{{Short description|German-American soccer player}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Use American English|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox football biography | name= Jean Willrich | image = | fullname = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|4|27}} | birth_place = [[Koblenz]], West Germany | position = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]] | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = | years1 = 1976–1977 | clubs1 = [[PSV Eindhoven]] | caps1 = 3 | goals1 = 0 | years2 = 1977–1978 | clubs2 = [[MVV Maastricht]] | caps2 = | goals2 = | years3 = 1978–1984 | clubs3 = [[San Diego Sockers (1974–96)|San Diego Sockers]] | caps3 = 172 | goals3 = 31 | years4 = 1978 | clubs4 = → [[Holstein Kiel]] (loan) | caps4 = | goals4 = | years5 = 1979–1980 | clubs5 = → [[UNAM Pumas]] (loan) | caps5 = | goals5 = | years6 = 1980–1988 | clubs6 = [[San Diego Sockers (1974–96)|San Diego Sockers]] (indoor) | caps6 = 204 | goals6 = 115 | years7 = 1990–1992 | clubs7 = [[Wichita Wings]] (indoor) | caps7 = 85 | goals7 = 25 | manageryears1 = | managerclubs1 = Rancho Bernado High School }} '''Jean Wilhelm Willrich''' (born April 27, 1953) is a German-American [[association football|soccer]] player who played as a [[forward (association football)|forward]]. He played in his native Germany, then two seasons in the Netherlands, eight in the [[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|North American Soccer League]] and twelve in the [[MISL I|Major Indoor Soccer League]].
==Playing career==
===Europe=== Willrich, born in [[Koblenz]], Germany, to a German mother and a French father, began playing club soccer at [[TuS Koblenz|TuS Neuendorf]] and later joined Andernach before heading to [[Sportfreunde Eisbachtal]]. In 1976, he was signed by Dutch [[Eredivisie|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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schröder|first=Ulfert|date=1984-07-14|title=Für Olympia im Eilverfahren eingebürgert|url=https://www.weser-kurier.de/cms_media/module_ob/4/2359_1_152_WKH_1984-07-14_023.pdf|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Weser Kurier}}{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
===San Diego Sockers=== In 1978, Willrich moved to the United States and signed with the [[San Diego Sockers (1974–96)|San Diego Sockers]] of the [[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|North American Soccer League]] (NASL). The Sockers had played the 1977 NASL season as the [[Las Vegas Quicksilvers]] 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=1978-09-07|title=Kiel leiht sich Deutsche aus US-Soccer-Liga|url=https://www.abendblatt.de/archive/1978/pdf/19780907.pdf/ASV_HAB_19780907_HA_018.pdf|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hamburger Abendblatt}}</ref> In 1979 and 1980, the Sockers negotiated a deal with the [[Mexican Primera Division]] club [[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 [[1979–80 NASL Indoor season|1979–80]], however, San Diego did not participate. The following indoor season [[1980–81 NASL Indoor season|1980–81]], was the Sockers' first. That year they failed to qualify for the playoffs but the next year ([[1981–82 NASL Indoor season|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 [[MISL I|Major Indoor Soccer League]] (MISL) where it again won the [[1982–83 Major Indoor Soccer League season|1982–83 MISL]] championship. The next year ([[1983–84 NASL Indoor season|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<ref>{{YouTube|jYG9-lnDjOo}}</ref> in the three-game sweep of [[New York Cosmos (1971–1985)|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 [[Alketas Panagoulias|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".<ref>{{Cite web|date=1984-06-06|title=Relief of Jean Wilhelm Willrich|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1984-pt11/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1984-pt11-5-1.pdf|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Congressional Record-Senate}}</ref> After having become a U.S. citizen, Willrich was selected for the [[United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics|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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Coaches|url=http://www.scrippsranchsc.com/page/show/340509-competitive-coaches|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Scripps Ranch Soccer Club|language=en-us}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061216145757/http://www.powaysoccer.com/vaqueros.html Willrich photo] * [http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/W/Willrich.Jean.htm NASL/MISL stats]
{{1983–84 NASL Indoor All-Stars}} {{United States squad 1984 Summer Olympics}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willrich, Jean}} [[Category:1953 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American soccer coaches]] [[Category:American men's soccer players]] [[Category:Pumas UNAM footballers]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico]] [[Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States]] [[Category:Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:German men's footballers]] [[Category:Emigrants from West Germany to the United States]] [[Category:Liga MX players]] [[Category:Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players]] [[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players]] [[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players]] [[Category:Olympic soccer players for the United States]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Koblenz]] [[Category:PSV Eindhoven players]] [[Category:MVV Maastricht players]] [[Category:Eredivisie players]] [[Category:San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players]] [[Category:San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players]] [[Category:Wichita Wings (MISL) players]] [[Category:Men's association football forwards]] [[Category:Footballers from Rhineland-Palatinate]] [[Category:West German expatriate sportspeople in Mexico]] [[Category:West German men's footballers]] [[Category:West German expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:West German expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands]] [[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands]] [[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]