Legendary Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest footballer Chris Bart-Williams has passed away.
The former Premier League star, who lived in the United States in recent years, has passed away at the age of 49.
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Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest player Chris Bart-Williams has passed awayCredit: Getty
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The soccer star, who lived in the United States in recent years, has died at the age of 49. Credit: Getty
In a statement, Sheffield Wednesday wrote: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our former player Chris Bart-Williams.”
This happened on the same day that former Nottingham Forest striker and England legend Trevor Francis died at the age of 69.
Francis managed Bart-Williams when he was in charge of Sheffield Wednesday and the team paid tribute to both stars.
Sheffield Wednesday FC said: “Bart-Williams’ untimely passing mirrors that of his manager at Hillsborough, Trevor Francis, who also died on this, one of the darkest days in our long history.”
Nottingham Forest said they were “deeply saddened” adding: “Our thoughts are with Chris’s family and friends at this truly difficult time.”
Bart-Williams, who made 16 appearances for England Under-21s and one for England ‘B’, has invested more than three decades of his life in football, both as a player and as a manager.
He was just 16 years old when he earned a place in the Leyton Orient first team.
His talent was quickly recognized and the teenager was transferred to Sheffield Wednesday.
The Owls shelled out £275,000 to bring him to Hillsborough in 1991, the year they were promoted to England’s top flight, League One, as it was then called.
The Sierra Leone-born star, nicknamed Bartman, played 124 times on Wednesday and scored 16 goals, including a hat-trick against Southampton.
In 1995 Bart-Williams joined Nottingham Forest in a £2.5 million move. He played over 200 games for Forest, finding the net 30 times, despite playing a few games as a libero.
The midfielder’s 76th-minute winner against Leicester in 1999 would be Forest’s last Premier League goal until 2022.
He left in 2001 for Charlton after the City Ground club found itself in financial trouble.
Bart-Williams also played briefly for Ipswich before flying to Cyprus.
He played a few games at Marsaxlokk before hanging up his boots, until he met American coach Tony DiCicco.
After retiring in 2006, she moved to the United States and helped coach its highly successful women’s national team.
However, after more than five years in Connecticut, the coach admitted that he was exhausted.
Speaking to The Mirror in 2018, Bart-Williams said: “I was burned out. It should have taken me three or four years to recover.”
“I spent a lot of my life, from the time I was 16, in the professional game, and then I coached in Connecticut for six or seven years. I’m done.”
But he quickly started his own business working with young people.
Speaking from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina at the time, Bart-Williams said he could see himself staying in the United States.
He said: “It’s very different. I don’t miss the English weather, that’s for sure!
“I miss the people, the jokes, the fierce sarcasm, the good English cup of tea, the English breakfast and the cultural atmosphere, but Americans are very generous people, they really are.”
He added: “Sometimes I miss England, but we have a nice life here, really.”
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In 1995, Bart-Williams joined Nottingham Forest in a £2.5m move. Credit: Getty
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Bart-Williams, known by the nickname Bartman, has invested more than three decades of his life in footballCredit: Getty
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The midfielder scored the winner for Forest against Leicester in the 76th minute in 1999, his last Premier League goal for 23 yearsCredit: Getty
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Source: newstars.edu.vn