Willy Schaller Explained

Willy Schaller
Birth Date:23 February 1933
Birth Place:Bonlanden, Germany
Death Place:Lakewood, Colorado, U.S.
Position:Defender
Clubs1:Schwaben
Clubs2:Blau-Weiss Gottschee
Nationalyears1:1952
Nationalteam1:United States
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0
Medaltemplates-Expand:yes

Willy (Willie) Schaller (February 23, 1933 – January 3, 2015) was a U.S. soccer defender who played most of his career in the German American Soccer League. He also played on the U.S. soccer team at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[1] He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1996.[2]

Club career

While born in Germany, Schaller's family moved to the United States when he was a young boy. He joined Schwaben of the German American Soccer League when he was in high school. In 1953, he joined the U.S. Army, serving until 1955. At some point, he moved to Blau-Weiss Gottschee,[3] playing with the team through at least 1960.[4]

National teams

In 1952, he was selected to the U.S. soccer team which competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was nineteen at the time. The U.S. lost its first game of the single elimination tournament to Italy.[5] In 1959, he was with the U.S. team which won the bronze medal at the Pan American Games. However, the Pan American matches were not counted as official U.S. national team games.

Coaching

After retiring from playing professionally, Schaller became a youth and high school soccer coach.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Willy Schaller . Olympedia . November 13, 2021.
  2. News: Willy Schaller . September 18, 2015 . Denver Post . January 7, 2015.
  3. http://bwgottschee92.com/aboutus.htm History of Blau-Weiss Gottschee
  4. http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1960.html U.S. Soccer History – 1960
  5. https://www.rsssf.org/tableso/ol1952f-det.html 1952 Summer Olympic results at RSSSF