Cyrille Regis - Enjoyed A Twenty-year Career

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Regis's long playing career is testament to his huge enthusiasm for the game—the same enthusiasm and desire to play helped him through his difficult early days at West Bromwich Albion—and came across very strongly in the interview he gave to CBB. But he is also driven by an understanding of soccer as a community sport and expressed genuine admiration for the passion and commitment of football fans for their local team. In his twenty-year career Regis was an important figure in gaining acceptance for black players in the game, but as he explained, he never set out to do anything of the sort: he just wanted to play the best he could and win.

While at Wolverhampton Wanderers Regis took his coaching qualifications and was prepared to become a coach when his career ended. When that finally happened he took the job of reserve team coach at West Bromwich Albion, a job he described as "the worst in football" because no player wants to play or train with the reserves. After several changes of personnel at the club Regis finally left after three years and became an agent with First Artist Corporation where he trained and qualified as a FIFA football agent. He joined The Stellar Group in 2004 and acts as agent for several players, including his nephew, Jason Roberts.

Sources

Books

Bowler, Dave, and Jas Bains, Samba in the Smethwick End: Regis, Cunningham, Batson, and the Football Revolution, Mainstream Publishing, 2000.

Matthews, Tony, Smokin' Joe: Cyrille Regis—25 Years in Football, Britespot Publishing Solutions, 2002.

Periodicals

Observer (London), September 7, 2003.

On-line

"Black British Footballers—Cyrille Regis," Black Presence in Britain, www.blackpresence.co.uk/pages/sport/regis.htm (February 1, 2005).

"Cyrille Regis," Hayes Men, http://members.aol.com/mtofhayesfc/hayesfc/regis.htm (February 1, 2005).

"Cyrille Regis," Dictionary of Athletes and Sports Personalities, www.explore-biography.com/sports_figures/C/Cyrille_Regis.html (February 1, 2005).

Other

Additional information for this profile was obtained through an interview with Cyrille Regis on January 19, 2005.

—Chris Routledge