OhOther managers have earned more in Major League Soccer than Wilfried Nancy. Bruce Arena, for example, certainly has a more complete trophy cabinet. Nancy, however, won more than just trophies. He raised the standards. At Columbus Crew, he set a benchmark for the rest, showing what was possible even with limited resources. Columbus didn’t have Lionel Messi or Son Heung-min, but they had Nancy as their head coach, and that was often enough.
Over the past three seasons, the Crew has been the most dynamic and most offensive team in MLS. Nancy’s CF Montreal team wasn’t bad either, establishing the style of play that would become known as Nancyball. He forever changed the management landscape of MLS. It was only a matter of time before a call came from Europe.
After weeks of waiting due to a lengthy work permit process, Nancy will take charge of her first match as Celtic manager on Sunday. Some Crew fans will surely be watching. Others may want to ignore the loss of their manager. MLS will be in a worse situation with Nancy gone, but the 48-year-old’s departure could further cement his legacy.
While MLS has become a credible talent pool from which European clubs can draw their players, few managers have made the same leap. Patrick Vieira did so by joining Nice from New York City FC, but he is Patrick Vieira. His status as a legend of the game could have landed him a job in Europe’s “big five” leagues, regardless of what he did in MLS.
On the other hand, Nancy’s name had little importance during her career. He never played at a high level. When Celtic were initially linked, headlines in Scotland focused on his time as assistant to Thierry Henry to provide context. Even when he was hired in Montreal, most fans hadn’t heard of him. Nancy has rather stood out over time for his coaching and leadership abilities, and other MLS coaches could also stand out now that European clubs are taking a closer look.
Steve Cherundolo will not return as head coach of Los Angeles FC in 2026. Although the former American defender sees the game very differently from Nancy, his success in MLS could make him an attractive candidate for a job in Europe. Cherundolo spent his professional career as a Bundesliga player. Could a German club come calling?
Under the leadership of Mikey Varas, San Diego exceeded all expectations in its expansion season. Gregg Berhalter’s former American assistant coached a team from scratch to play modern, energetic football that surely caught the attention of European observers. Could Nancy’s appointment at Celtic set a precedent for Varas to follow?
Could Nancy be to the MLS manager pool what Miguel Almirón was to the league player pool? While European clubs now regularly buy from the league, it took the Paraguayan’s record transfer from Atlanta United to Newcastle in 2019 to reframe MLS as a stepping stone league – a statement on the growing quality of MLS.
That it was Celtic who recruited Nancy is not out of character for a club that hired Ange Postecoglou from the J-League and Ronny Deila from the Norwegian Eliteserien. They have already looked into new markets for managers and there is enough overlap between Angeball and Nancyball to make Celtic Park an ideal landing spot for the Frenchman.
Scottish clubs are increasingly looking to new markets for players and managers because they have no choice. They cannot compete with their financially bloated south-of-the-border rivals. While Nancy will coach the Europa League, and possibly the Champions League, in future seasons, the domestic standard in Scotland is generally lower than that of MLS. According to Opta, only Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Hibernian would infiltrate the 30 teams that make up the league Nancy comes from.
The reality, however, is that Scottish football is a step or two closer to the Premier League and other ‘big five’ European leagues than it is to MLS. For Postecoglou, success at Celtic led him to Tottenham. Steven Gerrard was hired by Aston Villa after winning the title at Rangers. There is an established path that does not exist for MLS coaches.
MLS will miss Nancy. Not only do his teams play brilliant football, but he has a strong personality and one of the most outspoken figureheads in the league. When Nancy speaks, people listen. When he produces quotes like his famous line that “impossible is an opinion” after leading Columbus Crew to the MLS Cup in 2023, people make them viral raps.
Nancy will encounter many strong opinions in Scotland. Many Celtic supporters are skeptical. At a time when the club’s board is facing protests over a lack of ambition and spending, Nancy is seen by some as the cheap option. And it’s true that he doesn’t have the curriculum vitae or the status of Brendan Rodgers or Martin O’Neill, who have been acting in recent weeks.
The same thing was said when Nancy replaced Henry as head coach of CF Montreal as an unknown and unsung former academy coach. It didn’t take long, however, for him to make a name for himself as the boldest and most progressive manager in MLS. European clubs might be quicker to act if another like him emerges again.
