Cyrille Regis

Cyrille Regis
Personnel
Surname	Cyrille Regis
birthday	February 9, 1958
place of birth	Maripasoula ,  French Guiana
date of death	January 14, 2018
position	striker
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1975-1976	FC Molesey
1976-1977	FC Hayes
1977-1984	West Bromwich Albion	237 (82)
1984-1991	Coventry City	238 (47)
1991-1993	Aston Villa	52 (12)
1993-1994	Wolverhampton Wanderers	19 0(2)
1994-1995	Wycombe Wanderers	35 0(9)
1995-1996	Chester City	29 0(7)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1982-1987	England	5 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

Cyrille Regis (born February 9, 1958 in Maripasoula , French Guiana ; † January 14, 2018 ) was an English soccer player who, especially in the late 1970s, together with Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson - based on the music trio of the same name - as the " Three Degrees " went down in English football history. The peculiarity was that at that time black players were still an exception in English professional football and with Regis, Cunningham and Batson there were three black players in the team of West Bromwich Albion .

Athletic career

Born in the west of French Guiana in the municipality of Maripasoula, Cyrille Regis moved to England as a teenager. There he worked as an electrician and in his spare time played for the amateur team of FC Hayes . At FC Hayes he was discovered by Ronnie Allen , who in turn recommended him to his employer and first division club West Bromwich Albion. The transfer fee was 5,000 pounds and in the team of coach Johnny Giles Regis was to act in 1977 at the side of Laurie Cunningham, another black player. This duo expanded into a trio a year later when Brendon Batson switched to "WBA". By the way, another 5,000 pounds had to be paid to FC Hayes in the further course, as this sum had been negotiated during the original transfer in the event that Regis should become a national player.

Regis acted in the center forward position and with an above-average assertiveness, the fast attacker immediately made a name for himself in the top English division. Initial expressions of displeasure on the part of the own attachment with regard to his skin color quickly subsided and turned into great recognition for the high hit rate of the young player. After his early personal climax in 1978, when he was named the best young professional (" PFA Young Player of the Year ") by the PFA players' union , he made five international matches for the English national team between 1982 and 1987 . With his long-range goal in an FA Cup game against Norwich City , he also won the election for "Goal of the 1981/82 Season". However, he was only able to win his first major title with his second club. In October 1984 Regis joined league rivals Coventry City and was there victorious in the FA Cup in 1987. In the 3-2 final win against Tottenham Hotspur , he scored a goal with a header, which was not recognized by the referee . In the same year he said goodbye with a 20-minute bet from the English selection in the 8-0 victory over Turkey .

In 1991 Regis left Coventry City to play alongside Dalian Atkinson for Aston Villa . But after just one season, from the 1992/93 season, his prospects in the regular formation fell. The new signing Dean Saunders ousted Regis from the team, and since Villa successfully won the runner-up, Regis was deported to the second division to the Wolverhampton Wanderers . But even there he could no longer find his sporting luck and could not get past Steve Bull and David Kelly permanently. After one season, the third division Wycombe Wanderers was the next stop for Cyrille Regis.

Another year later, Chester City was his last stop as a professional footballer. At the beginning he regained the old goal danger. The 2-1 win against Doncaster Rovers in February 1996 was the last professional game in Regis' career. In October 1996 he gave up the fight for a comeback after several months and announced his resignation. In total, he was able to point to 159 goals in 610 championship games in his 19-year professional career.

Off the field

Regis lost his friend and former teammate Laurie Cunningham in a car accident in 1989. Two years earlier, both had been involved in another car accident, and according to Regis, the death of his friend was the “awakening experience” to Christianity .

After his retirement as a footballer, Regis worked in various co-trainer functions and later became part of Stellar Group Ltd. as a player's agent. He is an uncle of Jason Roberts , who also made it to the top division as a professional footballer. He is also a cousin of former track and field athlete John Regis .

Long after his playing days, Regis was popular with West Bromwich Albion supporters. In an online election by the BBC in 2004, he won the title of “eternal cult star” with 65% of the vote. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary, he also made the leap into the selection of the club's 16 best players.

successes

• English cup winner : 1987

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cyrille Regis dead
2. ↑ "Hall of Fame - 16 Cyrille Regis" ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Hayes FC)  
3. ↑ Black British History - Cyrille Regis ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (The Black Presence in Britain)  
4. ^ "Death of a Real pioneer" (Times Online)
5. ↑ "My Faith" (Cyrille Regis)
6. ↑ "West Brom's cult heroes" (BBC Sport)
7. ↑ "The wraps come off 125th anniversary mural" ( Memento of the original from February 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (West Bromwich Albion FC)  

Web links

• Official website (English)
• Cyrille Regis in the soccerbase.com database