Post by QPR Report on Dec 11, 2009 17:12:56 GMT
Football 365
December 11 – Wegerle Signs with QPR
Roy Wegerle was a stalwart for the U.S. national team in the 1990’s playing in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and it was on this day in soccer history in 1989 that the midfielder signed with Queens Park Rangers for £1 million.
Wegerle was the first American to make an impact on the British game after jumping the pond to join Chelsea in 1986. Rodney Marsh, who coached Wegerle while at the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the NASL, was instrumental in setting up the trial that ultimately landed Wegerle in England.
After not winning a regular spot in the lineup for the Blues, Wegerle was loaned to Swindon Town and then sold to Luton Town where he made his mark as the team’s leading scorer before being sold to QPR in December.
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Wegerle finished the 1990/91 English First Division campaign as the league’s third most prolific scorer and knocked in the ITV Goal of the Season.
The goal was the first of two on the day for Wegerle and helped QPR erase a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2.
The South African native was familiar with the English game, however. He had a trial with Manchester United in1980 before opting to play college soccer in the U.S. with University of South Florida. He was signed by the Rowdies and played in NASL’s last season in 1984.
After returning from England, Wegerle played in MLS for three seasons with the Colorado Rapids, D.C. United, and the Tampa Bay Mutiny.
Wegerle is one of only two players, along with Hugo Sanchez, to play in both the NASL and MLS.
He became a regular with the Red, White and Blue after gaining citizenship through his marriage to his American wife. He earned his first cap with the U.S. MNT in 1992 and went on to play in 41 matches and score 7 goals.
Soccer Birthdays
1969 – Alessandro Melli, Italian footballer
1972 – Sami Al-Jaber, Saudi Arabian footballer
1981 – Javier Saviola, Argentine footballer
1984 – Leighton Baines, English footballer
Soccer Deaths
2004 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (b. 1962)
Read more on what happened This Day in Soccer History
www.soccer365.com/match_reports/story_111209164358.php
