Wilfried Nancy came very close to being named head coach of the year at the end of CF Montreal’s historic season. But it was ultimately his Philadelphia Union counterpart, Jim Curtin, who walked away with the Sigi Schmid trophy.
Posted at 12:25 p.m.
MLS made the announcement on Tuesday at noon.
Curtin led the Union to 67 points and a first-place finish in the East. This is his second Garber Tour Head Coach of the Year honor, having also been selected in 2020. The Pennsylvania native is the fifth coach to be named the best of his profession in MLS.
But it took little for the trophy to be awarded to Wilfried Nancy. The Frenchman led CF Montreal to a second-place finish in the East, two points behind Philadelphia. A success that no one could have predicted with certainty at the start of the 2022 campaign.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Wilfried Nancy
Nancy finished second with 23.47% of the vote to Curtin’s 23.57%, averaging across player, media and general manager picks. According to this calculation, only 0.10% separates it from the first position.
TABLE SHARED BY MLS
In this graph shared by the league in its press release, we see that the media voted overwhelmingly for the Montreal technician, while the players and GMs instead set their sights on Curtin.
If the surprise was less present in the case of Curtin and the Union this season, he did not deserve this nomination. Philadelphia broke many of its records, including goals scored (72) and goals conceded (26). It’s also the second time in three years that the Pennsylvania team has finished first in the conference, as well as a fifth consecutive playoff appearance.
Under Wilfried Nancy, CF Montreal also had a historic season. With its record of 20-9-5, it has even achieved more victories than the Union (19-5-10).