Celtic support’s sense of intrigue about appointing Wilfried Nancy

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·11 November 2025

Celtic support’s sense of intrigue about appointing Wilfried Nancy

If, and it still very much remains an if, Celtic were to appoint Wilfried Nancy as manager, supporters would be right to feel a sense of intrigue…

MLS All-Star head coach Wilfried Nancy addresses members of the media during the MLS All-Star Press Conference at Lower.com Field on July 22, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images)

The French-born coach’s rise through North American football has been about far more than tactics, it’s been about creating a culture.

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At Montréal and Columbus Crew, he delivered not just winning football, but teams with identity. The question, as ever with Celtic, is whether the club can offer the same foundations that have allowed him to thrive elsewhere.

Nancy, as reported in MLSsoccer.com spoke of marrying structure and freedom within his teams, and that duality defines his football.

“We are really, really, really extremely demanding with the structure,” Nancy said. “But within the structure, the players have the freedom to pick and choose what is the good option.”

It’s a modern take, tactical clarity combined with real autonomy on the pitch. You can see why players buy into it if it’s communicated and coached the right way.

That balance has been evident at Columbus, where his side became one of the most fluid in MLS, comfortable in possession, quick in transition and unafraid of risk. Nancy once compared his method to “boxing and chess,” boxing for intensity, chess for intelligence.

CINCINNATI, OHIO – NOVEMBER 8: Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy celebrates the Jacen Russell-Rowe #19 of Columbus Crew goal against FC Cincinnati during the MLS Playoff match at TQL Stadium on November 8, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Chris Carter/Getty Images)

For Celtic supporters accustomed to the team shifting between reactive and dominant depending on the opponent and competition, Nancy’s approach would mark a decisive shift toward a proactive, ball-playing identity. Tactically, he favours variations of a back three, with wide centre-backs stepping into midfield to create overloads and move the ball forward. Quick transitions and positional intelligence are key. Players are expected to find their own solutions once the framework is set, a structure designed to empower rather than constrain.

Those who know him describe Nancy as a builder, someone who creates an environment where players feel trusted and responsible. His three watchwords, effort, audacity and brain, say as much about mindset as about tactics. That kind of cultural shift would be welcome at Celtic, clearer roles, better communication, and a more modern relationship between manager and player.

Nancy, however, it should be noted, is not a coach wedded to any one formation.

“I’m not talking about 4-3-3, 3-5-2, 3-4-3. This is not that. This is all about the ideas behind that, what concept we’re going to use to manipulate the opposition, what concept we’re going to use to try to win the ball back. So all this kind of things have to be clear. And the more we do it with the young players, the more it’s going to be easier for us with the first team to do it, and we’re gonna add more complexity. So this is the way.”

It’s a philosophy rooted in understanding football as a set of shared principles rather than fixed shapes, a consistency of idea rather than rigidity of system.

That adaptability pairs with something less tangible but just as valuable, empathy. Nancy speaks about people as much as players, something born from a lifetime of travel and cultural exposure.

Wilfried Nancy head coach of the Columbus Crew looks during player introductions before the game against the Inter Miami CF at Huntington Bank Field on April 19, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images)

“Because of that, I am the person that I am now,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for all the cultures, and also have a lot of empathy for the human being, I would say, because it was powerful for me to visit a lot of countries and to see something different.

“For me, I am able to understand people – not to accept everything, because I have no problem to say no, but to understand people, why they think like this, why they act like this, why they want to do some different decisions from me. It’s useful for my job, and for my life also.”

It’s a quality that should reassure anyone wondering how he might handle a move abroad. Nancy isn’t a coach who imposes a single worldview, he listens, adapts, and builds connections across mentalities. For a club like Celtic, where the emotional and cultural fabric of the support matters as much as the football itself, that kind of emotional intelligence could be invaluable.

What stands out most, though, is that his football is defined by concepts, not systems.

Wilfriied Nancy head coach of the Columbus Crew speaks at a press conference during a MLS media day event at the Miami Convention Center on January 11, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

“For me what is the most important is the concept,” he said. “And the concept, this is a way of life I cannot change. It’s going to be like that, because this is something that I believe.

“Do we need two passes because the opposition gives us the possibility to attack quick? Or do we need 25 passes to attack? It depends. So, it’s all about this connection between trying to attack most of the time, and when we don’t have the ball, try to attack also to try to win the ball back as soon as possible.”

That outlook stems from his own playing career. “The fact that I never played in the first division in France, at around 23, 24 years old,” he recalled.

Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy looks on after coaching against Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park on February 25, 2023 in Chester, Pennsylvania. (Photo by T. Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

“I knew that the future for me was to become a coach. So, I had the time to set up everything, I had the time to think about everything. Everything is connected. Because when I was a player, I was not fast. I was playing centre-back, sweeper, and I was good technically and tactically.

