Read Part 1 to start at the beginning
Read Part 2 about Manchester and Turning Pro
You are reading Part 3
Read Part 4 to continue the story

Germany, Soccer, and Politics
Looking for work and with a lot of time on his hands, Ian needed a place to train and stay in shape. He called up a good friend, Joey Jones, who was now coaching at Wrexham FC back in the UK. A former Wales national team member, Jones was an all-time great as a player for Wrexham, scoring 19 goals in 376 appearances. He also became a legendary fan-favorite from his days at Chelsea and Liverpool, an intense left-back famous for his pre-match fist-clenching routine and for the passion with which he played the game. Ian spent the next six months practicing at Wrexham with Jones and his boys, working hard and patiently waiting for the right opportunity to show itself.

Eventually, fate would intervene once again.

Thomas Doll, the head coach of Germany’s Hamburg SV club had heard about Ian and offered him a chance to come train with the team. Within twenty-four hours of Ian arriving in Germany, Coach Doll knew that he’d found the exact kind of character in a young player that he was looking for. He offered Ian a contract on the spot.

“Things just kind of fall into place sometimes and you get lucky.” says Joy. “Somethings in life are just meant to be.”

A paid professional once more and playing for one of the most storied clubs in German history, Ian was soon swept up into the country’s passionate soccer culture.

“My life completely changed from that moment on.” says Joy.

Ian played 44 games in all for Hamburg and things were going well again. He was playing solid soccer in an exciting, quality league and was quickly gaining his confidence once again.

Off the field things were coming together as well. While at Tranmere, Ian had met a pretty young girl named Amy, who happened to be the stepdaughter of one of the coaches. Amy worked at the stadium selling snacks and would often watch Ian practicing or playing in games. Eventually, she caught Ian’s eye and soon the two began to date. And when Ian left England to move to Germany, Amy went as along as well. Soon, they moved into a small one bedroom apartment and eventually, they were married.

The newlyweds did their best to adjust and grow into the culture that now surrounded them. The language barrier was a challenge, especially since neither of them spoke any German. The coach for Hamburg didn’t understand English and wasn’t about to learn, so Ian was sent to a six-week class to learn German for 4 hours a day, and within a few months was nearly fluent. At first, some details in practice were lost in translation, but for the most part, there weren’t any real issues. After all, Ian had concluded, soccer was soccer no matter where it was played.

In fact, playing for Hamburg made Ian apart of one of soccer’s most spirited rivalries and helped to show him just how much a team can mean to a community and its loyal supporters. The district of St. Pauli is a small, working-class, suburb located on the southern end of Hamburg, whose soccer team has had a Cinderella history in the Bundesliga (Germany’s pro league), and has long played David to Hamburg’s wealthy and upper-class Goliath in what is perhaps the country’s most heartfelt derby.

A teammate of Ian’s while at Hamburg, Stephan Hanke, was also once a former St. Pauli player and knew first hand the passion the supporters had on both sides. On nights off, he would sneak Ian across the city to watch St. Pauli play in front of its fans and for Ian, it was love at first sight. Ian was blown away that a lower division team with a losing on-field product, could still pack their stadium full of 20,000 plus fans who were crazy, loud, and intensely loyal.

When Ian’s contract ran out with Hamburg it didn’t take him long to sign with St. Pauli.

“When you first sign with St. Pauli you have to walk around the town.” explains Joy. “They take you on a tour and show you what it actually means to play for St. Pauli. They introduce you to fans, show you where they work, where they sleep, where they drink, and you see what it means to them every day.”

FC St. Pauli’s Millerntorn Stadium in Hamburg, Germany

Then on May 6th, 2006, Ian and Amy gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Madison Louise Joy. Ian often calls becoming a father the happiest day of his life.

“My daughter is the be all and end all in my life.” says Joy proudly.

Ian relaxing with his newborn baby girl.

Madison helped to spark an energy and a new motivation inside of Ian and the more he looked around the city, the more he realized that the passion was all around him. By jumping to the other side of the Hamburg  and St. Pauli rivalry, Ian would not only gain a unique perspective on the emotions involved, but would experience some interesting interactions with the fans as well.

