Wessam Abou Ali was watching the Crew’s group-stage games during Leagues Cup while waiting for his visa paperwork to be complete and saw clearly what Columbus was missing – him.
“Columbus has an amazing team.” Abou Ali said Aug. 19. “They create so many chances. But I feel, sometimes, there isn’t this striker in the box – a No. 9 – for when there’s a cross, he’s there, or there’s a rebound, he’s there. I felt that the smell of the goal was missing there, and that’s really what my last four years of my life have been about.”
Crew general manager Issa Tall said it was more than the 26-year-old’s scoring abilities that drew him to start pursuing Abou Ali more than six months ago.
“He was super interesting in the different characteristics he had,” Tall said. “He was a Crew player in the sense of he played up top, he played on the wings and the effort and the tenacity that he had in his game.”
Abou Ali joined the Crew from the Egyptian Premier League team Al Ahly, where he recorded 28 goals in 35 games in his lone season with the team. At the FIFA Club World Cup, Abou Ali put together a hat trick during a group-stage game against Portugal’s FC Porto.
In 2024, Abou Ali began representing the Palestinian national team and in just 10 games has four goals.
Following the departure of striker Cucho Hernandez in February, the Crew have struggled to find offensive consistency, scoring 10 fewer goals through 26 regular-season games compared to 2024.
Of the Crew’s 42 goals this regular season, 13 have been scored by forward Diego Rossi. The Crew hopes the addition of Abou Ali will replicate the performances Rossi had alongside Hernandez.
Abou Ali said he respects Hernandez and the fact that fans are expecting him to be “the next Cucho,” but he acknowledges the different attributes he brings as a striker, especially standing at 6 feet 1 compared to Hernandez’s 5-9.
“I know the situation because the one that’s going to come after me in Al Ahly in Egypt … a striker is going to come and take the No. 9 at Al Ahly,” Abou Ali said. “So, I don’t see it as pressure, not at all, because I’m so different. We’re so different.
“I see it as motivation for myself to state my name. Because is anyone here ever going to forget Cucho? No. Is anyone going to forget Wessam? No.”
Wessam Abou Ali hamstring injury: Is he ready to play for Columbus Crew vs New England Revolution?
In Abou Ali’s final appearance in the Club World Cup, in which he recorded the hat trick, he also suffered an injury to his right hamstring.
When Al Ahly returned to Egypt, the team was still in the offseason. Once preseason began, Abou Ali was nearly set to officially join the Crew, leaving him to rehab his injury by himself while he waited for his visa to be completed.
“It’s different,” Abou Ali said. “It’s different to run around cones yourself, and instead of playing with someone, and getting that mobility. So that’s what I did.”
Upon Abou Ali’s arrival in Columbus, Crew coach Wilfried Nancy was clear that his goal was to give Abou Ali time to adjust and recover from the injury, leaving Abou Ali off the team roster against Toronto FC on Aug 16.
Abou Ali said he is ready to go.
“It’s their (the coaches) decision, of course,” Abou Ali said. “They were surprised about my fitness, actually, and the way I look on the pitch. … I feel good and I look good when I play with the guys, missing some sharpness, but that only comes when you play. I’m ready whenever they put me in front of a crowd.”
The Crew kick off against New England at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 23.
bmackay@dispatch.com
@brimackay15
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Striker Wessam Abou Ali feels ‘motivation’ to solidify his name with Columbus Crew
Reporting by Brianna Mac Kay, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
