Columbus Crew, Wilfried Nancy announce hiring of assistant coaches
Wilfried Nancy's newly assembled coaching staff with the Crew is now complete.
When Nancy was hired away from CF Montreal in early December, Montreal announced that assistant coach Kwame Ampadu, fitness coach Jules Gueguen and video analyst Maxime Chalier would be joining Nancy in Columbus, and the Crew confirmed those hires Tuesday. Yoann Damet has also been hired as an assistant coach, and Phil Boerger, who was the goalkeeper coach for Crew 2 last season, has been promoted to the same role with the first team.
"We would like to welcome Kwame, Yoann, Jules and Maxime to Columbus," general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. "We are also proud to announce Phil’s promotion. He was instrumental in Crew 2’s defensive successes during their championship run and we are excited to see him join the first team. With the addition of Wilfried and the new members of the coaching staff, we have assembled a strong group that will lead the team and foster a winning culture within our locker room."
Ampadu was an assistant in Montreal from 2020 to 2022, after spending part of the 2018-19 season as an assistant on Thierry Henry's staff at AS Monaco in the French Ligue 1. When Henry was hired to coach Montreal, Ampadu joined his staff, and remained with the club as Nancy took over for Henry prior to the 2021 season.
Damet, a familiar name in Ohio from his time with FC Cincinnati, was most recently an assistant with the LA Galaxy. He was the head coach of LA Galaxy II for part of the 2022 season and then was promoted to be an assistant with the first team in August. As part of Damet's departure from the Galaxy, the Crew reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the Galaxy.
Prior to his time in Los Angeles, Damet coached in the FC Cincinnati organization from 2017 to 2021. He was part of the team's rise from the United Soccer League to MLS and had two stints as interim head coach, once in 2019 and once in 2020.
With Crew 2 last season, Boerger's goalkeepers Patrick Schulte and Brady Scott combined for 12 clean sheets, the best mark in MLS Next Pro, and allowed just 22 goals in 27 goals, the fewest in the league. Schulte was named Goalkeeper of the Year. Prior to joining the Crew organization, Boerger was the goalkeeper coach for Toronto FC II 2016-21.
Chalier and Gueguen both worked on the first team in staff in Montreal for three seasons.
"I am thrilled to have the full coaching staff in place as we embark on this journey together," Nancy said in a statement. "I know that each member of the team brings unique strengths that complement each other, and I look forward to working hand-in-hand with Kwame, Yoann, Phil, Jules and Maxime as we work towards bringing another trophy to Columbus."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew coaching staff complete, assistants join Wilfried Nancy