Ian recalls his last game at Hamburg, as he made his way off the field a devoted fan asked for his jersey as a souvenir. Ian took off his Hamburg kit, autographed it, and gave it to the thrilled man who said the jersey was for his daughter.

The next year, after Ian had signed with St. Pauli, circumstances were a bit different. When he returned to Hamburg wearing a St. Pauli crest, Ian heard the boos coming his way. He could feel the intensity from the crowd, and remembers looking up into the stands before the match and seeing the same fan he’d given his kit to the summer before, but this time the man was waving a stick high above his head, with Joy’s Hamburg jersey attached to the top, completely engulfed in flames.

The fans didn’t just follow soccer, they lived it and breathed it through their communities.

“It’s a political thing as well.” says Joy. “You have the more left wing St. Pauli fans and then across the city you have the Hamburg fans, and they’re very, very different.”

Joy celebrates after scoring a goal for St. Pauli.

During the eighties, when a Fascist, hooligan atmosphere swept through the underbelly of European football, St. Pauli was one of the first organizations, lead by the fans in their community, to take an active stand against the prejudices that began to infect their parks. Fans began to rally and organize outside of the stadium and wave banners up in the stands, protesting the intolerance and discrimination around them. Eventually, any unwanted elements were driven out of the soccer culture and the people took back the sport they loved.

Today, St. Pauli’s activist traditions are a deep rooted part of its soccer culture. Supporters can still be found gathering outside of the park or waving banners during the matches, fighting for such as issues as equality, human rights, and religious freedom. For Ian many of these issues hit close to him, especially growing up in Scotland, where he saw heated divisions among Catholic and Protestant supporters often bleed from the church and into the soccer stands.

The Skull and Bones crest, the unofficial logo of St. Pauli

“It was hard to avoid (the politics), even though at first all I wanted was to play soccer,” recalls Joy. “But I fell in love with the political side of it as well, to see what the fans stood for and what it meant to so many people.”

It wasn’t uncommon to see players become actively involved with many of the causes, helping out fans, and giving back to the community. Ian remembers the many homeless in the streets of Hamburg, and sometimes would head over to the local soup kitchen in the mornings to lend a hand when he had a few free hours.

“Guys get involved because it’s what they believe in and it’s important to them,” says Joy. “You take that with you to the soccer field and play with a lot more heart and passion.”

Ian remembers the connection clearly, “You start to feel like one of them and you want to become apart of it.”

When Life Gives You Lemons
While things were going great for Ian on the football field, things at home weren’t going quite as smoothly. Amy was having trouble adjusting to life in Germany and combined with the stresses of a newborn baby, it began to put a strain on their relationship.

“Life was very hard for her there.” says Joy.

Ian was at a crossroad. With his marriage beginning to sour, how could he take any pleasure or focus on playing soccer?

“Things couldn’t get any better on the football field, but at home it wasn’t.” says Joy. “And I wanted to make sure my family was happy first, otherwise it wasn’t worth it to me.”

After nearly four years in Germany and over 100 games played, including cup competition and a championship ring while at St. Pauli, Ian decided it was time to leave, forgoing the final year of his contract. It’s a decision he has some regrets about today.

“I left St. Pauli at the wrong time.” admits Joy.

However, Ian hoped a change of scenery would help improve his family situation, perhaps life in an English-speaking country would make things easier for everyone. So, he began looking for job opportunities back in the United States.

He contacted Real Salt Lake in the MLS, was offered a contract, and soon the family was packing its bags for Utah.

An expansion MLS franchise that was struggling to get started and had failed to make the playoffs in its first three years, Real Salt Lake was looking for some leadership and a change in culture. Like he had done in other places, Ian brought his hard work, passion, and determination with him and tried to help create a winning environment in the Salt Lake locker room. A starter from day one, it didn’t take Ian long to make an impact on and off the field in Utah.

