Jean Willrich

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Jean Willrich
Personal information
Date of birth (1953-04-27) April 27, 1953 (age 71)
Place of birth Koblenz, West Germany
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1977 PSV Eindhoven 3 (0)
1977–1978 MVV Maastricht
1978–1984
San Diego Sockers
 172 (31)
1978 → Holstein Kiel (loan)
1979–1980 →
UNAM Pumas
(loan)
1980–1988
San Diego Sockers
(indoor)		 204 (115)
1990–1992 Wichita Wings (indoor) 85 (25)
Managerial career
Rancho Bernado High School
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jean Wilhelm Willrich (born April 27, 1953) is a German-American

Major Indoor Soccer League
.

Playing career

Europe

Willrich, born in

Sportfreunde Eisbachtal. In 1976, he was signed by Dutch First Division club PSV Eindhoven. During the 1976–77 season, he saw action in only four games and was loaned to MVV Maastricht for the 1977–1978 season.[1]

San Diego Sockers

In 1978, Willrich moved to the United States and signed with the

UNAM Pumas
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

New York
. 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 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".[4] After having become a U.S. citizen, Willrich was selected for the U.S. Olympic soccer team which competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics 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.[5]

References

  1. ^ Schröder, Ulfert (July 14, 1984). "Für Olympia im Eilverfahren eingebürgert" (PDF). Weser Kurier. Retrieved March 12, 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Kiel leiht sich Deutsche aus US-Soccer-Liga" (PDF). Hamburger Abendblatt. September 7, 1978. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  3. YouTube
  4. ^ "Relief of Jean Wilhelm Willrich" (PDF). Congressional Record-Senate. June 6, 1984. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  5. ^ "Coaches". Scripps Ranch Soccer Club. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
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