Cyrille Regis
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Cyrille Regis (born February 9, 1958) was an English association footballer.
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Life
Born Maripasoula, French Guyana and moving to England in his youth, Regis started work as an electrician, playing for amateur team Hayes F.C. in his spare time. Spotted by Ronnie Allen, he joined First Division club West Bromwich Albion F.C. in 1977, where, under maverick manager Ron Atkinson, he teamed up with fellow black players Brendon Batson and Laurie Cunningham. It was very unusual for an English club to simultaneously field three black players. The Three Degrees, as they became known, in reference to the contemporary vocal trio of the same name, challenged the established racism of English football and marked a watershed that allowed a generation of footballers to enter the game who would previously have been excluded by their ethnic background.
A strong and fast traditional centre-foward, Regis was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1978 and went on to win five England caps. Regis was an FA Cup winner in 1987 with Coventry City F.C.
After leaving Coventry in 1991, he was transferred to Aston Villa and partnered Dalian Atkinson in the 1991-92 season. But he left at the end of the following season after being forced out of the side by new signing Dean Saunders, and signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers. He had little success at the Molineux, with first-team opportunities restricted by the strength of the Steve Bull-David Kelly partnership. His stay at Wolves lasted just one season before he joined Wycombe Wanderers. After one season with the Chairboys, he was on the move again - this time to Chester City. Cyrille Regis played his last game in February 1996 and retired from football nine months later at the age of 38, having never made a full recovery from an injury suffered in a match with Chester.
Playing career
- Hayes F.C., (1975-1977);
- West Bromwich Albion F.C., (1977-1984);
- Coventry City F.C., (1984-1991);
- Aston Villa F.C., (1991-1993);
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., (1993-1994);
- Wycombe Wanderers F.C., (1994-1995); and
- Chester F.C., (1995-1996)
- Spartak Varna, 1996.
Later career
Since retiring from playing, Regis has worked in a variety of coaching roles before becoming an acredited football agent with First Artist Corporation. In the 1995-1996 season, he returned to football as a player with division three side Chester City. Regis was criticised in some quarters for accepting what was seen as a final payday with then-Bulgarian champions Spartak Varna.
Bibliography
- Matthews, T (2002) Smokin' Joe: Cyrille Regis - 25 Years in Football ISBN 190410309X
- Bowler, D & Bains, J (2000) Samba in the Smethwick End: Regis, Cunningham, Batson and the Football Revolution ISBN 1840181885
External links
- Page at Hayes F.C. with photographs (http://members.aol.com/mtofhayesfc/hayesfc/regis.htm)
- The Black Presence in Britain (http://www.blackpresence.co.uk/pages/sport/regis.htm)
| Preceded by: Tony Woodcock | PFA Young Player of the Year 1979 | Succeeded by: Glenn Hoddle |