Bruce Alec Wilson (born June 20, 1951) is a former NASL and Canadian international

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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 The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

finals. In 2012 as part of the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...

's centennial celebration, he was named to the all-time Canada XI men's team.

Playing career

After starting his career as an attacking player, he switched to outside fullback where his career flourished in the NASL. He played for the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

from 1974 to 1977, the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

in 1978 and 1979, 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 1980, and the

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

from 1981 to 1984. He was a seven-time all-star selection, including three first-team selections (Vancouver in 1977, Chicago in 1979, Toronto in 1984). Wilson made 57 international "A" appearances for Canada, a record he held at retirement until it was surpassed by Mike Sweeney. In 1998, he was selected to a

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

"team of the century", the only Canadian to receive the honour. Wilson also represented Canada at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

at a time when lower-ranked countries were allowed to field professional players. The Canadian team reached the quarter-final stage, losing to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Wilson became player-coach of the post-NASL Blizzard in 1985 when they were known as Toronto Inex. The Wilson-led Inex played one season of friendlies against touring sides including Linfield and Everton before shutting down. Wilson became head coach of the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

men's soccer team in 1987, retiring at the end of the 2022 season. He also coached the Victoria Vistas in the Canadian Soccer League. In 2000 Wilson was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. In 2003, he was also elected to the U.S.

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 ...

Coaching career

Wilson has been head coach of the University of Victoria Vikes for over three decades.

Honours

Player

New York Cosmos * NASL:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

Toronto Blizzard * NASL: runners-up:

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Canada *

CONCACAF Championship The CONCACAF Championship, also known as CONCACAF Nations Championship, was an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the C ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

Individual

* NASL All-Stars: First-team:

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

; Second-team:

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

; Honorable mention:

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

* CONCACAF Team of the Century: 1998"Balboa, Ramos named to CONCACAF "Team of the Century""
, Soccer America, 14 May 1998.

References

External links

University of Victoria
* /

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2024, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

Canada Soccer Hall of Fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Bruce 1951 births Living people Soccer players from Vancouver Canada men's national soccer team managers Canada men's international soccer players Canadian soccer coaches Canadian men's soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players Olympic soccer players for Canada Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics 1986 FIFA World Cup players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees ICSF Columbus FC players CONCACAF Championship–winning players Men's association football defenders 20th-century Canadian sportsmen