Whether Wilfried Nancy likes it or not, the continuing absence of Cucho Hernández will be a story that hangs over the Columbus Crew until there is some kind of a resolution.
Hernández missed his second straight game on Tuesday, as the Crew could only manage a 1-1 draw against Tigres in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal.
It was a disappointing result in a game Columbus controlled for long stretches, and could have really used the services of one of the best players in MLS.
But Cucho was nowhere to be found. After the Colombian sat out Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Nashville SC, Crew head coach Nancy would only say that he had committed some unspecified “team policy” violation.
After the striker missed another match three days later, Nancy strangely seemed incredulous that anyone would dare ask about the absence of one of his best players.
“We just did a game and we’re talking about Cucho, no answer for that,” the Frenchman said in his post-match press conference. “We don’t play tennis, we play football. Football, this is 11 players on the pitch. Be patient, I know this is your job, next question please.”
Cucho’s absence would have been a story regardless, but the coach’s evasiveness is creating a Streisand effect around the entire situation.
The forward’s “team policy” violation seems to have been at least a notch or two above minor. Missing a single league game is one thing, but stretching that absence out to multiple games — including a Concacaf knockout-round match against a regional power — is quite another.
Nancy will continue to be asked about this issue and the longer the forward’s absence stretches, the more questions he’ll get. Next time, he’d be well served to have a more satisfying response.
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