Eyebrows were raised when the Columbus Crew made Gyasi Zardes their newest designated player in May. The U.S. international was just two years removed from an unceremonious fall from grace with his hometown Los Angeles Galaxy, with just two goals and two assists in nearly 2,000 minutes played. It was a far cry from his breakthrough in 2014, when he scored 16 goals to support Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan en route to LA’s most recent MLS Cup title.



As the 2017 season came to a close, Zardes struggled to see how he would fit into the plans of L.A.’s then head coach, the late Sigi Schmid. He was sent to Columbus for Ola Kamara, where he relished the opportunity to get his career back on course. Playing time aside, he figured a change of scenery could serve him well.



“We had three different coaches in a short amount of time,” Zardes told The Athletic about his final year in Los Angeles. “Sometimes coaches like you, sometimes they...