Unfortunately, Ian’s marriage had taken a turn for the worse and it was beginning to effect his play on the field. Amy headed back to Europe and took Madison with her. In the following game, on the road in Dallas, Ian was unable to control his frustrations, was booked for two quick cautions and promptly sent off in the 39th minute.

Salt Lake coach, Jason Kreis, knew Ian needed some time away from the game in order to regain his focus. So he allowed Ian a few weeks off from the team, a chance to get away from everything, settle his emotions, and see about his family.

Although, they remain friends now and have put their past behind them, Ian and Amy separated and eventually, divorced after a 10 year relationship and over 3 years of marriage.

“The hardest thing was losing my wife and daughter.” remembers Ian. “I used to see my daughter every day. To not have her in my life broke my heart, but overtime it gave me the realization that life has ups and downs, and is just that way sometimes.”

Ian returned to Salt Lake, away from his family for the first time, and pushed through the rest of the 2008 season. In Ian’s first year with Real Salt Lake, the club would qualify for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and a year later, without a healthy Ian, they would go on to win the MLS championship.

Ian in action for Real Salt Lake

During Salt Lake’s final friendly match in 2009, just before the regular season opener, Ian would suffer a tear in his hamstring that would cause him to miss the entire year. At first, he stayed a couple months in Salt Lake to rehab, but ultimately, decided that it would be best to head back to Europe where he could be closer to Madison. Ian asked to leave and was soon given a release from his contract.

“I’ve had a lot of injuries in my career and having injuries is one of the hardest parts of being a soccer player,” says Joy. “It makes you think, do I really want to go through all this again?”

Facing months of rehab, Ian decided to return to Germany, where he still had some connections. A bit dejected, but refusing to give up, Ian dedicated himself to recovery, determined to work his way back into health. He signed a game-to-game contract with FC Ingolstadt, but only played a handful of games as he struggled to keep his injury fully healed. Eventually, he would be sent to see a specialist at Bayern Munich, who was referred to him by his old club in St. Pauli. The doctors there would help to re-invigorate Ian and not only leading him to a full recovery, but also added strength to Ian’s legs through months of committed training. However, with all his energy set on playing soccer again, Ian wasn’t working, and money quickly began to get tight.

“Not being able to play soccer everyday and do what you love, those are the hardest things.” says Joy. “Not having money, you can still get by and survive, it’s not that bad.”

“I’ve gone from being few thousand in debt to getting paid $18,000 for winning one game,” says Joy. “I’ve experienced both the highs and lows, but you have to slow down and take a look at the big picture.”

Adds Joy, “My father is the best at this, he always says as long as you’re healthy and your family is healthy, then nothing else matters. You’ll always find a way to get by.”

By 2010, Ian had fully recovered and rebuilt his body. Although there were other job offers around Europe, Ian was set on playing in the MLS and was looking for a fresh start. After all he’d been through in the past, Ian had a much more clear picture of what he wanted now.

“I played soccer when I was younger simply because it was fun.” says Joy.

He wanted to be apart of something exciting again, something special. He wanted to help build something and be involved with a winning team.

“When you have a passion for something then you want to be the best at it.” says Joy.

Ian’s search for a meaningful opportunity eventually lead him to a relatively unheralded Division-2 Portland Timbers team that was on the rise, a franchise on the verge of a soccer explosion, preparing itself for a move up to the MLS in 2011.

After one trip to Rose City, Ian knew he had found exactly what he’d been looking for.

To be continued….

The Joy of Soccer – Dropping Timber’s four part series on team captain Ian Joy. One part will be posted every morning until the Playoffs begin this Thursday. Read Part 4 to continue the story.

Read Part 1 to start at the beginning
Read Part 2 about Manchester and Turning Pro
You are reading Part 3
Read Part 4 to continue the story

Related posts:

1. The Joy of Soccer: Part 2 of 4
2. The Joy of Soccer: Part 1 of 4
3. Ian Joy: Wants to play in MLS 4 or 5 years
4. A Day Full of Soccer
5. The Soccer Power Index