William Wesley "Willy" Good (born September 9, 1977) is a retired Jamaican soccer goaltender, generally regarded as one of the best keepers in his generation and the best player in Jamaican history. Good was the captain of the Jamaican national side that advanced to the 2008 FISA World Cup final in Oceania, a tournament for which he was named the best player. Good kept five straight clean sheets - three in the group stage, and two in the knockout rounds - and allowed only two goals the entire tournament, before being injured in the first half of Jamaica's eventual 4-3 loss to Ireland. Good earned trophies as a goalkeeper for Turtle Club in the Jamaica Championship, __ in Major League Soccer, Celtic in the Scottish National League, Liverpool in the English Premier League, and River Plate in Primera Divison de Argentina. He retired in 2015 at the age of 37 at the end of River Plate's season.
International Career[]
Good appeared 101 times with Jamaica from 1999 until he retired from international play in 2014. Good was the reserve keeper during Jamaica's unsuccessful 2000 World Cup qualifying campaign. He earned his first regular starts during the qualifying campaign for the 2002 Cup of the Americas in Brazil, to which Jamaica qualified, but he was injured during club season and was not on the team that exited in the first round. He would solidify his position as first-choice keeper rather than as a member of a rotation with Grant Perkins during the run to the 2004 World Cup, where Jamaica exited with zero points in the knockout stage. Wood allowed seven goals in total and afterwards said, "I played disgracefully."
He served as team captain starting with the 2006 Cup of the Americas in Canada, where Jamaica was defeated on penalties by eventual champions Colombia in the quarterfinal round. Good would keep eight clean sheets during Jamaica's successful qualifying campaign to the 2008 World Cup, and despite concerns about a nagging injury picked up pre-tournament he was cleared to play.
In a group with France, Japan and Sweden, Good held serve, picking up clean sheets in 0-0 draws with France and Sweden before holding a third in a 1-0 win over Japan. On five points, Jamaica advanced as the second-placed team in Group H. In the Round of 16, they faced Group G winners and defending runners-up Argentina in Geelong. Jamaica stunned the world by winning 1-0 in regular time, with Usain Bolt scoring a late goal in the 86th minute after Good defended a then-record 13 shots on goal, including two from the penalty position. In the quarterfinal match in Brisbane, Jamaica faced Group E winners England, who had won all their group stage games and was coming off a 4-1 demolishing of the United States in the Round of 16. In yet another thriller, Good broke his own defending record with a clean sheet by keeping out 16 shots on goal, including three from the penalty spot and a header from defender Gary Cahill. In the ensuing semifinal in Auckland, Good allowed his first goal of the tournament against Peru star Diego Marquez, but had 11 saves otherwise in regular time. Jamaica would level in stoppage time and after another three Good saves would defeat Peru on penalty kicks, in which Good defended all but one Peruvian penalty - once again against Diego Marquez.
Jamaica had advanced to the final, further than they had ever gone in a tournament, and putting them on the brink of being the fourth consecutive side to win their first World Cup. Jamaica faced two-time champion Ireland. Good allowed an early goal from Robbie Keane in the 20th minute, and then pulled his hamstring defending a corner kick from David Healy serviced by Paul McShane in the 39th minute. He was able to finish out the half, when the game was level 1-1, but was unable to play in the second half. Ireland would score three goals on backup keeper John Manley, and Jamaica scored two goals of its own but was unable to equalize after Shane Long's goal in the 80' minute. Good had four other saves in the first half, and was given both the Golden Ball for Best Player and the Golden Glove for Best Goalkeeper, accepting both as he limped onto stage to be presented his silver medal.
Good and Jamaica would never reach the heights of the summer of 2008 again. Good would appear in every qualifying match for Jamaica in the 2010 and 2014 Cup of the Americas campaigns and the 2012 FISA World Cup campaign. Famously, in June of 2011 Jamaica defeated Colombia in Bogotá during a qualifying match that helped send them to Turkey for that summer's tournament. In 2010, in Argentina, Jamaica would exit in groups after three goalless draws. In 2012, in Turkey, they had two losses in the group stage with Good allowing six goals over three games. And finally, in 2014 in the United States, Good's Jamaica side would lose on penalties to eventual champions Argentina in the quarter final after only advancing out of the group stage on goal difference - thanks again, of course, to Good's goal tending. Good announced his retirement from international football following the tournament, having appeared in six major tournaments and having captained Jamaica to its pinnacle and footballing triumph. He is widely regarded as the best player in national history.