Dave Wilson

Introduction

Dave Wilson has been a head national team coach for Sarzonian and Hypocrian national teams since Cup of Harmony 9, when he took over for Bryan Marshall after his boss died in a car crash in Rejistania. Wilson went 94-24-24 in his tenure with the Stars, winning Cup of Harmony 10 and World Cup 22 in his tenure with Sarzonia. Wilson announced his intent to retire at the end of World Cup 24, but the coaching vacancy with the Hyppos looked too attractive to Wilson, so he applied for and got the job. His Stars failed to win a second World Cup championship in three tries, falling to Liverpool England 2-1 AET in a hard-fought World Cup XXIV final.

Coaching Philosophy

Wilson is known as a player's coach and a bit of a jokester, and he often began most press conferences with a joke. However, he has no patience for a team that doesn't put in the expected effort and has a temper that few coaches can match. Sarzonian football can best be described as "total football on steroids," as he once jokingly put it. It involves all 10 field players being responsible for offence and defence, and a possession-styled offence based on short, crisp passes. However, Wilson has also shown an ability to adapt his coaching style to the talent surrounding him and has said he is willing to play more defensive or more attack-oriented football "if it'll get us three points." However, "he said, "there's no way in Hell you'll ever see me playing System Karela."

Accomplishments

Until the Hyppos finished one game out of a World Cup 25 finals bid, his teams hadn't missed advancing to the World Cup since World Cup 18, his first World Cup as a head coach. Hypocria went 9-4-5 in Wilson's first World Cup as the field boss, giving Wilson a 103-28-29 overall mark with two national teams. He also led the Hyppos to a AOCAF title, defeating Sarzonia 2-1 in the final after extra time. His Stars teams have only had a losing record in one tournament, Eagle Cup IV, in which the team went 1-3-2. Since the start of World Cup 21, his record with Sarzonia was 61-9-7.

Since he assumed the dual role of IFF chairman and head coach, the Stars went 2-0-2 in World Cup play but won two trophies including their first-ever AOCAF championship. However, Wilson hastens to remind people that assistant coach Brett Hancock was prowling the sidelines in the AOCAF tournament while Wilson was watching from the owner's box.

Return of the king

Many observers thought Dave Wilson's Sarzonia career came to an end with the Stars falling in the World Cup XXIV championship match and thought he would end his career coaching in Hypocria. However, they didn't expect the events that consumed Wilson's successor -- and later his predecessor. The Incorporated Football Federation bungled its attempt to fire Coach Barry Owens, leading to a public outcry among the players and the Incorporated Sarzonian Government placing the organisation under federal receivership. The IFF were then forced to rehire Owens, who then promptly resigned. They were about to offer the job to assistant coach Brett Hancock until Wilson offered his services as IFF chairman. He agreed to assume the job on the condition that he also serve as head coach. While the Stars fell in the second round for the first time since World Cup XXI, they captured the AOCAF title for the first time in their history, defeating Vilita 3-1 in the final of the 12th Cup. The team also captured the inaugural Dragon Invitational in Andossa Se Mitrin Vega under Wilson's watch, defeating Tadjikistan 4-1 in the championship match.

Wilson has said his first priority will be to "rebuild" the organisation into one the nation can be proud of, and return the Stars to another World Cup title before he retires a second time. Hancock has been pegged as Wilson's likely heir-apparent. Toward that end, he appointed former Liverpool England manager Sir Douglas Freech to the newly-created position of IFF president. Wilson said he envisioned allowing Freech the authority traditionally given the chairmanship to allow him to concentrate on "the one job I know I'm good at," coaching the team.