Keith Eddy (23 October 1944 – 10 October 2022) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Barrow,

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

in England, as well as 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 the United States. He went on to manage 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 ...

in the NASL from 1979 to 1981, and in retirement founded the Tulsa Soccer Club.

Career

Born in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Eddy began playing football at the age of eight, and turned professional at 17. He made 482 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for Barrow,

and

. He was then signed by the

as part of a squad strengthening program following the arrival of

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

; fellow British players to sign with the Cosmos at the same time included Tony Field,

Dave Clements David Clements (born 15 September 1945) is a Northern Irish former football player and coach. He started his career as an outside left but also played as a defensive midfielder and left-back. During a career which lasted from 1964 to 1976, pla ...

and

Terry Garbett Terry Graham Garbett (born 9 September 1945) is an English retired footballer who played for Middlesbrough, Watford, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United in England, as well as the New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosm ...

. Eddy spent two seasons with the Cosmos, making 30 appearances in the NASL, becoming captain of a team which included Pelé,

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...

and

Giorgio Chinaglia Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with ...

. In 1977, he left the Cosmos but was first named as NASL all–star in 1976. Eddy became head coach of the

during their first season under that name. They finished with a 14–16 record, reaching the playoffs but being knocked out by his former club, the Cosmos. He resigned in 1981, after the team fell to a 4–14 record placing them in bottom place in the North American Soccer League.

Later life and death

Retiring from professional football, Eddy founded Tulsa Soccer Club, an organisation which promotes development in soccer in Oklahoma. Originally formed with four teams, it expanded and as of 2011, featured some thirty teams. Eddy died on 10 October 2022, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eddy, Keith 1944 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Barrow-in-Furness English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Barrow A.F.C. players Watford F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players English football managers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) head coaches English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate football managers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate soccer coaches in Canada