Now with Columbus Crew, coach Wilfried Nancy ready to return to CF Montreal
Wilfried Nancy’s focus is always inward as the next game approaches. Yes, there is scouting, and film work, and all the usual preparations for an opponent, but when it comes to practice the Crew’s coach keeps the focus on his team when building a plan for the game.
Saturday’s game presents a unique challenge for Nancy, then. Now in the stretch run of his first season in Columbus, Nancy will return to the city he called home for nearly two decades and the job he left to join the Crew.
If not for a desire for change, Nancy could very well be leading CF Montreal on Saturday night instead of the Crew.
“The job that I have, I know that something like that will happen,” Nancy said of the life of a coach. “Or, we got fired, or we move. Simple as that. So I decided to move, because I wanted to change. Simple as that. The idea was, I knew this day would come.”
Nancy moved to Columbus after having spent the previous two seasons as CF Montreal’s head coach, the culmination of an era in Montreal that began in 2005. The city is where Nancy met his wife, started a family and built his career as a coach.
It was a steady climb. There was a year as a player-coach at the University of Quebec at Montreal and, eventually, when CF Montreal founded its academy in 2010 Nancy was a coach on the radar. He started as the U18 coach and had time as the U21 and U16 coach before making his way onto Mauro Biello’s staff as a full-time assistant on the MLS club in 2016.
When Thierry Henry stepped down as Montreal’s head coach during the 2021 preseason, Nancy was promoted to head coach. The club won that year’s Canadian Championship and went 12-12-10 in MLS, missing out on the postseason by two points. CF Montreal then went 20-9-5 in 2022, finishing second in the Eastern Conference and third in the Supporters’ Shield race. Under Nancy, Montreal set club records for win percentage (.662) and points (65).
The Crew signed him to replace Caleb Porter that December, the latest stop in the largely transient life of a coach.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to stay in Columbus,” Nancy said. “Maybe I’m going to move in the future. I don’t know. The most important is that my family feels happy and also that the project is clear. That’s why I’m really pleased with Columbus: the project is really clear and the vision of what we want to do is very interesting. That’s why, for me, it was a no-brainer to work with these people.”
It’s not a return for just Nancy. Acquired from Montreal during the summer transfer window, Crew center back Rudy Camacho wore the home jersey in a July 22 Leagues Cup game and now will be in opposing colors at Saputo Stadium only 41 days later.
“It’s going to be weird for me to play there with another jersey, but I’m very excited,” he said. “Obviously my family too. I hope we’re gonna win there.”
Camacho said he was happy for Nancy to move to Columbus because “it’s a step forward for him and his staff.” There have been a few adjustments, but overall Camacho said he’s been able to assimilate into the defense because of his familiarity with Nancy’s style.
Not surprisingly, Nancy said this Montreal team led by coach Hernán Losada doesn’t bear much stylistic similarities to last year’s team. New coaches bring new systems and styles of play.
Since the Crew took an extra night of rest in Houston following Wednesday’s 2-0 loss to the Dynamo, Nancy said he’s enjoyed the chance for a homecoming of sorts in Montreal. Friday afternoon, Nancy said that for the first time since his arrival in Montreal, he would be practicing on the turf field that’s part of the team’s training facility.
And while it’s good to be back, the Crew’s coach said he’s not dwelling in the emotion of the past.
“I like to have memories, but at the same time I move forward,” he said. “I’m really happy to see everyone and remember the good moments we had. I’m not going to lie: this is not like in Houston. It’s good to be back, to speak French a little bit more.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew coach Wilfried Nancy ready for return to Montreal
