the back of the net, his work ethic up top alongside forwards Christian Ramirez and Cucho Hernandez was critical in keeping the game level, 1-1. Due to the game being level, the two teams entered a penalty shootout where Rossi had his shot saved. Fortunately, his mishap would not shape the game as the Crew would march away with a 4-3 penalty shootout win.

Riding high off expectations of continued success, Columbus was undeniably the best team on the pitch against the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night. Yet again, for the third time in four games, Rossi buried two goals for the Crew. His first goal opened the game up with a Crew lead in the 12th minute, with his second coming just before halftime in the 42nd minute to retake the lead after the Union scored.

Now, in the 2024 season, the former Los Angeles FC forward has 18 goals across the MLS regular season, the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup. Not only has he been scoring at a world-class level, but he has also play-maked well with seven assists.

The Black & Gold, led by Rossi, now look to take on Los Angeles FC on Sunday, August 25, for the Leagues Cup Championship with match time set for 7:15 p.m. EST. This will be the third time the two sides have clashed since December of 2023.