A look at the standings, where the Columbus Crew reside at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, would seem to make a case that Guillermo Barros Schelotto is playing nowhere near as well as last season when he was the league MVP while leading the team to a MLS championship.
The Crew have two losses and three ties and have scored just five goals in five matches.
But amidst the injuries, jumbled lineups and wins that uncharacteristically turned to draws, Schelotto has been the one bright spot.
In fact, coach Robert Warzycha said Schelotto has raised his play from last season when he had seven goals and 19 assists in the regular season and capped the year with three more assists in the MLS Cup win against New York.
"He is playing better than last year. Definitely. I'm hoping the other guys follow him and play their best," Warzycha said. "His fitness is much better. He knows the guys much better. He got confidence from being MVP last year and having all those goals and assists and tactically he's doing much better staying in the middle and being available for the guys. He's the leader on the field."
Outsiders might find it difficult to believe that Schelotto, who turns 36 on May 4 and is one of the most decorated Argentinean players ever, could be performing at a higher level.
"What has been huge lately, that you've seen more out of him this year than last year, is he's playing a lot more defense," defender Jed Zayner said. "For a guy who's 34, 35 and already won a ton of championships he doesn't need to do that but he does it because he's working hard for our team."
Unfortunately for Schelotto, much of the hard work has gone for naught.
"I feel real good. I don't know if I'm better than last year," he said. "On the field we have no wins yet but we should have won with Toronto and Colorado and not lost to Chivas. Our play is very good at times."
It has not translated to success on the scoreboard despite his best efforts. Schelotto has three goals (on three shots on goal) but no assists. Last season he had a goal and three assists as the Crew won four of their first five.
The Crew go for their first victory when they play host to Chicago on Saturday.
"We want to win like last year. We got the feeling of a championship," Schelotto said. "We know we should improve. We've got 25 games yet but the team should be better against Chicago."
What is impressive about Schelotto's start is two of his three goals, including in the last match against Colorado, have come in the run of play. Last season, only three came that way in 27 matches although he was 4-of-4 from the penalty spot.
"He's so tricky," said Zayner. "He's going up against (Colorado's) Cory Gibbs, one of the biggest guys in the league, and he turned Cory Gibbs. I call him a sneaky guy. He is so deceptive.
"It's been a privilege playing with the guy. Not only is he one of the top players in the league he is one of the classiest, nicest, most professional guys you'll ever meet. He could be pompous but he's a great guy. He's been in tip-top form. He's really taking charge of the team."
First-year Crew assistant Ricardo Iribarren, who played against Schelotto many years ago in their native country, is excited by what he's seen firsthand this season.
"I always knew he was a fantastic player but his professionalism is amazing," Iribarren said. "After winning everything -- he won the MLS Cup, he won the MVP -- he started the preseason like he was 18 years old. He worked really hard. He's been playing fantastic.
"That's something that surprised me. A lot of foreign players with big names came here and thought, 'I'm a big name. I don't have to do anything.' He is showing, especially for the young players, the way to do it. For young players it should be their goal to do what he does."
Lesson one would be not to panic. As well as the Crew started last year it cooled off and didn't start its championship run until mid-August when Schelotto scored or assisted on 10 straight goals over four matches to solidify his MVP credentials.
"Because he won so many championships and titles (in Argentina) I don't think every title went from start to finish that they were the best team," Warzycha said. "Sometimes you have to have some luck. You have to be patient. He's like all of us thinking we're going to turn it around and get a victory and continue to win games."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
