MONTREAL – Tongues could have been loosened since the divorce is finally pronounced, but it will probably be necessary to wait for the publication of a book in a few years to really know what led to the end of the association between Wilfried Nancy and the CF Montreal.
Both the main interested party and the president of the club Gabriel Gervais did not offer precise answers to the nevertheless clear questions of the journalists, after the Crew of Columbus announced Tuesday morning the appointment of the Canadian-French technician at the helm of the club. ‘crew.
Gervais had first cleverly maneuvered by encouraging members of the press to ask Nancy directly about the reasons for her departure, while specifying that the club was ready to loosen the purse strings to retain the services of the person who allowed the team to experience in 2022 the best campaign in its history since entering MLS in 2012.
“All I can say is that it’s not a financial question,” said Gervais. We were ready to match any offer, but we weren’t lucky enough to make it that far. »
By videoconference at the end of the afternoon, Nancy confirmed the words of her former president, except that he obviously had more desire to discuss his new flame rather than his ex.
“It’s not a question of what [Montréal] had to offer or not,” Nancy said. I had the opportunity to get in touch with the Crew. The team presented me with a clear vision and I realized that it was an interesting project. There is no comparison with Montreal.”
The 45-year-old head coach, who will be accompanied by assistant coach Kwame Ampadu, physical trainer Jules Gueguen and video analyst Maxime Chalier in Columbus, also hinted that he had known for a long time that he had want to go elsewhere. But he firmly refused to say when he had his first flirtation with the Crew. Officially, CF Montreal granted the Crew permission to speak to him three weeks ago.
“It just happened naturally,” Nancy said. I only came to a point where I felt it was time for a change. When I arrived with the team in 2011, I knew that I would eventually become their coach. I don’t know, it was all really gradual. »
Of course, the July 9 incidents were discussed, but Nancy confined herself to saying that there was nothing to say about it. Many observers believe that this is when the bond of trust between Nancy and the club broke down. After a 2-1 loss to Kansas City, the worst team in the league at that time, owner Joey Saputo had loudly heard his remonstrances at Gervais in front of the representative of The Press. Nancy’s work was targeted.
Gervais did not shed any new light on this affair, except that an anecdote about another event that occurred at the end of the season allows us to grasp the full extent of the unease that reigned.
“After the last game of the season against New York City (on October 23 at Saputo Stadium, editor’s note), Joey went down to the locker room to talk to the players after asking Wilfried’s permission,” said Gervais. Joey notably told everyone that the team exceeded all expectations. He then thanked all the members of the organization, the players and finally Wilfried. Joey even offered his hand, only Wilfried refused. »
“In all transparency, I’m disappointed,” added Gervais. I wanted to continue with Wilfried, but we didn’t have the chance to get along. It’s not an ideal outcome… One of the first things I wanted to bring when I was hired was stability. On average, coaches are in post two or three years in MLS, but Peter Vermes (Kansas City), Brian Schmetzer (Seattle) and Jim Curtin (Philadelphia) have been able to stay a long time. »
This means that CF Montreal will have a 9th head coach in 10 years. Nancy’s successor will need to be a good coach who believes in the team’s philosophy of playing with the ball. Fluency in French will be a very important criterion, but not absolute.
“When we saw we were going to hit a wall [dans les discussions avec Nancy], we were proactive and took preliminary steps,” said Gervais. Contrary to rumors circulating, we have not met any coaches yet.
“There are several coaches within our academy who want to move up the ranks and there are also several candidates in the league. You should know that there is a process with the latter in terms of diversity, but Olivier has already done his homework. He has several in sight. »
The departure of Nancy adds to those much less acrimonious of defender Alistair Johnston as well as midfielders Djordje Mihailovic and Ismaël Koné. Mihailovic’s move to AZ, Netherlands has been announced since January, as Johnston and Kone officially moved to Celtic, Scotland and Watford, England, respectively, in recent days.
Will the new face of CF Montreal be able to please fans who have fallen in love with the club again? At least we won’t have to wait too long to find out the answer.
