View source for Willy Roy

{{short description|American soccer player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Willy Roy
| fullname = Willy Roy
| image = Willy Roy, MISL 1984-85 media guide page 015.tif
| caption = Roy circa 1984
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1943|2|8}}
| birth_place = [[Olecko|Treuberg]], [[Nazi Germany|Germany]]
| height = {{height|ft=6|in=0}}
| currentclub = 
| clubnumber = 
| position = [[Striker (association football)|Forward]]
| youthyears1 = 
| youthclubs1 = 
| years1 = 1964–1966
| years2 = 1967–1968
| years3 = 1968
| years4 = 1971–1974
| years5 = 1975
| years6 = 1975
| clubs1 = Hansa
| clubs2 = [[Chicago Spurs]]
| clubs3 = [[Kansas City Spurs]]
| clubs4 = [[St. Louis Stars (soccer)|Saint Louis Stars]]
| clubs5 = [[Ukrainian Lions]]
| clubs6 = [[Chicago Sting]]
| caps1 = 
| caps2 = 27
| caps3 = 15
| caps4 = 43
| caps6 = 14
| goals1 = 
| goals2 = 17
| goals3 = 6
| goals4 = 18
| goals6 = 0
| nationalyears1 = 1965–1973
| nationalteam1 = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]]
| nationalcaps1 = 20
| nationalgoals1 = 9
| manageryears1 = 1977–1986
| manageryears2 = 1987–2002
| managerclubs1 = [[Chicago Sting]]
| managerclubs2 = [[Northern Illinois Huskies men's soccer|Northern Illinois Huskies]]
| pcupdate = May 31, 2006
| ntupdate = June 22, 2006
}}
'''Willy Roy''' (born February 8, 1943) is a retired American soccer [[Striker (association football)|forward]] and coach. He played for several teams in the [[National Professional Soccer League (1967)|National Professional Soccer League]] and the [[North American Soccer League (1968–1984)|North American Soccer League]] in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States national team]] from 1965 to 1973. He is a member of the [[National Soccer Hall of Fame]].

==Early years==
When Roy was six, his family moved to the United States from Germany, settling in Chicago. After attending [[Reavis High School]] and winning the 1961 IHSA Wrestling Team State Championship and individual 145 lb State Championship in what is now [[Burbank, Illinois]], he began playing semi-pro soccer in the Chicago area. In 1964, he joined Hansa of the [[National Soccer League of Chicago]]. In 1966, Hansa won the [[Peel Cup|Peter J. Peel Challenge Cup]] as the Illinois State Champion. The year prior, the team lost to the New York Ukrainians in the [[Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|National Challenge Cup]].

==Professional career==
The year 1966 saw a series of events that had a major impact on Roy's future career. Three separate groups decided to form a professional league in the U.S. Through various negotiations, two of the groups merged to form the [[National Professional Soccer League (1967)|National Professional Soccer League]] (NPSL). While the [[United States Soccer Federation|USSF]] and [[FIFA]] refused to recognize the NPSL, it gained a television contract with [[CBS]], thereby guaranteeing some element of financial stability.

Up to this point, Roy played almost exclusively with local Chicago minor league teams and the U.S. national team.

Once again, external soccer events impacted Roy's career. The NPSL merged with the [[United Soccer Association]] in December 1967 to form the [[North American Soccer League (1968–1984)|North American Soccer League]]. That year, the Spurs also moved to Kansas City. Roy moved with the team and spent one season there. Roy experienced a sophomore slump in [[1968 North American Soccer League season|1968]], playing 15 games, scoring 6 goals and assisting on 4 others. However, the team played well, losing to the [[Atlanta Chiefs]] in the playoff semifinals.

Roy moved on to the [[St. Louis Stars (soccer)|Saint Louis Stars]] (NASL) in 1971. In his three seasons with the Stars, he scored 18 goals and assisted on 16 others. In 1972, the team made it to the [[NASL Final 1972|NASL final]], losing to the [[New York Cosmos (1971–1985)|New York Cosmos]] 2–1.

After retiring from the national team, Roy continued to play professionally for a few more years. In 1975, he moved to his last team, the expansion [[Chicago Sting]]. He would play a single season with the Sting, statistically the worst of his career. He scored no goals and made 3 assists in 14 games. He retired from playing at the end of the season.

==U.S. national team==
In 1965, Roy made his debut with the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States national team]] in a [[1966 FIFA World Cup qualification]] match against [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] in Mexico City, a 2-0 loss. He earned his second [[cap (sport)|cap]] nine days later in a tie with [[Honduras national football team|Honduras]] which ended the U.S. attempt to qualify for the [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966 World Cup]].

Roy enjoyed relative success with the national team in 1968. He played eight games, scoring six goals. In those eight games, the national team went 4–3–1. More significantly, four of those games were qualifying matches for the [[1970 FIFA World Cup]]. In those three games, the U.S. went 3–1 with Roy scoring 3 goals. The next year, he played only a single game with the national team, a 2–0 loss to [[Haiti national football team|Haiti]]. That game, combined with a second loss to Haiti a month later spelled the end to yet another U.S. attempt to qualify for a World Cup. Roy would not play for the national team again until it began playing qualification games for the [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974 World Cup]].

