Wilfried Nancy has been gone from the Columbus Crew for nearly two months, yet his presence is still felt as the club prepares for its 2026 season. 

Henrick Rydström, Nancy’s replacement, finally arrived on Jan. 20, joining his new team in Florida several days into preseason. This came 20 days after Rydström was announced as the Black & Gold’s new head coach, but the Swede was delayed while awaiting his visa.

Yet Rydström did not waste the time before he could arrive in the United States and begin coaching his team. He took a deep dive into the Columbus team, further familiarizing himself with the roster’s strengths and weaknesses.

Fortunately, Rydström wasn’t starting from scratch. 

“I knew quite a lot about the team before because I’m not a social media guy, but I like to read about other teams, other leagues, and watch teams,” Rydström said last week from the team’s first phase of preseason in Clearwater, Florida. “And Columbus, I mean, maybe two years ago, there was a lot of buzz about the team. So I watched them.”

In Nancy’s first year in 2023, the Crew won MLS Cup, defeating defending champion LAFC in the final. The following season, the Black & Gold reached the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, losing away to CF Pachuca while dealing with food poisoning, won the Leagues Cup over LAFC and made the MLS Cup playoffs. Columbus was not as successful last year after losing star player Cucho Hernandez to a transfer just before the season began and dealing with injuries, but still made the postseason for a third straight year.

Coming from CF Montreal, Nancy brought his 3-4-3 system, which asks all 11 players to be even more on the ball than on typical possession-based teams. While risky, the system found success through versatility, with Nancy identifying traits and positions for players such as Steven Moreira, Sean Zawadzki and Max Arfsten that they didn’t even know they possessed.

This style of play not only brought together the most successful three-year run in the Crew’s history but also caught the attention of coaches such as Rydström.

“I think the success that the club had in 2023 and 2024, that indicates something,” he said. “And then the thing is, in which direction must we go now? When I had interviews with (technical director) Mark (Nicholls) and (general manager) Issa (Tall), they of course told me the way they think in which direction the club should go. But at the end of the day, it’s my decision. But I could listen to the players, what did they feel like the last season, maybe? Can we install that now? And what I have tried to do is to now, like today, we had the first training, then we directly can go into those kind of things.”

While Rydström will look to build on the foundation Nancy left behind, the Black & Gold will not look the same as it did under the previous head coach. Rydström has his own philosophies about how he wants to play. While there are similarities to Nancy’s system – some of which have been adopted by watching Columbus and other teams like it – Rydström has identified areas where the Crew can improve.

When asked about those areas, Rydström first pointed to “directness.” However, this does not mean fans should expect the Black & Gold to sit back and defend or to play in transition. Direct, in Rydström’s mind, means more than that.

“I think the way Columbus played under Wilfred Nancy, I think it’s amazing football and the work he did and his staff,” he said. “So, I owe a lot of things to him and his staff because it’s a well-drilled team. They know how to keep the ball, they know how to frustrate the opponent when they attack…  But if I say like directness, it can sound like we’re going to be a counter-attack team, or we try to just put the ball in behind. That’s not the style. But to take the opportunity when you can go forward to threaten a little bit more.”

Like Nancy, Rydström wants his team to dominate possession. In his two seasons, Malmö won the Allsvenskan title in Sweden and led the league in possession, with at least 62 percent, well above the second-best team. However, he defies the convention of creating space and prefers his players to operate closer together.

He also doesn’t just want possession for possession’s sake.

“I’m a coach that loves when my team dominates with the ball,” Rydström said. “But you can also get a little bit – you play too many sideways passes, you play backwards, you wait a little bit too much. And it’s a thin line because that’s also what gives you success. But to find the moments where you go and go against the opponent, where you drive with the ball, I love passes, but to mix it up a little bit more. You run with the ball and how can you stress the opponent a little bit more in their penalty box?”

Off the ball, Rydström wants the Crew to operate more like the team did in 2023 than in 2025. While counter-pressing was important to Nancy’s success with the Black & Gold, it became less central to the team’s identity last season, largely due to injuries and personnel.

“I think you enjoy yourself the most when you have the ball, but you try to find ways to attack the penalty box,” Rydström said. “And when you lose it, you counter-press. So what I think you will see is that we maybe will be a little bit closer to each other when we attack. A lot of teams are outspread. I like when we are close to each other because then you can start to use each other also with being creative when you have the ball.”

Rydström also mentioned set pieces as an area where Columbus could improve. Aside from direct free kicks, set pieces were not a way the Crew scored goals under Nancy. Rydström would like to see the Black & Gold take greater advantage of those opportunities.

Like all good managers, Rydström’s system is adaptable. While he said the current roster, which is largely the same as the one Nancy left, “100 percent” fits how he wants to play, he will evolve based on his players and what works best to entertain and succeed.

This process – and it will be a process – is underway. Rydström has been with the club for a week. After time in Clearwater, the Crew is back in Columbus until Feb. 1, when they will return to Florida, this time to Palm Beach. The Black & Gold will enjoy the warm weather before returning home for a week of preparation ahead of the MLS season opener against the Portland Timbers on Feb. 21.

It may not come easily at first, but Columbus has the right foundation, going from Nancy to Rydström.