The Columbus Crew<\/a> have named Henrik Rydstr\u00f6m as their new head coach, the club announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Rydstr\u00f6m arrives with a decade of coaching experience, most recently at Malm\u00f6 FF in his native Sweden. With Malm\u00f6, he won two straight league titles (2023 & 2024) and the 2023-24 Swedish Cup.<\/p>\n A former midfielder who played professionally for 24 years, Rydstr\u00f6m also managed\u00a0Kalmar FF and IK Sirius in his country’s top flight.\u00a0<\/p>\n He replaces Wilfried Nancy<\/a>, who joined Scottish Premiership powerhouse Celtic FC earlier this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHenrik has proven his leadership ability throughout an established coaching and playing career, and we collectively share a vision for how we can continue to advance and evolve the club\u2019s dynamic style of play,\u201d said Crew general manager Issa Tall.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the head coaching search, we prioritized candidates\u2019 personalities and care for their club as a whole, in addition to their coaching accolades. Henrik fully embodies these traits as the Crew\u2019s head coach, and we\u2019re eager to begin the 2026 season together with our long-standing goal of consistently contending for championships in Columbus.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Rydstr\u00f6m’s appointment comes amid a transitional period for Columbus, who have officially turned the page on Nancy’s hugely successful tenure.<\/p>\n Under the French manager, the Crew won MLS Cup 2023 and Leagues Cup<\/a> 2024, plus reached the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> final. In 2024, Nancy was named\u00a0Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Additionally, legendary club captain Darlington Nagbe<\/a> retired after the 2025 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are thrilled to welcome Henrik as the head coach of the Columbus Crew. Throughout the interview process, he displayed a keen ability to lead and support everyone at his clubs while producing results, both as a coach and player,\u201d said the Haslam, Johnson and Edwards families, heads of the Crew’s ownership group.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are confident Henrik will be an exceptional representative and leader of our club, aligned with our goals of competing for titles on the pitch, engaging our passionate fan base and elevating our local community.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) December 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Rydstr\u00f6m began his managerial career in 2016 as an assistant with boyhood club Kalmar FF, who elevated him to acting head coach in July 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n He moved to IK Sirius in December 2018 before returning for a second stint with Kalmar in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hired as Malm\u00f6 FF\u2019s head coach in December 2022, Rydstr\u00f6m compiled a 39W-9L-12D record in Allsvenskan (Swedish top flight) competition over two seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Rydstr\u00f6m-coached Malm\u00f6 averaged more than two points per game in 2023 (2.13 per game) and 2024 (2.17 per game). Their 20 league wins during his first season in charge are tied for the third-most in club history.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited to coach the Crew and thank the Haslam, Johnson and Edwards families, Issa, Marc and the entire team for the opportunity to join the club,” Rydstr\u00f6m said. “After every meeting with Crew leadership, the feeling continued to grow that this club is special and something that you want to be part of.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a coach, you love the Crew\u2019s playing style and how the players enjoy it, the focus on hard work and the club\u2019s passionate supporters. Our goal is to continue to build upon the team\u2019s impressive success and attacking style while combining the desire to win with challenging ourselves every day to improve and to create joy for the team and supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n Rydstr\u00f6m will be joined by assistant coach Theodor Olsson and first team analyst Mak Pakhei. Crew goalkeeper coach Phil Boerger and head of video & data analysis Marc O\u2019Neill will continue in their roles with the club.<\/p>\n Columbus begin the Rydstr\u00f6m era on Feb. 21 when visiting the Portland Timbers<\/a> for their 2026 MLS season opener (10:30 pm ET | Apple TV<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nNew era<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Battle-tested<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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