“But I needed the other guys, my teammates, to play, to be good on the pitch. My idea was clear that in the future, when I’m going to be a coach, my team, we play. My team, we get this connection with the ball, because I did not like to run without the ball. It was a nightmare when I was doing it, you know?”

It’s an idea that one Celtic player already knows well. Alistair Johnston, who flourished under Nancy at Montréal before moving to Glasgow, has spoken about how transformative that education was. “The coaching staff was very clear with me,” Johnston recalled.

Alistair Johnston of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier Sports League Cup match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“They said, you’re going to have to forget how you were taught to play, to a certain degree, because especially as a defender, you’re instinctively taught, how fast can I move the ball forward? Whereas here, it’s like, how long can you wait, until a striker steps on your toe, before you pass the ball?”

Johnston became a perfect example of the Nancy method, a player reshaped to think differently about time and control. Nancy himself remembered those early sessions.

“Alistair, when he came – and it’s normal, really good player – but all the time he was playing fast. One touch, two touch, and he was happy with that. And during the rondo, I say no, don’t play one touch. Sometimes you have to play two touches or three touches, it depends.

“So he learns to slow down the play, to manipulate a little bit more the opposition to free up the space to go forward. Or maybe he’s going to have more time for himself to play the pass, or is going to buy time for his teammate.

Alistair Johnston in action during the Premier Sports Cup Final victory over theRangers at Hampden on 15 December 2024. Photo AJ for The Celtic Star

“So this is all these kinds of things that I like to challenge my players, because now the game is not one pace. You have to play with the rhythm. Because when you play with the rhythm, you are able to move the opposition east-west, or move the opposition now north-south, to play between the lines.”

That rhythm, the ability to play at different speeds and tempos lies at the core of Nancy’s thinking. Where others urge players to move the ball faster and faster, he preaches control and timing. “‘Don’t do this, don’t do that,’” he said, mimicking his peers.

“‘Don’t stop the ball. Play quick. Centre backs, two touches only. But for me, everything, I put that in the bin. Because you have to use this tool to try to create time on the opposition. Because it’s all about time. This is not about space – how can we have a time edge on the opposition, how can we have an advantage on the opposition?”

That blend of precision and freedom, strict in structure, open in thought, defines his teams. “So this is a day-to-day work,” he explained.

Head coach Wilfried Nancy of Columbus Crew reacts during the first half of the MLS match against the New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on September 17, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)

“This is a lot of video, this is a lot of interaction also, because I believe that to convince the player to do something, or to convince a human being to do something, he has to try things. He has to make mistakes. He has to be comfortable in the uncomfortable situation.

“So this is something that we do all the time on the pitch, repetition, with clear situations, and also a structure, a defined structure. But within the structure, a lot of creativity within that.”

For Nancy, the essence of coaching goes beyond winning. “My job is to try to find ways to simplify the game for my players, to let them understand quicker what they have to do, regarding the concepts that we put in place,” he said.

“And my job also is to develop players to be better, and also to be a better person. Everybody talks about, you have to win, you have to win. Yes, I know that I have to win. If I don’t win 10 games in a row, maybe I’m going to be out. But at the end of the day, I don’t care about that, because this is our job. Me, I care about how we want to win, what we need to do, to maximise our chance to do a good game.”

Wilfried Nancy, Head Coach of Columbus Crew SC, looks on during the MLS match between New England Revolution and Columbus Crew at Gillette Stadium on March 01, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

That sentiment might be the truest window into who Wilfried Nancy really is, not a manager obsessed with results at all costs. If Celtic were to turn to him, they wouldn’t just be hiring a tactician. They’d be bringing in a thinker, one who sees football as both a structure and an art form, and who believes winning beautifully isn’t naïve, but necessary.

The question, then, is whether Celtic are ready for that kind of evolution. Because for all Nancy’s talk of concepts and empathy, his ideas need fertile ground, a club structure that believes in process, alignment and patience. Without that, even the brightest minds can fade into the same cycle of two-year promise and frustration.

If Celtic match his intent with genuine support, this could be the start of something transformative. If not, it risks becoming another missed opportunity, another coach of vision, undone by a system not built to sustain it.

Darlington Nagbe #6 of the Columbus Crew embraces Wilfried Nancy head coach of the Columbus Crew after the 2025 MLS Cup Playoff match against FC Cincinnati at Lower.com Field on November 02, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Crew won 4-0. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images)

For now, Wilfried Nancy represents possibility, the kind that reminds Celtic what it could be, if the club truly commits to building rather than merely appointing.

Niall J

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