It looks like Wilfried Nancy is a serious Celtic candidate.
The Columbus Crew boss has been in the conversation for a while, but reports emerging on Monday have said that Nancy is now the front-runner for the Celtic job.
Understandably, the Frenchman is not a familiar name to Celtic fans. Working his way up from youth football, he has been involved in MLS for the last decade, most recently as manager of Columbus Crew.
Since the sudden resignation of Brendan Rodgers, Martin O’Neill has taken interim charge of the Hoops for the last four matches.
But it now appears that change could be imminent, with Nancy’s name at the centre of the conversation. So we looked at three quotes that give insights into who the 48-year-old is as a manager.
Three Wilfried Nancy quotes to introduce him to Celtic fans
‘Impossible is an opinion’
If you ask any Columbus fan to sum up Nancy with one of his quotes, they would probably say this one.
It became associated with Nancy after he said it on the pitch when Columbus won the MLS Cup in 2023.
Nancy said: “They have learned a lot, as a player(s), and as [people]. Because we started, and I told the guys: ‘impossible is an opinion.
“‘Just enjoy it, and we’re gonna grow.’ And this is what happened. It’s unbelievable, unbelievable.”
He led an unfancied Columbus to victory against LAFC, securing his first silverware as a manager with a distinctive style of play.
‘Creativity within structure’
But what is this distinctive style of play? It has been compared to both Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou, but there are crucially unique elements.
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Not least because he has been almost exclusively wedded to a 3-4-3 formation throughout his managerial career. This would certainly a be a big change for the Hoops squad.
He told CBS Sports: “The way we play, the way of my vision, the idea is to give emotions.
“Yes, I want to win, but I want to win in my way – and my way is to have a structure, but also to give the freedom and the creativity to my players, to play with creativity within the structure.
“For me, this is really important.”
Tactical observers have noted that Nancy allows much more positional freedom to his players than most coaches. Rodgers and Postecoglou don’t do this.
What he does share in common with that pair is that he is a possession-based coach. But this can come in many forms.
Nancy’s leadership style
What kind of leader is Nancy? Would he give Ange-style motivational speeches or will he be more reserved? He gave an insight on this earlier this year.
He said: “For me, the definition of a leader is someone who is able to input a good environment to let people express themselves.
“I have to be confident, but I also have to be open-minded, because this is an evolution. This is a constant evolution.
“I know exactly what I want to do, in terms of the way we want to play and so-on. My job is not a normal job – but I deserve it, don’t get me wrong. Because there is a lot of work behind that.”
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