Columbus Crew SC has agreed to part ways with defender Hernan Grana. The 30-year-old will return to his native Argentina to be with his family after dealing with homesickness, according to Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter.
“The toll of being away from his family and his newborn became too much to bear,” Berhalter said. “As a result of that, we parted ways with the idea that he’s returning to Argentina to be with his family.”
Berhalter added: "You bring in a large number of guys and right off the bat you know that some are not going to work out," Berhalter added, "and you just hope that in them not working out both parties can benefit. I think in this case we evaluated Hernan and we saw that he was having an extreme difficult time adapting. You know he wasn't happy and in the end it's going to work for both parties."
On addressing depth following the transaction, Berhalter said, "Until the next window opens, Hector [Jimenez], Chad [Barson] and Chris [Klute] are the replacements, and those guys have proven to do a good job. Hector did a good job last week and did a good job last year, both Chad and Chris have played there throughout their career. We move on with those guys."
Berhalter shared the news with members of the media, following today’s practice session at the EAS Training Facility at Obetz. Listen to his full comments here:
Until joining Crew SC this offseason as a Discovery Signing, Grana spent his entire 12-year career playing for professional teams based in Argentina, including a number of topflight clubs such as Boca Juniors, Quilmes, Lanus and All Boys located near his hometown of Buenos Aires. Grana appeared seven times for Crew SC during which the club posted a record of 3-3-1.
