EXCLUSIVE: Wilfried Nancy is 'limitless' as Columbus Crew, MLS All-Star coach and rising star talks Thierry Henry, links to USMNT and embracing the moment

Nancy and Henry worked together at CF Montreal for just under three years, but their relationship began nearly two decades prior, on the pitch in France in the late '90s. At the time, the now-Columbus boss was a teenager playing for Toulon, while Henry was a young star in the making at Monaco.

Their paths crossed and they quickly bonded.

“I knew him, when I was in Toulon, he was playing for Monaco, and so we are the same age, I think around 17 years old, and we were playing each other," Nancy said of Henry. "And so he was a very good friend of mine and it was funny. Life is beautiful, because after maybe 25 years, something like that, we worked together (at CF MTL)."

Their acquaintanceship began then, and continued throughout the years, culminating as they reunited on the coaching staff in Canada. And as Nancy recalls, it was like they’d never spent a day apart.

“He is a competitive guy," he said. "You know, he has a competitive spirit, he is amazing with that. So obviously, he has a clear idea of the way he wants to play but, this is something that we also have in common."

Understanding Henry's ideology and the way his brain works on the touchline, Nancy believes, was key to his development as a manager, too.

“I like to learn from everyone," he said. "You know, I like to see how people think, I like to see how they act, how they react, because after that I can adjust or I can take certain things that you can use. I don't have the same personality as Thierry, but I was also able to pick his brain into certain things and in detail, 'This is the way we do things,' you know - try to steal certain things and to do it for (the Crew).”

Henry, who plied his trade across Europe with some of the biggest teams in the professional game across a storied career, is now coach of France’s U23 Olympic team at the 2024 Paris Games. After Montreal, he had a stint with the Belgium national team, assisting on the touchline in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, before joining his nation’s federation.

Nancy believes Henry will find success wherever he goes, saying he has never met another coach who could match his intellect or passion for the game.

“He is a Bible, in terms of football," Nancy said. "Just a few days ago I was talking with him, and this is someone that, let's say, we are talking about an action. He is going to tell me briefly 'Hey, do you remember in 1982, for Spain, this player, after 82 minutes and he created this chance?' "

“What are you talking about?" Nancy says with a laugh. And Henry would double-down on the facts, saying “Go, go, go see, Wilfried - and it happens!"

“It's a Bible," he says, in awe of Henry's football brain. "He has a really good memory so he's able to keep everything in his mind. And that's why we have passionate discussions about football because he likes football. He has a passion, so sometimes when we were working together, we had discussions for two hours, but it could have been two minutes, but, this is Thierry… a Bible of soccer.”

Without Henry’s influence, without those moments, Nancy may not be climbing as fast in his senior-managerial career. The former Barcelona ace taught him much on the touchline, but his biggest takeaway was learning when and how to step back, be present, and appreciate the moment.

“What I like about my life, for the moment, is the coherence,” Nancy says. “You know, everything has been coherent, in terms of the way I see people, the way I am in this club (Crew), the way we do things and how we do it. So for me, it's logical, it's common sense, you know, what we are doing.

“I'm not talking about results, because again, yes, we are champions. It's been fantastic - but the journey that we had to become champions. It's common sense about what we try to do every day. And for me, this is why I do this job. This is why I try to challenge my players, why I try to support them.”

Nancy has learned to separate football and life, and as a manager, is relaying that sentiment to his team. He has consistently messaged his players about the preciousness of life, appreciating the moment, realizing that each day is a new opportunity to succeed.

The “support” comes in many forms, but more than anything, Nancy is striving to teach lessons, bring unity to the team and align the squad with a common goal.

“This (message) is significant because we have a clear vision: we want to achieve something not only in terms of results, but in terms of trying to become a better person, a better player," he says. And what I like about my players is that they're embracing that, they are able to take ownership about this and that's why it’s been a good run for the moment.”

