Official release from Columbus Crew

The Columbus Crew announced today that it has signed veteran defender and captain Chad Marshall to a multi-year contract extension that could keep him in Black & Gold through the 2015 Major League Soccer season.

Per club and league policy, no further terms of the deal were disclosed.

"Chad is our captain and he is one of the best defenders in the league, so he is obviously a very important part of our team," said Crew head coach Robert Warzycha.

"He is also one of the best players in club history and he's still in his prime, so we couldn't be happier to get him signed to this new contract."

Marshall, 27, is a two-time MLS Defender of the Year and MLS Best XI selection (2008, 2009) who has spent his entire eight-year professional career in Black & Gold. He was an MLS All-Star in 2009 and 2010 and was named the club's MVP in 2011. Only Mike Clark (221) has appeared in more games for the Crew.

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