Jean Willrich
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Jean Wilhelm Willrich (born April 27, 1953) is a German-American
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 who played as 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 ...
. He played in his native Germany, then two seasons in the Netherlands, eight 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 twelve in the Major Indoor Soccer League.


Playing career


Europe

Willrich, born in
Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...
, Germany, to a German mother and a French father, began playing club soccer at
TuS Neuendorf TuS Koblenz is a German association football club, located in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Fussball Club Deutschland Neuendorf, which was formed in 1911, is viewed as the foundation of the modern club. History Nazi era (1933–1945) The or ...
and later joined Andernach before heading to
Sportfreunde Eisbachtal Eisbachtaler Sportfreunde is a German association football club based in Nentershausen, Rhineland-Palatinate. __TOC__ History Eisbachtaler Sportfreunde were formed in 1966 as a merger of local teams SC Großholbach, TuS Girod-Kleinholbach, ...
. In 1976, he was signed by Dutch First Division club
PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...
. During the 1976–77 season, he saw action in only four games and was loaned to
MVV Maastricht Maatschappelijke Voetbal Vereniging Maastricht (), commonly known as MVV Maastricht (, ) or simply as MVV, is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Maastricht. Founded on 2 April 1902, MVV Maastricht currently compete in the Eerst ...
for the 1977–1978 season.


San Diego Sockers

In 1978, Willrich moved to the United States and signed with the
San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...
of 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 ...
(NASL). The Sockers had played the 1977 NASL season as the
Las Vegas Quicksilvers The Las Vegas Quicksilvers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1977 season. The team was based in Las Vegas, Nevada and played their home games at Las Vegas Stadium. After the 19 ...
before moving to San Diego and changing its name to the Sockers. In September 1978, he was loaned by German 2. Bundesliga side
Holstein Kiel Kieler Sportvereinigung Holstein von 1900 e.V., simply as KSV Holstein or Kieler SV Holstein, commonly known as Holstein Kiel (), is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. From the 1900s thro ...
. In 1979 and 1980, the Sockers negotiated a deal with the Mexican Primera Division club
UNAM Pumas Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Found ...
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. The NASL introduced an indoor soccer season in 1979–80, however, San Diego did not participate. The following indoor season 1980–81, was the Sockers' first. That year they failed to qualify for the playoffs but the next year ( 1981–82, 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 1982–83 MISL championship. The next year ( 1983–84), the NASL ran its last indoor season and the Sockers took that title as well. Willrich was named MVP of the 1984 Indoor Championship Series having scored 7 goals in the three-game sweep of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. 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. He continued to enjoy a scoring touch as he helped the Sockers to 6 consecutive indoor titles through the 1987–88 season. The San Diego Sockers inducted Willrich into their Hall of Fame.


Wichita Wings

Willrich played with the
Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.
from 1990 to 1992.


U.S. Olympic team

Willrich married a U.S. citizen in February 1981 and was granted permanent residence in the United States in August 1981. Willrich gained his U.S. citizenship shortly before the 1984 Olympic Games, he benefited from an expedited processing of his naturalization application. U.S. Olympic Soccer Team head coach Alkis Panagoulias had supported Willrich’s naturalization process, stating in a letter that if Willrich could play for the U.S. Olympic Team that could "dramatically change the chances of the United States winning a medal in the Los Angeles games of 1984". After having become a U.S. citizen, Willrich was selected for the U.S. Olympic soccer team which competed at the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
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.


Coaching career

After retiring from playing professionally, Willrich started coaching in 1989. He coached the Rancho Bernardo High School soccer team and organized youth soccer camps and clinics in the San Diego area for many years. From 1997 to 2000, he was a coach with the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development Program (ODP). He also coached at Scripps Ranch Soccer Club.


References


External links


Willrich photo


{{DEFAULTSORT:Willrich, Jean 1953 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Club Universidad Nacional footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics German men's footballers Emigrants from West Germany to the United States Liga MX players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Olympic soccer players for the United States Sportspeople from Koblenz PSV Eindhoven players Eredivisie players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Rhineland-Palatinate West German expatriate sportspeople in Mexico West German men's footballers West German expatriate men's footballers Expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Naturalized citizens of the United States Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands