Bruce Wilson (soccer)
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Bruce Wilson (born June 20, 1951 in Vancouver, British Columbia) was a NASL and Canadian international soccer 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 finals, the sole time Canada has appeared.
Wilson was a 'stay-at-home' style of defender, scoring just 7 goals in eleven NASL seasons. He played for the Vancouver Whitecaps from 1974 to 1977, the Chicago Sting in 1978 and 1979, the New York Cosmos in 1980, and the Toronto Blizzard from 1981 to 1984. He was a six-time all-star selection, including three first-team selections (Vancouver in '77, Chicago in '79, Toronto in '84).
Wilson earned 51 caps for Canada. In 1998, he was selected to a CONCACAF "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 a Brazil B side.
Wilson became player-coach of the post-NASL Blizzard from 1985 when they were known as the Toronto Inex and to 1987 when as the Blizzard they became one of the founding clubs of the Canadian Soccer League. Wilson has been head coach of the University of Victoria men's soccer team since 1987.
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Canada squad - 1986 World Cup | |
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1 Lettieri | 2 Lenarduzzi | 3 Wilson | 4 Ragan | 5 Moore | 6 Bridge | 7 Valentine | 8 Gray | 9 Segota | 10 Vrablic | 11 Sweeney | 12 Samuel | 13 Pakos | 14 Mitchell | 15 James | 16 Ion | 17 Norman | 18 Lowery | 19 De Luca | 20 Miller | 21 Habermann | 22 Dolan | Coach: Waiters |
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[edit] External links
- The Ontario Soccer Association's Soccer Hall of Fame's induction page
- National Soccer Hall of Fame (in America) with summary of Wilson's NASL career and career statistics
- Profile of Coach Wilson at UVic
Categories: 1951 births | Living people | Canadian men's international soccer players | Canadian soccer coaches | NASL players | People from Vancouver | National Soccer Hall of Fame members | British Columbia sportspeople | Vancouver Whitecaps players | Olympic competitors for Canada | Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics | FIFA World Cup 1986 players
