What do Waylon Francis, Romain Gall, Emanuel Pogatetz, Ben Swanson, Kei Kamara, Kristinn Steindorsson, and Cedrick Mabwati have in common?
Aside from all being acquired by Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter since his arrival in Columbus, all seven players have experience at the international level, whether within the youth ranks or with the senior National Team. While not necessarily a requirement to be on the Black & Gold's radar, Berhalter naturally values the experience and development that can come with international play.
"I think it gives another platform for players to show themselves and the competition level varies from MLS, so it gives them different experiences on the playing field," said the Crew SC boss from the club's preseason training camp in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. "I think that is extremely valuable in the development of the player. When you look at guys like Justin [Meram] and Roman [Gall] and Wil [Trapp] and Cedrick, they are definitely going to be better players with their experience as an international."
Indeed, Cedrick is the seventh player acquired by Berhalter over his tenure with National Team ties, and the Black & Gold boasts even more international flair. Another recent acquisition, Chris Klute has been called-in for National Team camp. Justin Meram and Wil Trapp recently each earned their first-ever senior caps with Iraq and the United States, respectively. Kevan George has been a regular call up by Trinidad & Tobago, most recently in the 2014 Caribbean Cup. Even unsigned draftee Sergio Campbell has been capped by his native Jamaica at the senior level.
As for Cedrick, the DR Congo native adds speed and more invaluable attacking depth to the Black & Gold -- not to mention more of that valuable international experience.
"What I like about Cedrick is, obviously he has been in Spain for a long time," said Berhalter. "He left his home country and went to Spain as a young player and was in one of the best youth academies in the world in Atletico Madrid. It’s not easy to do that. He has learned the game at a very high technical standard, but he also has the physicality. He is playing these Africa Cup of Nations games and those are tough games. You’re watching him and one-v-one he is very dangerous going by guys and playing against guys much bigger, so I like that. I like the skillset and I like the combination of what I see and I think he is an exciting player for Crew SC."
The Crew SC attacker, who will join in the summer pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa, continues in the 2015 African Cup of Nations by facing Congo in the Quarterfinals tomorrow. The match kicks off at 11:00 a.m. ET.
