The Crew made it just seem easy in 2008. (Getty Images)

It was no mystery to how the Columbus Crew won the 2008 MLS Cup. The 17 wins in the regular season were no fluke. This club was just that damn good. From the offense of MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Aljeandro Moreno to the defense of MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall and MLS veteran Frankie Hedjuk.

The 2008 regular season champs and post season champs are the Columbus Crew. Pretty crazy stuff if you ask me but in all honesty the best club won the season and the Cup. Just as it should work in any sport. The best team won.

It wasn’t always easy for the Crew but as I’ve said all year long, they were the toughest team to beat. Tough teams typically win titles because no one can close them out when it counts. Kansas City couldn’t do it in the opening round, Chicago couldn’t in the conference championship and New York definitely couldn’t do it in the MLS Cup.

It didn’t take much for the Crew either. For the first 20 to 25 minutes of the game the Crew weren’t at their best yesterday. New York handled the pressure of the Cup and nearly took advantage of it. But one inch became a mile for the Crew as Moreno put home the game’s first goal.

After that it was pretty much all Columbus.

Sigi Schmid and Guillermo Barros Schelotto enjoy the Cup. (Getty Images)

Sure New York got on the board for a few seconds. But it didn’t take long for the Crew to do what they do best, score on set pieces with Marshall and Schelotto.

New York would pressure but Columbus and their defense won the title. The defense stepped up and then the offense took it over from there.

Why did it all happen? Well when you have the Coach of the Year in Sigi Schmid you should be able to put games away with defense like that. Schmid got a couple years to put this club together and it paid off. It didn’t hurt that they got Schelotto for so cheap either.

Oh yeah and with the win Schmid made a little history of his own. He became the first coach to lead two clubs to MLS Cups. Not a bad way to cap off a year, not bad indeed.

So your champs this year are the Crew. Not the Dynamo, or the Galaxy, or the Quakes, or even United. It’s the Crew. Congrats to them for making a changing of the guard of some sorts. Sure their work is now cut out for them in the year to come but as long as Schmid, Schelotto, Moreno, Marshall and company are still there they should be fine. I won’t go into the questions surround those guys yet, its more fun to congradulate them on this win than speculate the future right now.

Both clubs know one another very well as rivals in the Eastern conference. It is also a weird #1 v. #8, top seed versus the lowest seed in the bracket. Can the Crew continue their run or will the slipper fit the Red Bulls for another day?

We have plenty of good matchups to look forward to in this one as well.

• GBS v. New York’s defense/midfield: I don’t know who has the advantage here. The one or two unlucky guys for the Red Bulls or the league MVP. I think the edge has to go to GBS and his craftiness.
• Juan Pablo Angel v. Chad Marshall: Both are solid in the air but who will make a larger impact on this game? Angel will have to score for New York to win in my book and I think Marshall is a guy that can keep him from doing that.
• Hesmer v. Cepero: Sure they won’t exactly meet head-to-head but I figure one will have a bigger impact on the game. Cepero’s run has been just as good as his club’s as of late. To think it probably all started with that terrible free kick against the Crew that went in the back of the net for the young keeper.
• Robbie Rogers v. Dane Richards: Now here is a matchup on the wings to watch. Speed v. Speed. I think the edge slightly goes to Rogers though for the quality touch that he brings but don’t rule Richards out for a quick change of pace.

I know there are plenty more matchups here to watch for this game but I will just let you find them out during the game.

It will be hard for some to look at the season series between these two to predict this game. New York won two of the three but let’s face the facts, one was at the very beginning of the year (which you can’t base much on either club then) and the other was at the end when Columbus rested half of their starters and New York was desperate for a playoff spot. Columbus won the middle match when the Red Bulls were trying to figure themselves out in the late summer. It wasn’t much of a game really as the Crew dominated from end-to-end after giving up an early goal. I just recall that game and Robbie Roger’s ridiculous strike to start out the second half.

Both clubs want this one really bad to prove to a lot of people that they belong on this level. New York is trying to become another club that had a terrible regular season and wound up winning it all (a la LA in 2005). Columbus wants to prove the Supporter’s Shield isn’t a curse but just another trophy in the case along side the MLS Cup.

Again, I’ve gone over this one a few thousand times, Columbus and New York in a MLS Cup together. The winner is tough to figure out but I think it will end up being Columbus. I’ve said all year long that they are the hardest team in MLS to beat, they will prove that again tomorrow. New York is on a nice run and they’ve beaten some quality clubs along the way but I just see Columbus putting and end to it.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 2, New York 1

Angel, the team’s top offensive player, was injured when collided with goalkeeper Danny Cepero while going up for a header in the box.

Angel went down to the turf and remained there for a number of minutes. He was then helped up and escorted to the bench by team trainers. He appeared to have injured his shoulder.

If I find out any more on his injury I will let you know. Still it probably is nothing more than a knock on the head. He should be fine for Sunday.