(Columbus) “My style of play is a way of living. » And Wilfried Nancy will not deviate from this.
Especially not with the success that has stuck with him for three years as head coach in MLS. Especially not with a Columbus Crew so explosive in 2023. And especially not with the tender look of the – American – analysts on the circuit, who have been paying him particular attention since he made the jump to the United States.
“When I was in Montreal, when I spoke with Olivier [Renard], I told him: “Me, I play that way. I won’t change. I come with this idea.” »
During a long interview with La Presse at the Crew training center in Columbus, Nancy took the time to explain the sources of her game ideas.
“There is an anchor from when I was a professional player,” explains the Frenchman, a former defender. I wasn’t fast. I always needed the other players around me to keep the ball alive, and to have a connection with them. I wasn’t the player who took the ball, who dribbled past everyone and who passed. So the relationships between my partners at the time were very important in the game.”
We saw Nancy’s game unfold in Montreal in 2021 and 2022. The goal is to build the game carefully. It often starts with the goalkeeper and defenders, who try to find the spaces between the curtains of opposing players by making calculated passes, not by randomly clearing the ball forward. This forces players to play with their heads as much as with their feet.
But it is not without risk: if this philosophy of play makes it possible to put the opponent to sleep and put together great attacks, it also increases the chances of making a mistake at the back, precisely.
A challenge that Rudy Camacho has “always loved”.
“People don’t realize Will’s style of play, but it’s a lot of pressure,” explains the former CFM to La Presse, in the Crew conference room. In the sense that you have no room for error, and the game starts from you. If you don’t analyze well, if you don’t make the right choices or the right pass, you can’t play with Will. But that’s what I’ve always loved, so we complement each other well. »
Camacho knows what he’s talking about: he himself was guilty of such an error, in his own zone, in Montreal, three weeks after his trade to Crew on September 2.
“It was a special match for me, it was still very fresh. I would have preferred not to make this mistake, that’s for sure. »
Camacho wore the colors of Bleu-blanc-noir for six years before switching to the yellow and black of the Crew. He therefore knew Nancy well in Montreal, even before he was head coach.
But he didn’t know he had these qualities in him.
“It surprised me a little, like everyone else,” explains the central defender. I didn’t know his game ideas. I didn’t know at all what he was showing us. It was a nice surprise. And I totally agree with his style of play, like all the players who came under Wilfried. »
There is another within the Crew who discovered his talents in recent years. Some guy named Evan Bush.
“Honestly, I didn’t know anything about it,” says the goalkeeper, who wore the Impact jersey for almost 10 years.
“You know that in Montreal, several coaches come and go,” explains Bush, who then elaborates his hypothesis.
“Will was one of those guys who lived under multiple head coaches. He may not have had the greatest voice, but that wasn’t his fault. It was probably because current head coaches didn’t allow him as much as he does today with his assistants. His experiences as a deputy probably taught him to understand today what his deputies are going through. »
Bull’s eye.
Wilfried Nancy: “I play like this thanks to all the knowledge and all the coaches I had, the fact that I was an assistant for a long time, perfecting my vision. This is my story.
“My game project is my backpack. Quite simply, little by little, I put ideas into it. »
Nancy’s gaming ideas are admired by several commentators south of the border, including Taylor Twellman, former player and host of the Offside podcast for Apple Podcasts. The latter devoted an entire episode to Nancy’s playing philosophy and the reconstruction of the Crew in recent years.
MLS is finding out today “because it’s the United States and it’s Columbus,” according to Camacho.
“But he did the same thing in Montreal for two years with a group that had less quality, without disrespecting anyone. He managed to bring out the best in each player in Montreal. »
Is MLS a goal for Nancy? Or is he considering a possible return to Europe?
The words “confidence” and “humility” are always near his lips, throughout the interview, and again here as a response.
“I’m not in the future, but I sure have ambition,” he agrees. It’s important to have ambition. I have no limits, I know my qualities, I know that I learn every day. I have confidence in myself, but at the same time I am very humble. Because in football, things go very, very quickly. »
