Jean Willrich
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| Jean Willrich | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jean Willrich | |
| Date of birth | April 27, 1953 | |
| Place of birth | Koblenz, Germany | |
| Playing position | Forward | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1976-1977 1977-1978 1978-1984 1979-1980 1980-1988 1990-1992 |
Dui? PSV Eindhoven San Diego Sockers (outdoor) → UNAM Pumas (loan) San Diego Sockers (indoor) Wichita Wings (indoor) |
191 (31) |
| Teams managed | ||
| Rancho Bernado High School | ||
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Jean Willrich (born April 27, 1953 in Koblenz, Germany) is a retired U.S.-German soccer forward. He played two seasson in the Netherlands, eight in the North American Soccer League and twelve in Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).
Contents |
[edit] Europe
Willrich, a native of Koblenz, Germany, began playing club soccer at seven and signed a professional contract with Dui (see discussion page) when he was 17. He was with Dutch First Division club PSV Eindhoven during the 1977-1978 season. That season Eindhoven won the UEFA Cup, but Willrich was not a first team player.
[edit] San Diego Sockers
In 1978, Willrich moved to the United States and signed with the San Diego Sockers of the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Sockers had played the 1977 NASL season as the Las Vegas Quicksilver before moving to San Diego and changing its name to the Sockers. In 1979 and 1980, the Sockers negotiated a deal with the Mexican First Division club UNAM Pumas to exchange players during the offseason. The Mexican league played in the fall, winter and early spring while the NASL played in the spring and summer. As part of this exchange, Willrich spent time with UNAM in 1979 and 1980.
During its years playing outdoor soccer in the NASL, the Sockers were a decent, but not dominant team. However, the NASL introduced an indoor soccer season in 1980. That year the Sockers failed to qualify for the playoffs but the next year, they swept to the championship. The NASL decided against an indoor season in 1982-1983 so, at the completion of the NASL outdoor season in 1982, the Sockers jumped to Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) where it again won the championship. The next year, the NASL ran its last indoor season and the Sockers took that title. At the end of the 1984 outdoor season, the NASL collapsed and the Sockers moved permanently to MISL.
Willrich remained with the Sockers through all this, growing into a powerful and reliable forward. In his first season with the team, he scored nine goals in thirty games. While that was a decent number, he blossomed when playing indoors. During the Sockers run to the 1980-1981 NASL indoor title, Willrich was second in team scoring with sixteen goals. Willrich continued to enjoy a scoring touch and the Sockers titles through at least the 1987-1988 season.
[edit] Wichita Wings
He also played with the Wichita Wings from 1990 to 1992.
[edit] U.S. Olympic team
While with the Sockers, Willrich gained his U.S. citizenship. In 1984, he was selected for the U.S. Olympic soccer team which competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In the first game, against Costa Rica, Willrich both scored and assisted on a goal in the U.S. victory. Despite this achievement, he was never called up to the full U.S. national team.
[edit] Coaching
After retiring from playing professionally, Willrich coached the Rancho Bernado High School soccer team. He continues to coach youth soccer.
The San Diego Sockers inducted Willrich into its Hall of Fame.
