| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1946-06-11)11 June 1946 | ||
| Place of birth | Islington, London, England | ||
| Date of death | 12 November 2004(2004-11-12) (aged 58) | ||
| Place of death | Seattle, United States | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder,striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1967 | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | (1) |
| 1967–1970 | Millwall | 121 | (40) |
| 1970–1971 | Chelsea | 38 | (14) |
| 1971–1978 | Leicester City | 262 | (37) |
| 1978–1980 | New England Tea Men | 72 | (18) |
| 1980–1983 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 64 | (6) |
| 1980–1983 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers (indoor) | 8 | (7) |
| 1983 | →Tulsa Roughnecks (loan) | 6 | (6) |
| 1984–1985 | South Florida Sun | ||
| Total | 592 | (129) | |
| International career | |||
| 1974 | England | 4 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1984–1985 | Fort Lauderdale Sun | ||
| 1986 | Houston Dynamos | ||
| 1986–1988 | Dallas Sidekicks (assistant) | ||
| 1988–1989 | San Diego Sockers (assistant) | ||
| 1989–1992 | Tacoma Stars (indoor) | ||
| 1994–1997 | Sacramento Knights (indoor) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Keith Weller (11 June 1946 – 13 November 2004) was an Englishfootballer who played as amidfielder orstriker. He is considered to be one ofLeicester City's greatest-ever players.
Weller played during the 1960s and 1970s, his clubs includedTottenham Hotspur,Millwall,Chelsea andLeicester City. He served his apprenticeship with Spurs before signing for Millwall in June 1967, making his debut againstBlackburn Rovers on 19 August 1967. Playing just behind or alongsideDerek Possee, he showed his blistering pace, which quickly established him as a fan favourite. Weller signed for Chelsea in 1970 for £100,000. Playing on the right wing, Weller was Chelsea's top scorer in the1970–71 season and helped them to aUEFA Cup Winners' Cup victory in1971. Despite this he was sold on for the same £100,000 fee that Chelsea paid.
Weller signed for Leicester City in 1971, and played there for eight seasons. He won fourcaps forEngland, scoring one goal againstNorthern Ireland in the1973–74 British Home Championship.[1]
In 1978, Weller signed with theNew England Tea Men of theNorth American Soccer League. In 1980 after eighteen games, the Tea Men traded Weller to theFort Lauderdale Strikers in exchange forArnie Mausser.[2] On 4 February 1983, the Strikers loaned Weller to theTulsa Roughnecks during the NASL indoor season.[3] He was back with the Strikers in April 1983 and played out the season with them. At the end of the season, the Strikers moved toMinnesota, but Weller remained in Florida.
On 2 April 1984, he became a player-coach with theFort Lauderdale Sun of the second divisionUnited Soccer League (USL).[4] He returned to coach the team, now known as the South Florida Sun, during the 1985 season. However, the league collapsed six games into the season. In April 1986, he was hired to the independentHouston Dynamos.[5] In the fall of 1986, Weller became an assistant coach with theDallas Sidekicks of theMajor Indoor Soccer League. He spent two seasons with the Sidekicks before becoming an assistant coach with theSan Diego Sockers in October 1988. In December 1989, theTacoma Stars hired Weller to replace the recently firedAlan Hinton as head coach.[6] After the demise of the then named MSL in 1992, Weller did not coach again at the professional level until hire by theSacramento Knights of theContinental Indoor Soccer League in January 1994.[7] He remained with the Knights through the 1997 season.
Following his retirement from coaching, he settled inSeattle, where he owned a coffee shop and served as a news station broadcast van driver. He died ofleiomyosarcoma, a relatively rare type ofcancer, in 2004 aged 58.[8]
Chelsea
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Fort Lauderdale Sun