In addition to having recently traded some of its key players on the transfer market, CF Montreal will now have to rebuild its training around a new head coach.
Wilfried Nancy has officially left his post as head coach of CF Montreal after “reaching a financial agreement” with the Columbus Crew, the Montreal Major League Soccer club announced in a press release on Tuesday.
Nancy, who is 45, still had a year left on her contract with CF Montreal. The Montreal formation should obtain compensation from the Crew in return, but the details of this are unknown.
“Despite the efforts made by the club to ensure that Wilfried continues our project, we were forced to accept his decision to leave the organization. We want people who want to be with us and Wilfried wanted to take a different path,” said CF Montreal President and CEO Gabriel Gervais.
His hiring was confirmed at a morning press conference in Columbus. Nancy was officially introduced to the Ohio media by two young children who welcomed her, in French. The club owners then presented him with a yellow Crew jersey that had “Nancy” and “23” written on the back.
This agreement between Nancy and the Crew also includes the departures of assistant coach Kwame Ampadu, physical trainer Jules Gueguen and video analyst Maxime Chalier.
“I would have liked to continue the club’s project with him. Despite his departure, our philosophy remains unchanged, said the vice-president and chief sports officer of CF Montreal, Olivier Renard. The process of hiring the next head coach is already underway and I am confident for the future. »
Nancy led CF Montreal to the Eastern semi-finals last season. He eventually lost 3-1 to New York City FC on the lawn of Stade Saputo.
Nancy had served as head coach since March 8, 2021. Previously, he had been assistant coach of the first team since January 7, 2016. He had also been coach of the CF Montreal Academy, from 2011 to 2015 .