Even after this stirring message, Nancy remembers moments when the atmosphere was surprising.

“In the first 20 minutes they had the momentum and the América fans were going ‘olé, olé, olé, olé’ and we struggled a little bit,” Nancy said. “After that we found a way to come back and in the last 20 minutes our fans were going ‘olé, olé, olé’.”

The Crew had already qualified for the next round and could easily have given up when Kevin Álvarez scored the first goal after a quickly taken free kick.

“At the beginning of the game we were down by one goal and thought, ‘Oh, that can’t happen today,'” Ramírez said. “Then we started to find ourselves.”

Nancy often preaches about mentality, stressing the psychological aspect of the sport before a match. But the French coach is also a master tactician and changed the line-up of Cucho, Ramírez and Alex Matan. The change led to two goals from Cucho just before and after half-time that turned the tide.

“They were really aggressive and wanted to keep up with us,” said Nancy. “After that, I decided to change the tactical formation to attack. After that, they had a bit of trouble stopping us and we were able to do what we like to do. In difficult moments, I liked the resilience with which we stuck together because they also want the ball.”

“To be honest, it was one of the best games of my career because the atmosphere, the level of the players… I’m really looking forward to playing against them again.”

In their next game, the Crew were eliminated from the 2023 Leagues Cup after losing to Minnesota United on penalties following a 3-3 draw. But the spark was lit. The belief was there. Zelarayán or not, the Crew could take on anyone.

“I wouldn’t say it was a turning point in our season, but when you lose a member like Lucas halfway through the year, it was very emotional,” said goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. “Guys, the way they felt about it kind of came out of nowhere. It happened so quickly and it helped us support each other.”