The Crew are taking no chances ahead of their crucial final in Mexico.
The Columbus Crew will be playing against Liga MX’s CF Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final on Saturday, the final decider of who will be the last CONCACAF team to qualify to next year’s inaugural 2025 Club World Cup.
The #Concachampions Final is sold out❗️@Tuzos ⚪️ and @ColumbusCrew ⚫️ will have a full-packed Hidalgo Stadium to witness history pic.twitter.com/vsVGjgm4KZ
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) May 29, 2024
It’s going to be quite the battle.
The final will be held at Pachuca’s home stadium Estadio Hidalgo, a venue located at around 8000 feet above sea level — a extraordinary comparison to the 800 feet above sea level of the Crew's Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. A steep home-field advantage for the Mexicans before the starting whistle.
In retrospect, the last MLS club to face and visit Pachuca in their home stadium was the Philadelphia Union in the round of 16 stage of the tournament last March, a visit that handed them an outrageous 6-0 defeat. They had secured a scoreless draw in Philadelphia just a week prior.
¡Termina el juego con victoria para @Tuzos y hat trick de Salomón Rondón!#ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/Upwzj4RBJV
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) March 13, 2024
For that, and in preparation for perhaps the most important match in the Crew’s international history, the squad is taking matter into their own hands. And faces.
Watch: Columbus Crew’s insane preparation ahead of Concacaf Champions Cup final clash vs. Pachuca
Clips of Columbus Crew’s preparation ahead of their clash against Pachuca this weekend have gone viral on social media, with videos showing players riding an exercise bicycles with elevation training masks placed over their faces. They are doing as many workouts and training as they can with the masks on.
These masks are made to maximize respiratory strength and endurance, as well as simulate oxygen levels of places standing at higher feet above sea level such as Hidalgo, Mexico.
The CONCACAF Champions Cup Final will be played in Pachuca which is 8000 feet above sea level (Columbus is 800), quite the home field advantage.
The Crew are already preparing their bodies, they are sleeping in altitude tents and working out in altitude masks. #Crew96 pic.twitter.com/kxuKV2vOvU— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) May 29, 2024
The club has gone as far as placing altitude tents in each of the player’s homes in their effort to lessen the Liga MX’s club advantage.
“Essentially we installed altitude tents in each of the players’ homes, and they [tell] us that they try and spend as much time in [the altitude tents] as much as they can” said Chris Shenberger, Head of Sports Science and Medicine of the club.
“[they are] sleeping [in them] at night, taking naps, reading a book in the tents at [high] altitude to acclimate prior to us going down to Mexico and playing at almost 8000 feet above sea level” he added.