Nancy has been publicly linked to the vacant USMNT head coach job, with speculation surfacing nearly immediately after Gregg Berhalter was fired in the wake of the team's unexpectedly early Copa America exit. Nancy, one of the most respected domestic managers, has seen others toss his name into the ring.

Ahead of the MLS All-Star Game, Nancy was asked about his interest in the USMNT role, and he replied by emphasizing his commitment to the Crew - but added that he believes he is “limitless” and that wherever his career takes him, he will go.

Speaking to GOAL, Nancy expanded on the importance of being "limitless" and how it has been a defining word for him throughout life. As he reflected, Nancy stood still and smiled with a deep breath.

“Limitless? It’s my life," he says. "I’m 47 years old. I'm talking to you at the MLS All-Star Game in Columbus. I never planned to be in Columbus, never, never, never…

“I'm gonna be honest with you, when I started to travel, when I was an assistant coach in Montreal, I told my wife… 'Columbus? Mmmm, I don't know' … because I didn't know the city and so on… but (now) we love the city.”

In Montreal, Nancy met his wife - who is Canadian with Haitian heritage - and they settled, finding love for the city. Columbus, in many ways, does not compare to the Canadian metropolis. Montreal has more than double the population of Ohio's capital city, and its native language is French. Switching gears, starting a new life and taking the risk to join the Crew was the biggest gamble of his career.

But Nancy reminded himself when the offer arrived: “I am limitless."

“My life has been like this. I don't like to plan something, it’s all about serendipity," he says. "For me, this word is really important. That's why I am limitless, because it's about moments. And I came here, it was a moment. I came to Montreal, it was a moment. I become a coach, a moment. I was supposed to become a coach earlier in Montreal. It was not the moment to do it. And then, Thierry decided to leave because of his family and I took the job. So listen, it's been my life.

"That's why, for me, I like to discover new things. I like to challenge myself. So that's why I have no limit. Because the idea is… what can I do to get better? And for me the definition of success is 'What is my behavior against all the challenges that I'm going to face?' And this is something that I tried to use to get better. That's why I am limitless, it’s as simple as that.”

Along with Nancy, a handful of experienced global coaches such as Jurgen Klopp, Gareth Southgate, Luis De La Fuente and Mauricio Pochettino have emerged as potential candidates for the U.S. job. Among domestic coaches, Nancy and LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo have been most prominently mentioned.

Despite reiterating how happy he is in Columbus, Nancy believes it’s an honor and compliment to even be considered for the high-profile national team role.

“I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for sure, because this is the condition of my work, of my ideas, of the coach that I am, and I want to get better at, the person that I am also,' he says. "Football is like this… obviously I'm happy to have the national team think that I could be interesting to the country, to do something. But at the same time, I step back because I like to take my distance with that knowing that I know that this is the situation.

"The fact that I started early in my career and around 24 years old… I had nothing in terms of money. I was without a job, because I got screwed by an agent. I was supposed to sign in England, but I didn't make it. So I knew both sides of life, of this kind of thing.

“So for me, I am grateful to the situation ... that it could happen, if you do something well (but also) knowing that if I'm not good, I can also be fired. So you know, at the end of the day, I'm really proud of that for sure. And again, we’ll see in the future, but this is, for me, the sign that I'm going towards the right direction about what I want to do as a coach and also who I want to become as a person.”

Nancy likes to speak of embracing moments, even if the moment is speaking with a reporter in a hallway at Lower.Com Field because an interview room is booked. Light peeks in from the large windows, outside noise swirls, yet he never looks away, or has his attention diverted. Smiling, he shares how happy he is, and what this moment - in this game, in his career, in his life - means to him.

"This is amazing," he says of soccer, and the rapid rise in his coaching career. "It's been my life. You know, in terms of today, I'm 47-years-old, in Columbus and I am the coach of the MLS All-Stars. I remember how I started, and I remember how and why I started this job. I'm really proud of that."