Manfred "Manny" Schellscheidt (born January 17, 1941) is a German-American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach and former player. Born in

Solingen Solingen (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr. After Wuppertal, it is the second-largest city in the Bergisches Land, and a member of ...

in the

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

, he emigrated to the United States in the 1970s. He spent three seasons in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

and one in the American Soccer League. He won two

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

and one American Soccer League title as a player as well as two professional championships as a coach. Schellscheidt is a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

Playing career

In 1964, Schellscheidt was visiting his aunt in New York when he was recruited by the coach of Elizabeth S.C. He played a handful of games before returning to Germany. After graduating from the

German Sport University Cologne The German Sport University Cologne (Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, DSHS) is a public university located in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Founded in 1947, it is the only higher education institution in Germany focused exclusively on ...

(Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln) in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany, in 1967, he played professionally for

Union Solingen SG Union Solingen was a German association football club from Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia. History The side can trace its roots back to an earlier ''Union Solingen'' club founded in 1897 out of the merger of a number of clubs from the d ...

and

SC Fortuna Köln SC Fortuna Köln is a German association football club based in the city of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. History The club was formed as on 21 February 1948 through the merger of three local sides: Victoria Köln 1911 (one of two clubs to ...

before moving to the United States. When he arrived in the United States, he immediately rejoined Elizabeth S.C. of the

German American Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatl ...

. He was a member of the team when it won both the 1970 and 1972

s. In 1973, he signed with the

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors ...

of the

(NASL). The Atoms won the NASL title that year. In 1974, he became a player-coach with the Rhode Island Oceaneers in the American Soccer League. He took the team to the ASL championship and was named the 1974 ASL Coach of the Year. He returned to the NASL the next season with the

Hartford Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1 ...

Coaching career

After playing two seasons in Hartford, Schellscheidt became the head coach of the

New Jersey Americans New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in 1977 winning another league title that season. He also coached in the North American Soccer League and in 1975 became coach of the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. He also led the U.S. team in the

1984 Olympics The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

qualifying. However, Schellscheidt was replaced four months before the start of the tournament, with a record of nine wins, 14 losses and 11 ties, by

Alketas Panagoulias Alketas 'Alkis' Panagoulias (; 30 May 1934 – 18 June 2012) was a Greek association football player and manager. He managed the national teams of both Greece and the United States. He also managed several clubs, including Aris, his birthplace ...

. The departure was contentious, with Schellscheidt saying of

Gene Edwards Earl Eugene Edwards (July 18, 1932 – December 9, 2022) was an American house church planter, a Christian author, and a Southern Baptist pastor and evangelist. A graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he was an outspoken prop ...

, the

USSF USSF may refer to: * United States Servicemen's Fund, a support organization for soldier and sailor resistance to the Vietnam War and the U.S. military * United States Soccer Federation, governing body of soccer in the United States * United States ...

president at the time, " etold me they couldn't afford two coaches. That's funny, because they hadn't been paying me recently." In 1988, Schellscheidt was named coach of the

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

men's team. The Pirates initially experienced success under Schellscheidt, winning two

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

championships, eight

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

tournament berths, seven conference title game appearances and a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2001 while having had only one losing season during his first eighteen seasons at the helm. The Pirates, however, have not been successful recently, posting losing records in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 consecutively. Schellscheidt stepped down as the coach of Seton Hall on November 28, 2011. In 1990, Schellscheidt was inducted into the

Personal life

Schellscheidt resides in

Union Township, Union County, New Jersey Union Township is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 59,728, an ...

with his wife, Annette. Their son Karl Schellscheidt played soccer at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. They also have two daughters, Jackie and Janet. In 1992, Schellscheidt published a book, ''Youth League: Soccer Skills – Mastering the Ball''.

References

External links

Seton Hall Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schellscheidt, Manfred 1941 births Living people American non-fiction writers American Soccer League (1933–1983) coaches American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Cosmopolitan Soccer League players German men's footballers Emigrants from West Germany to the United States German non-fiction writers Connecticut Bicentennials players National Soccer Hall of Fame members North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches Sportspeople from the Rhine Province Sportspeople from Union Township, Union County, New Jersey Philadelphia Atoms players Rhode Island Oceaneers players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer coaches SC Fortuna Köln players Elizabeth S.C. players United States men's national soccer team managers Soccer players from Union County, New Jersey German male non-fiction writers Men's association football midfielders People from Helmstedt (district) Player-coaches New Jersey Americans (soccer) players Princeton Tigers men's soccer coaches 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century German sportsmen Writers from Union County, New Jersey