In 1972, Roy played four games with the national team, all [[1974 FIFA World Cup qualification|1974 World Cup qualifying]] matches. The U.S. went 0–3–1, failing to reach yet another World Cup. Despite the team's dismal showing, Roy scored in three consecutive games, giving him a record six goals in World Cup qualifying matches. The next player to score in three consecutive matches did not come until [[Cobi Jones]] did it in 2000.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/2000/02/16/closer_look_wednesday/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714172315/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/2000/02/16/closer_look_wednesday/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |title=CNNSI.com – Soccer – Closer Look: Wingers pick right time to connect – Thursday February 17, 2000 02:27 AM |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=February 17, 2000}}</ref>
Roy's record of six goals in world cup qualifying matches lasted until [[Earnie Stewart]] scored his seventh qualifying goal in 2001.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/countdown/news/2001/06/20/us_trinidad_ap/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010913224757/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/countdown/news/2001/06/20/us_trinidad_ap/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 13, 2001 |title=CNNSI.com – 2002 World Cup Countdown – U.S tops Trinidad 2–0 in Cup qualifier – Thursday June 28, 2001 05:10 PM |magazine=Sports Illustrated }}</ref>

Roy played five more games with the national team, all in 1973. That year, he scored once, ending his national team career with 20 games and 10 goals, one of the best scoring rates by any national team member over a sustained career.

===International goals===
{| class="wikitable collapsible expanded"
|-
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1 || September 15, 1968 || [[New York, New York]] || {{fb|ISR}} || '''1'''–2 || 3–3 || Friendly
|-
| 2 || October 13, 1968 || [[Toronto]], [[Canada]] || {{fb|CAN}} || '''1'''–0 || 2–4 || [[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification#North.2C Central America and Caribbean .28CONCACAF.29|1970 World Cup Qualifying]]
|-
| 3 || October 20, 1968 || [[Port-au-Prince, Haiti]] || {{fb|HAI|1964}} || ? || 6–3 || Friendly
|-
| 4 || November 2, 1968 || [[Kansas City, Missouri]] || {{fb|BER}} || '''4'''–2 || 6–2 || [[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification#North.2C Central America and Caribbean .28CONCACAF.29|1970 World Cup Qualifying]]
|-
| 5 || November 10, 1968 || [[Hamilton, Bermuda]] || {{fb|BER}} || '''2'''–0 || 2–0 || [[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification#North.2C Central America and Caribbean .28CONCACAF.29|1970 World Cup Qualifying]]
|-
| 6 || August 20, 1972 || [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's, Canada]] || {{fb|CAN}} || '''1'''–3 || 2–3 || [[1973 CONCACAF Championship qualification|1974 World Cup Qualifying]]
|-
| 7 || August 29, 1972 || [[Baltimore, Maryland]] || {{fb|CAN}} || '''1'''–1 || 2–2 || [[1973 CONCACAF Championship qualification|1974 World Cup Qualifying]]
|-
| 8 || September 3, 1972 || [[Mexico City, Mexico]] || {{fb|MEX}} || '''1'''–3 || 1–3 || [[1973 CONCACAF Championship qualification|1974 World Cup Qualifying]]
|-
| 9 || November 13, 1973 || [[Tel-Aviv, Israel]] || {{fb|ISR}} || '''1'''–1 || 1–3 || Friendly
|}

==Coaching career==
In 1976, upon retiring from playing, Roy became an assistant coach for [[Chicago Sting]]. He spent two seasons in this position, before moving up to head coach in 1979. In 1981, Roy coached the Sting to a 23–9 record and a victory in the [[Soccer Bowl '81|Soccer Bowl]] (the NASL championship game) and earned himself [[1981 North American Soccer League season#Post season awards|NASL Coach of the Year]] honors. The summer of 1984 saw Roy coach the Sting to its [[Soccer Bowl '84|second NASL outdoor title]]. This would also be the last NASL championship as the league folded the following Spring.

The [[Major Soccer League|Major Indoor Soccer League]] had commenced operations in 1978, and it proved its success in its first two years of operation as it gained teams and the NASL lost teams to financial failure. The NASL attempted to piggyback on the MISL success, by playing an indoor season beginning in the winter of [[1979–80 NASL Indoor season|1979–1980]], following its 1979 outdoor season. Roy's Sting did not do well in that first season indoors, but things improved drastically during the [[1980–81 NASL Indoor season#Regular Season|1980–1981 indoor season]]. He guided them to a division title, the league's best regular-season record, and into the finals, where they lost to the [[Edmonton Drillers (1979–82)|Edmonton Drillers]], two games to none. The following season ([[1981–82 NASL Indoor season|1981–82]]) saw another division title, but this time they made an early exit from the playoffs. The NASL did not hold a full indoor season in 1982–83, so the Sting played that winter in the [[1982–83 Major Indoor Soccer League season|MISL]] where it finished third in the Eastern Division. Roy got the Sting on track during the [[1983–84 NASL Indoor season|1983–84]] indoor season, back again in the NASL. They finished second in the standings and lost to the [[New York Cosmos (1971–1985)]] in the playoff semifinals. With the demise of the NASL, the Sting became a full-time member of the MISL.

