The Columbus Crew have named Henrik Rydström as their new head coach, the club announced Wednesday.
Rydström arrives with a decade of coaching experience, most recently at Malmö FF in his native Sweden. With Malmö, he won two straight league titles (2023 & 2024) and the 2023-24 Swedish Cup.
A former midfielder who played professionally for 24 years, Rydström also managed Kalmar FF and IK Sirius in his country’s top flight.
He replaces Wilfried Nancy, who joined Scottish Premiership powerhouse Celtic FC earlier this month.
“Henrik 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’s dynamic style of play,” said Crew general manager Issa Tall.
“During the head coaching search, we prioritized candidates’ personalities and care for their club as a whole, in addition to their coaching accolades. Henrik fully embodies these traits as the Crew’s head coach, and we’re eager to begin the 2026 season together with our long-standing goal of consistently contending for championships in Columbus.”
New era
Rydström’s appointment comes amid a transitional period for Columbus, who have officially turned the page on Nancy’s hugely successful tenure.
Under the French manager, the Crew won MLS Cup 2023 and Leagues Cup 2024, plus reached the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup final. In 2024, Nancy was named Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year.
Additionally, legendary club captain Darlington Nagbe retired after the 2025 season.
“We 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,” said the Haslam, Johnson and Edwards families, heads of the Crew’s ownership group.
“We 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.”
Battle-tested
Rydström began his managerial career in 2016 as an assistant with boyhood club Kalmar FF, who elevated him to acting head coach in July 2018.
He moved to IK Sirius in December 2018 before returning for a second stint with Kalmar in 2021.
Hired as Malmö FF’s head coach in December 2022, Rydström compiled a 39W-9L-12D record in Allsvenskan (Swedish top flight) competition over two seasons.
The Rydström-coached Malmö 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.
“I’m 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,” Rydström 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.
“As a coach, you love the Crew’s playing style and how the players enjoy it, the focus on hard work and the club’s passionate supporters. Our goal is to continue to build upon the team’s 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.”
Rydström 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’Neill will continue in their roles with the club.
Columbus begin the Rydström era on Feb. 21 when visiting the Portland Timbers for their 2026 MLS season opener (10:30 pm ET | Apple TV).
