Wilfried Nancy is a relative unknown in European football, but does that mean Celtic are taking a risk?
The 48-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the Scottish Premiership champions, taking over from interim duo Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney.
Nancy won the Canadian Championship title during his only season at CF Montreal, before helping Columbus Crew clinch the MLS Cup and Leagues Cup, plus he guided the team to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final during his three years at the club.
Few had heard of Ange Postecoglou before he took charge at Parkhead in 2021, and he was written off by many after a shaky start as Neil Lennon’s replacement.
But five domestic trophies in two seasons would tell you that familiarity is not vital for success.
Why did Celtic want Nancy?
Sky Sports News’ Anthony Joseph:
Celtic see many similarities between Nancy and Postecoglou, who left the club in 2023 to take over at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Frenchman was recommended by the club’s head of football operations, Paul Tisdale, who had been monitoring his progress for some time.
Postecoglou won titles in Australia and Japan, plus the Asian Cup with the Australian national team.
Ange Postecoglou won five trophies in two seasons with Celtic
However, Nancy is younger than Postecoglou and has already won silverware in America and Canada. His impact has been recognised with both club honours and personal ones, after being named MLS Coach of the Year in 2024.
In just four years of management, Nancy has achieved success. This has come to the attention of Celtic, who feel he can make that next step into European football and be the permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers.
What do we know about Nancy?
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MLS expert Tom Bogert assesses Nancy’s impact and tells Celtic fans what they can expect from a ‘defining manager’
“Wilfred Nancy is one of the defining managers of the last half-decade in Major League Soccer.”
A bold statement, but MLS expert Tom Bogert is in no doubt about the quality of Celtic’s new boss.
“His tactical evolution, the way the team plays, how brave they are, how courageous, it’s total football that starts from the back,” The Athletic journalist added.
Columbus Crew played front-footed, possession-based football under Nancy
“He likes to play out of a back three, but his outside centre-backs have freedom to get forward.
“His wing-backs play like wingers. Both at Montreal and then Columbus, almost every attacker he’s worked with has had their best-ever season.
“He is a developmental manager. He gets the best out of young players, in prime players and older players, and he plays a front-footed possession-based attractive style of football.”
Nancy established himself as one of the MLS’s top coaches, earning the 2024 MLS Coach of the Year prize after narrowly missing out two years prior.
Despite finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference this season, his impact on those he works with should excite Celtic fans, according to Bogert.
“The players all rave about him,” he added. “[Middlesbrough midfielder] Aidan Morris said to me ‘I think Wilfried Nancy is one of the best managers in the world, like kind of full stop.’
“That sounds like a ludicrous thing to say, but that’s how well he’s revered among his current and former players and everybody around him.
“We’ll see exactly how it manifests itself on the field, but I don’t have any doubts over his mentality. It will be difficult when he takes over midseason.
“This would have been much easier if he came in the summer, whether it’s a Celtic or any other club. What I was told is he told the Columbus Crew ‘I don’t want to leave you midseason’ even though it’d probably be easier for his career and better and more options.
“That’s kind of his character.”
Sutton: Nancy must hit the ground running after O’Neill’s masterclass
Since taking over from Brendan Rodgers, O’Neill saw the gap on leaders Hearts close from an eight-point deficit to just two with a game in hand.
The Hoops are also in the League Cup final after beating Rangers, plus could yet qualify to the next stage of the Europa League after a 3-1 win away to Feyenoord.
Speaking on Sky Sports, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton said: “Martin took over a team which was low on confidence. There had been issues performance-wise all season.
“Had he lost a few games and things went badly, people would have said ‘he wasn’t up for the job, he never should have come back’.
“I was worried about his legacy, because of my relationship with him, but I’m absolutely delighted for him.”
When asked what O’Neill’s impressive run of results means for Nancy, Sutton added: “Every passing win is going to really put the pressure on him because everybody will expect Wilfred Nancy to come in with the team, which seems to be more confident, and hit the ground running.
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Sky Sports’ Chris Sutton on the job done by Martin O’Neill at Celtic, and the task at hand for Wilfried Nancy
“It won’t take long for things to turn, with Martin doing so well. I think it’s really difficult for him because there are three games a week, and there’s no real time to work on the training ground.
“If he does play a back three, which is apparently the way that he plays at Columbus Crew, to come in and implement that – I don’t think that’s easy.”
Celtic’s upcoming fixtures
- Hearts (H) – Scottish Premiership – Sunday – live on Sky Sports
- Roma (H) – Europa League – December 11
- St Mirren (N) – League Cup final – December 14
- Dundee Utd (A) – Scottish Premiership – December 1 – live on Sky Sports
- Aberdeen (H) – Scottish Premiership – December 21
www.skysports.com (Article Sourced Website)
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