Erich Geyer (born November 7, 1950) is a German former

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

defender who spent most of his career in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League. Following his retirement from playing, he coached for over twenty years.

Player

Geyer graduated from the Hochschulinstitut fuer Leibesübungen in Erlangen, Germany. He then became a teacher and did not begin playing professional soccer until his early twenties when he signed with TSV Höchstadt. He played for Höchstadt from 1973 to 1975. After one season with 1. FC Bamberg in the

Regionalliga The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...

, he moved to SpVgg Fürth in 1977. In 1980, he moved to the United States and joined the

Hartford Hellions The Hartford Hellions were a soccer team based out of Hartford, Connecticut that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played from 1979 to 1981. The Hellions played their first season in the New Haven Coliseum before moving to the remo ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. A

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

in Germany, Geyer moved to defense in the U.S. After one season, he left the Hellions and signed with the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego S ...

of the

. He played four outdoor and one indoor NASL seasons with the Sockers. During the winter of 1982–83, the team competed in the MISL where it won the league championship. The Sockers then took the 1983–84 NASL indoor title before moving permanently to the MISL in the fall of 1984. However, the Sockers released Geyer during the preseason and he signed as a free agent with the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

in November 1984. On February 21, 1985, the Sting sold Geyer's contract back to the Sockers. The team released him again in June 1985.>

Coach

During the Sockers 1984 outdoor season, Geyer played only two games, spending most of the season as an assistant coach. He was named to succeed

Willy Roy Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scr ...

as Sting head coach on December 23, 1986. Geyer was fired by the Sting on February 22, 1988 and replaced by

Gary Hindley Gary Hindley (born May 8, 1947) is an American soccer coach. He has coached youth soccer, high school, college and professional teams. He won Coach of the Year honors in 1984 in the United Soccer League, 1991 American Professional Soccer League a ...

. In 1989, he became an assistant coach with the

, a position he held until the spring of 1992. In 1992, he became the head coach of the Monterrey La Raza of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

. He was the 1995 CISL Coach of the Year. In 1993, he also became the head coach of the Mexican Futsal team. He left La Raza in 1997, then returned in 1999 as they played in the

World Indoor Soccer League The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States-based indoor soccer league that existed from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its teams decided to create ...

. In August 2002, the Harrisburg Heat announced they had hired Geyer to replace

Richard Chinapoo Richard Chinapoo (born January 18, 1957) was a Trinidad soccer defender who had an extensive career, primarily in the United States. Chinapoo spent two seasons in the North American Soccer League, eight in the National Professional Soccer Leag ...

. In March 2004, he became the head coach of the

Monterrey Fury The Monterrey Fury were a Mexican team playing in a United States based soccer league. The team was awarded a Major Indoor Soccer League expansion franchise for the 2003–2004 season. The most notable thing that happened to the team during ...

of the second Major Indoor Soccer League. When that team collapsed before the 2004–05 season, the Monterrey Tigres replaced it in the standings. Geyer became the head coach of the Tigres, but the league terminated the franchise after only a few games.

Referee

After his retirement in 1985, Geyer became an MISL referee. He served in that capacity until hired as head coach of the Sting in 1986.

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geyer, Erich 1950 births Living people 2. Bundesliga players Chicago Sting (MISL) players Continental Indoor Soccer League coaches German football managers Hartford Hellions players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players San Diego Sockers (original MISL) players San Diego Sockers (NASL) players SpVgg Greuther Fürth players West German footballers West German expatriate footballers World Indoor Soccer League coaches Association football defenders German expatriate sportspeople in Mexico German expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States