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University of Victoria men's soccer coach Bruce Wilson has been named one of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football's (CONCACAF) top players. Wilson's ranking as CONCACAF's eighth best player of all-time is the result of a global survey conducted by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, a leading soccer historical society based in Germany. Before joining UVic in 1988, Wilson played professional soccer for 13 years for the Vancouver Whitecaps, Chicago Sting, New York Cosmos, and the Toronto Blizzard. He was a member of Canada's World Cup soccer team for 13 years, and played in the 1984 Olympics in the U.S. He was also captain of the Canadian team at the Mexican World Cup in 1986. Wilson participated in 57 international matches while playing for Canada between 1974 and 1986. He retired after Canada's last Mexico 1986 match against the former Soviet Union. "Bruce was and is a first-class professional," says Clive Toye, senior consultant for CONCACAF. Toye should know. As past president of both the Chicago Sting and the Toronto Blizzard, Toye was so impressed with Wilson that he hired him twice. "He was a very modern player for his time in his ability to defend and attack," says Toye. "He was very, very quick and had a great left foot." In eight years as Vikes head coach, Wilson has groomed a number of players for professional soccer. This spring, team member Dan Imhoff left UVic to play professional soccer in Switzerland. "My full concern right now is our soccer team," says Wilson. "Currently, we're battling for first place in the university league. It's a lot of work but I like it." The CONCACAF top player of the century will be announced
by the International Federation of Football History and
Statistics in January, 1999.
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