Roy coached the Sting for two more seasons. The team lost to the Cleveland Force in the 1985 quarterfinals but missed the playoffs in 1986, finishing with a 23–25 record. A 2–8 start the following campaign led to Roy being replaced by [[Erich Geyer]] on December 23, 1986.<ref>{{cite web|author= John Leptich|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/12/24/era-ends-in-style-for-sting/ |title=Era Ends in Style For Sting|work=Chicago Tribune |date=December 24, 1986}}</ref>

During his time with the Sting, Roy did more than win two championships. He had an impact that went beyond the team when he coached the former [[Netherlands national football team|Dutch National Team]] Head Coach [[Dick Advocaat]] and [[United States women's national soccer team]] [[Greg Ryan]]. Ryan later credited Roy with being a strong influence on his development as a player and coach. Ryan said, "The thing that defined Willy was, he was one of the most intense competitors as a player and that carried over to his coaching. He was so intense and so determined that he brought that quality out in his players. If he mentioned people who went on to bigger and better things, it was because they learned to work so hard and give so much."

Roy was named the men's soccer head coach at [[Northern Illinois University]] on August 12, 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/08/13/roy-back-coaching-at-niu/ |author=Leptich, John|title=Roy Back Coaching – at NIU|work=Chicago Tribune |date=August 13, 1987}}</ref> In 1990, the Huskies had the [[The Summit League|Mid-Continent Conference]]'s best record and Roy was selected as the Mid-Con's Coach of the Year.

The school announced on February 18, 2003, that it was not renewing Roy's contract after the Huskies had three consecutive losing seasons. He finished with a 142–131–22 coaching record and two conference championships.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/02/19/northern-illinois-coach-roy-fired/ |title=Northern Illinois coach Roy fired|work=Chicago Tribune |date=February 19, 2003}}</ref> During his time with the team, it was known for the high academic standards Roy set for his players. Although his last season with the team saw a dismal 4–13–1, the Huskies ranked in the Division-I Academic top 20.

==Later years==
In 1989, Roy was elected to the [[National Soccer Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Willy Roy – 1989 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |url=http://www.nationalsoccerhof.com/players/willy-roy.html |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Willy Roy – 1989 Inductee {{!}} National Soccer Hall of Fame |language=en}}</ref>

He currently owns and helps his family run the Willy Roy Soccer Dome, an indoor soccer arena in Chicago,  Now in his eighties, he continues to support the many players and leagues at the Soccer Dome.

In 1979, he wrote the book ''Coaching Winning Soccer''.

==Honors==

===Player===
*NASL Champion: [[NASL Final 1972|1972]] (runner-up)
*Division Title: [[1968 North American Soccer League season#Western Conference|1968]], [[1972 North American Soccer League season#Regular season|1972]]

===Manager===
*NASL Champion: [[Soccer Bowl '81|1981]], [[Soccer Bowl '84|1984]]
*NASL premiership: [[1984 North American Soccer League season|1984]]
*Division Title: [[1980 North American Soccer League season#American Conference|1980]], [[1981 North American Soccer League season#Regular season|1981]], [[1984 North American Soccer League season#Regular season|1984]]
*NASL Champion indoor: [[1980–81 NASL Indoor season|1980–81]] (runner-up)
*NASL premiership indoor: [[1980–81 NASL Indoor season|1980–81]]
*Indoor Division Title: [[1980–81 NASL Indoor season#Regular Season|1980–81]], [[1981–82 NASL Indoor season#Atlantic Conference|1981–82]]

===Individual===
*Rookie of the Year: [[National Professional Soccer League (1967)#Post season awards|1967]]
*First Team All-Star: [[National Professional Soccer League (1967)#NPSL All-Stars|1967]]
*Coach of the Year: [[1981 North American Soccer League season#Post season awards|1981]]
*National Soccer Hall of Fame: [[National Soccer Hall of Fame|1989]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{National Soccer Hall of Fame members}}
{{NASL winning head coaches}}
{{Northern Illinois Huskies men's soccer coach navbox}}
{{Summit League Men's Soccer Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Willy}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Emigrants from Allied-occupied Germany to the United States]]
[[Category:American soccer coaches]]
[[Category:National Professional Soccer League (1967) players]]
[[Category:Chicago Spurs players]]
[[Category:Kansas City Spurs players]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Stars (soccer) players]]
[[Category:Chicago Sting (NASL) players]]
[[Category:Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches]]
[[Category:National Soccer Hall of Fame members]]
[[Category:United States men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches]]
[[Category:Northern Illinois Huskies men's soccer coaches]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Chicago]]
[[Category:Ukrainian Lions players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]