Alan Willey (born 18 October 1956) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who spent most of his playing career in the United States. He was inducted into the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

in 2003. Born in

Houghton-le-Spring Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the Sunderland district, in Tyne and Wear, England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It lies betw ...

, Willey is the second-leading goal scorer in the history of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

(NASL). Willey played most of his career with the

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks was a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (1968–84), No ...

and was inducted into the U.S.

in 2003. He began his career with the English football club

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

in 1974. In the NASL, he played for the Minnesota Kicks (1976 to 1981), the

Montreal Manic The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League. History "Le Manic" as they were called by the locals, were Montreal's first professi ...

(1981 to 1983) and the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/ St. Paul metrop ...

(1984). He finished his NASL career with 129 goals in 238 games and an additional 13 goals in 26 play-off games. He memorably scored five goals in a play-off game against 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 Indepen ...

in 1978. His nickname was 'The Artful Dodger.'

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willey, Alan 1956 births Living people English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Middlesbrough F.C. players Minnesota Kicks players Minnesota Strikers (NASL) players Montreal Manic players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players National Soccer Hall of Fame members San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Men's association football forwards Minnesota Strikers (MISL) players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Footballers from Houghton-le-Spring English Football League players