Celtic's Tactical Evolution Under Wilfried Nancy
Striking a balance between short-term results and long-term development is a significant challenge for any football club.
Following Martin O'Neill's tenure at Celtic, the Scottish champions appointed Wilfried Nancy, the 2024 MLS Coach of the Year, recognized for his dynamic and attacking style of play.
Despite losing his first four matches, Nancy secured a much-needed 3-1 victory over Aberdeen on Sunday.
This article delves into Nancy's unique tactical approach, the impressive qualities of his Columbus Crew team, and his vision for Celtic.
What are Nancy's Tactics?
In his initial period at Celtic, Nancy has introduced the high-possession 3-4-2-1 system he employed at Columbus Crew.
When in possession, Celtic adopts a 3-2 shape, featuring three central defenders and two closely positioned central midfielders.
Both wing-backs maintain high and wide positions, while the two attacking midfielders are centrally located near the striker, creating a box formation in the midfield.
At Columbus Crew, Nancy strategically utilized players with positional versatility.
Central defenders Steven Moreira, Sean Zawadzki, and Malte Amundsen were adept at playing both full-back and midfield roles, which contributed to the team's fluidity.
While some of Nancy's early team selections at Celtic have raised eyebrows, it is essential to recognize that he will need time to familiarize himself with his squad.
Despite concerns about employing only one natural central defender, this tactic may be a persistent feature of his strategy.
How Does Nancy Use Attacking Centre-Backs?
Examining Nancy's methodology at Columbus Crew reveals his principles for build-up play.
Notably, his right centre-back, Moreira, often moves unmarked into midfield positions.
Such unconventional movements, which demand versatility from players, are expected to become a hallmark of Celtic's play as the team adapts to Nancy's style.
Nancy embraces asymmetrical play; in one instance, eight players were closely grouped, with six positioned on the left side.
This compact formation facilitates easier passing and presents a unique challenge for opposing defenses.
By building up with a significant number of players deeper in the field, Nancy aims to draw opponents forward, allowing his team to accelerate play and advance into dangerous areas.
This shift in pace, combined with intelligent movements, encourages players to exploit spaces created by their teammates.
Defensive markers typically follow attacking players out of position, leading to runs from deep by Nancy's wing-backs, central midfielders, and central defenders into the final third.
These tactics explain why Celtic's Kieran Tierney has been able to create chances and score goals—two in three league matches—from his left centre-back position.
Promising Signs in Attack
Analyzing Nancy's attacking strategies offers hope to Celtic supporters, despite limited successful examples early in his tenure in Glasgow.
Celtic has shown improvement in their last two matches, generating numerous clear goal-scoring opportunities in their defeat against Dundee United and their victory against Aberdeen.
In the match against Aberdeen, Celtic controlled 71% of possession, registered 31 shots, achieved an expected goals tally of 4.53, and struck the post four times.
Even against a team reduced to ten players, these statistics are remarkable, and it is fair to attribute the limited goal count to a combination of bad luck, finishing quality, and excellent goalkeeping.
Encouragingly, Celtic's attacking performance appears to be gradually improving under Nancy.
However, fans must exercise patience, as developing the necessary relationships for these tactics to flourish will require time.
Nancy promotes player freedom to express themselves, a philosophy that may yield long-term benefits but takes time to materialize in the short term.
During his tenure at Columbus Crew, he remarked, "For me, there is no creativity in structure. Within [our] concepts, players can move freely."
... But Defensive Weaknesses
Nancy emphasizes creating goal-scoring opportunities with precision.
Rather than relying heavily on crosses, he prefers players to penetrate the box for passes or cut-backs.
This approach took time to establish at Celtic, as it was not a prominent feature in his first three league matches.
However, against Aberdeen, his players actively sought those extra passes to find teammates in the box.
When such connections are absent, crosses have resulted in turnovers, leaving Celtic vulnerable to counter-attacks due to fewer players behind the ball.
Upon losing possession, Nancy instructs his team to counter-press immediately. They have attempted to do so with intensity, but a lack of coordinated effort can create gaps, allowing opponents to exploit their backline.
Another area of concern has been their struggles in defending set-pieces.
An improved defensive structure may take time to implement, but Celtic's squad seems to lack the physical attributes necessary to dominate in their own box, both on the ground and in the air.
This could be attributed to the selection of more technical full-backs over traditional centre-backs.
Nancy believes their difficulties after an initial clearance at set-pieces stem from a lack of intensity, which may hold some truth, but the chosen players will also influence the intensity of the team's defense.
Celtic Must Trust the Process
Celtic's executives opted to hire Nancy, fully aware of his tactical philosophy: a three-at-the-back system designed to lure opponents into pressing before exploiting the spaces that emerge.
His teams are comprised of players encouraged to rotate frequently, express their creativity, and engage in one-twos while also looking to attack diagonally.
This distinctive approach has proven successful in the past for Nancy, and there have been encouraging signs in Celtic's recent performances, even if one of those was a loss.
Celtic must provide him with the time and resources to translate the successful strategies from Columbus Crew into the Scottish league.
However, expectations at Celtic are high, and such a significant overhaul requires incremental victories to maintain the support of both fans and players.
With this in mind, the victory over Aberdeen—albeit with two late goals against a team with ten players—was a crucial step in the right direction.