Bruce Alec Wilson (born June 20, 1951) is a former NASL and Canadian international

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 ...

player. He played the second most games of any player in the former league, 299 (276 regular season and 23 playoff). He also captained the Canadian team at the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

finals. In 2012 as part of the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ...

's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.

Playing career

After starting his career as an attacking player, he switched to outside fullback where his career flourished in the NASL. He played for the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

from 1974 to 1977, 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 ...

in 1978 and 1979, the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

in 1980, and the

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

from 1981 to 1984. He was a six-time all-star selection, including three first-team selections (Vancouver in 1977, Chicago in 1979, Toronto in 1984). Wilson made 57 international "A" appearances for Canada, a record he held at retirement until it was surpassed by Mike Sweeney. In 1998, he was selected to a

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; types ...

"team of the century", the only Canadian to receive the honour. Wilson also represented Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics at a time when lower-ranked countries were allowed to field professional players. The Canadian team reached the quarter-final stage, losing to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Wilson became player-coach of the post-NASL Blizzard in 1985 when they were known as Toronto Inex. The Wilson-led Inex played one season of friendlies against touring sides including Linfield and Everton before shutting down. Wilson became head coach of the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

men's soccer team in 1987, retiring at the end of the 2022 season. He also coached the Victoria Vistas in the Canadian Soccer League. In 2000 Wilson was inducted into the

Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

. In 2003, he was also elected to the

U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...

Coaching career

Wilson has been head coach of the University of Victoria Vikes for over three decades.

References

External links

University of Victoria
* /

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer H ...

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Bruce 1951 births Living people Soccer players from Vancouver Canada men's national soccer team managers Canada men's international soccer players Canadian soccer coaches Canadian soccer players Canadian expatriate soccer players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players New York Cosmos players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players Olympic soccer players of Canada Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics 1986 FIFA World Cup players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Vancouver Columbus players CONCACAF Championship-winning players Association football defenders