Atlanta United’s Parkhurst faces former team

Lastly, Parkhurst, 33, will be facing his previous team for which he was captain and played three seasons.

“Personally, you always have a little more motivation playing a former team,” Parkhurst said. “We want to get back on track and need to do that. Big game against a conference rival.”

Parkhurst played an important role in helping Columbus develop a style of play and reach the MLS Cup final in 2015.

Andrew Erickson, who covers Columbus for the Dispatch in Ohio , was kind enough to send a few quotes from Parkhurst's former coach and teammates about his stature within the club:

COACH GREGG BERHALTER

On what Parkhurst meant to Crew SC while he was there

"It's hard to describe because he's not a typical center back, right? He's undersized, he's not a vocal leader. Like, when you think of a center back, what do you think of? You think of a bigger guy, a guy who's talking a lot and he's the exact opposite of that, but what he is is he's such a smart soccer player that he makes everyone else's job easier. When he's playing at the top of his game, he can frustrate forwards just by his anticipation and you know he was a big help in how we defined this group and how we defined our playing style. He was key to that. I mean, when you think about his passing, being able to break down opposing defenses, he was key to that. He was the one that single-handedly brought Justin (Meram) into the pocket by his being able to find him with passing. Michael's responsible for that. I have nothing but positive things to say about Michael. I think he was a great leader for this team."

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JUSTIN MERAM

On if he’s kept in touch with Parkhurst

"Yeah, of course. One of my closest friends in the game, he's still a guy that reaches out after a good performance or vice versa when they do well. He's such a lovable guy and a great friend and he's helped me in my career and was a great captain for me. I'll always hold him and his family close to me in my personal life, so it's definitely going to be exciting. Maybe I'll be able to switch shirts with him if he lets me, but it's going to be exciting. I'm sure he'll be excited. He's going to have his 45,000-plus fans behind him and his team, so it's going to be an exciting match."

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OLA KAMARA

On challenges Parkhurst presents as a defender

“He’s a smart player. He’s also fast. He can make you run, he can thread through lines. He’s good on the ball, so I think it’s good that he doesn’t have the ball too much. So I think that’s what I’m aware of with him. He’s fast, clever and he’s good with the ball.”