Wilfried Nancy ended his first season at the helm of the Columbus Crew in the best possible way as his team won the MLS Cup final against Los Angeles FC 2-1 on Saturday.
In addition to the final result, whoever trained CF Montreal from 2021 to 2022 can be proud of the performance of his foals. They were in control of this game and shot many times towards the cage of former Bleu Blanc Noir goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau.
• Also read: MLS final: Wilfried Nancy believed in Columbus from the start
This is the third time in history that the Crew has been crowned MLS Grand Champions, following 2008 and 2020.
On the field, Columbus scored the first goal in the 33rd minute of the game with a penalty from Cucho. Four minutes later, Yaw Yeboah took advantage of a great through ball from Malte Meineche Amundsen and found himself alone against Crépeau. The Columbus forward passed the goalkeeper before beating him with a shot from the outside of his left foot.
Despite everything, the California team did not give up and got back into the game in the last 25 minutes of the game thanks to a goal from Denis Bouanga. However, the Gabonese was lucky as his first attempt from close range was saved by Patrick Schulte before he tried his luck again with success on the rebound.
The game leveled out somewhat after this goal, but the Nancy players held on despite seven minutes of stoppage time in the second third.
Proud
A few moments after the final whistle, Nancy did not hide her satisfaction, but above all her pride in her players.
“They have grown so much as players, but above all as people,” he said on the pitch after the win. We started and I told them, “An opinion is impossible.” Just enjoy it and you will grow. And that's exactly what happened. It's incredible.”
“I'm so proud. Yes, we won, but as a coach the most important thing is not to win and I told them that today [samedi]. Even as children they wanted to win. The idea is to have a clear vision and a good connection with the people, but especially with the team.”
Also note that Rudy Camacho, another former CF Montreal player, and Montrealer Mohamed Farsi appeared in the team's starting lineup. This is the first time both players have lifted the prized trophy.