How player trust under Wilfried Nancy is driving Columbus Crew's success
When Philadelphia Union coach Jim Curtin spoke after a 3-1 loss to the Crew in a Leagues Cup semifinal, he acknowledged that Columbus' roster isn't stacked with big-name players. Sure, Columbus boasts stars Cucho Hernandez and Diego Rossi, but most of the team entered the league out of college. As Curtin put it, they "weren’t the highest recruited kids."
But the Crew still manage to be successful. According to Curtin, the credit for that goes to coach Wilfried Nancy.
"I don’t say this as a disrespect to their players ... but he (Nancy) makes the most out of his group," Curtin said. "His players respect him. He’s hard on them, but they learn from him. So that’s, for me, the sign of a really good coach."
Nancy also respects Curtin, who is in his 10th full season as Philadelphia's coach. Nancy's admiration grew over time through watching and eventually facing off against Curtin, starting in 2021 when Nancy took over as CF Montreal's coach.
The two praise each other's ability to develop a game plan, but Curtin was particularly impressed by the way the Crew's roster embraced Nancy's style of play.
"He is brave. His guys play the same way," Curtin said. "Up a goal, down a goal, home, away, they’re going to keep doing what they do, and they do it really well, and that takes a really good leader. So, I respect him a ton as a coach, as a person, as a leader."
Rudy Camacho is an example of a player who has improved under Nancy. Camacho first played for Nancy in Montreal and became a key member of the back line during the 2022 season when Montreal went 20-9-5 and finished second in the Eastern Conference, behind the Union.
In July 2023, Nancy helped bring Camacho to the Crew in a trade, a big sacrifice for Camacho because playing in Columbus requires him to be away from his two children, who still live in Montreal with their mother. But he's been willing to make the sacrifice in large part due to Nancy.
"I’ve known him since Montreal," Camacho said. "I came here because I knew we were going to do something, otherwise I would have stayed with my kids in Montreal and try to find a way. So, I came for this thing, and I really trust the coach and the staff. Very happy and grateful to play for them today for Columbus, because we are doing something that we don’t even realize in the moment, but something great."
Since Nancy joined the Crew at the beginning of the 2023 season, Columbus has won an MLS Cup and Leagues Cup title, in addition to reaching a CONCACAF Champions Cup final for the first time in club history. In tournament matches the Crew are 18-4-2.
Christian Ramirez, who went from college at Concordia University Irvine to the USL to the MLS in 2014, believes Nancy's trust in his roster allows the team to play confidently.
"We’re able to adjust on the fly, sometimes with just one word or a signal from the sideline," Ramirez said. "And I think it’s, as a player, empowering that Wilfried’s lead gives us the confidence to say this is our team. To be able to now make decisions at the end of the day when we’re on the field, and he trusts us with that, so it’s a big thing to be able to have that backing.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Wilfried Nancy coaching style has led to success with Columbus Crew
