Peter Frederick Wilson (born 15 September 1947) is an Australian former soccer player. He was the captain of the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

squad at the

1974 World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. His nickname is ''Big Willie'' and his position was sweeper.

Biography

Often regarded as one of the toughest defenders in the modern era, Wilson was a dominating figure in the

team in the 1970s. Born in

Felling Felling is the process of cutting down trees,"Feller" def. 2. and "Felling", def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009 an element of the task of logging. The person cutting the trees ...

, England in 1947, Wilson migrated to Australia in 1969 to join South Coast United after failing to break into the first team for English club

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. He started his career as full back but injury to another player switched him to sweeper where he had his biggest success. Between 1970–79, he made a then-record 116 appearances for the national team, and captained Australia from 1971, including the 1974 FIFA World Cup finals. When he signed with Sydney club Western Suburbs, Wilson travelled 257 kilometres four times a week for training. He also played with Marconi and

APIA Leichhardt APIA Leichhardt Football Club, also known simply as APIA (Associazione Poli-sportiva Italo Australiana), is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Leichhardt, New South Wales, Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. The club was formed ...

and in later years coached South Coast and APIA. Peter Wilson is now living as a recluse near

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...

in New South Wales. After not speaking publicly for more than two decades, an Australian newspaper tracked him down and reported that he was living in a small town south of Sydney. "There's nothing I want to say," he said. "I've got nothing to add." His last match for Australia was a home friendly against

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, link ...

on 29 June 1979. The match ended a 1–1 draw.

Internationals and achievements

* A-Internationals: 65 (4 November 1970 – 13 June 1979) * 60 games as captain, 3 goals * 116 games for

(incl. Test games 133) * 14 games for New South Wales (6 as captain) * Friendship Cup tournament in Vietnam 1970 * Asia/Oceania Champion 1973 * 1974 FIFA World Cup Australian captain

References

External links

Englisch Peter Wilson – The Southern Cross
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Peter 1947 births Living people Footballers from Gateshead English emigrants to Australia English footballers Australian soccer players Australia international soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England 1974 FIFA World Cup players Middlesbrough F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Balgownie Rangers FC players Marconi Stallions FC players Association football defenders People from Felling Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees