December 23, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Columbus Crew SC News Release
COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew today announced that it has signed Jimmy Medranda [pronounced: muh-DRAHN-dah] via Free Agency. The veteran defender joins the Black & Gold for the 2023 Major League Soccer season with an option for 2024. Over 10 seasons in MLS, Medranda has appeared in 145 regular-season matches, scoring nine goals and adding 11 assists. The 28-year-old has an MLS Cup, two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups and the 2022 Concacaf Champions League title to his credit.
“Jimmy is a proven winner, and we are proud to have a player with his MLS experience choose to sign with the Crew,” said Columbus Crew President & General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko. “Bringing a decade of MLS experience with him to Columbus, Jimmy’s addition to our roster will help provide depth and create competition on our backline, and we look forward to having him as part of our team.”
Medranda joins the Crew after most recently spending the 2020-22 seasons with Seattle Sounders FC, where he appeared in 48 regular-season matches. Medranda additionally made one appearance during Seattle’s run to the 2022 Concacaf Champions League title.
The left back made his professional debut for Colombian side Deportivo Pereira in 2012. He made 16 appearances across all competitions before joining Sporting Kansas City on loan in August of 2013 and completed a permanent transfer in 2014. Through 2019, Medranda appeared in a total of 96 matches (64 starts), scoring five goals and tallying five assists in league play. He captured the 2013 MLS Cup, in addition to the 2015 and 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups during his tenure with Sporting KC.
Selected by Nashville SC in the 2019 Expansion Draft, he appeared in one match during the 2020 season before being traded to the Sounders in October of that year.
Crew players are set to report for entrance physicals and testing on Jan. 6. Head Coach Wilfried Nancy will assemble the group for the first time and train from Jan. 9-15 in the seasonal bubble encompassing the field at Historic Crew Stadium. The team will then travel to South Florida for the first trip of the preseason, where the Black & Gold will train in Port St. Lucie from Jan. 16-27. The Crew returns to Columbus and will train in-market from Jan. 28 – Feb. 5, before heading to Fort Lauderdale for the second trip of the preseason (Feb. 6-18).
The Black & Gold are set to open the 2023 MLS season on the road against the Philadelphia…
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