Manfred "Manny" Seissler ''(German: Manfred Seißler)'' (born August 8, 1939) is a former
soccer player who began his career in the lower German divisions before moving to the United States. He played one season in the
National Professional Soccer League and seven in the
North American Soccer League. Born in Germany, he earned one
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
with the
U.S. national team in 1973.
Club career
Germany
Born in Germany, Seissler began his career in 1960 with the
KSV Hessen Kassel junior team. In 1961, he moved to the first team which competed in the
Oberliga Süd Oberliga ( en, Premier league) may refer to:
Association football
* Oberliga (football), currently the fifth tier of the German football league system, formerly the first
* DDR-Oberliga, the first tier of football in East Germany until 1990, re ...
, the southern conference of the German first division back then, which preceded the creation of the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...
. In 1963, he moved to
Regionalliga Süd (Second Division) club
1. FC Pforzheim. In 1965, he moved to
SV Eintracht Trier 05 of the
Second Division.
United States
In 1967, he left Germany for the United States where he signed with the
Pittsburgh Phantoms of the
National Professional Soccer League. The NPSL merged with the
United Soccer Association
The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American ...
in 1968 to form the first incarnation of the
North American Soccer League (NASL). The Phantoms folded and Seissler signed with the
Kansas City Spurs. With the Spurs he won the NASL championship of 1969 and Seissler played with them, in the end as captain, until they folded following the 1970 season.
He then transferred to the
Rochester Lancers Rochester Lancers may refer to:
* Rochester Lancers (2015), a semi-professional soccer team that competes in the National Premier Soccer League
* Rochester Lancers (MASL), an indoor soccer team that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League 2
* Roch ...
. While with Rochester, Seissler participated in the
first NASL-sanctioned indoor tournament in 1971. He scored one goal and one assist in two matches and was named to the all-tournament team. In 1973, the Lancers traded Seissler to the
Montreal Olympique but it folded at the end of the season and Seissler returned to the Lancers for the 1974 season. He played only one game, then retired. During his early years in the NASL, Seissler was one of the league's top forwards, being named a first team All Star in 1969, 1970 and 1971. In 1977, he was named to the Rochester Lancers Team of the Decade. Seissler was named to the Lancers Wall of Fame in 2017.
International career
Seissler earned one
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
with the
U.S. national team in a 4–0 loss to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
on March 20, 1973. He started the game, but came off for
Siegfried Stritzl in the 58th minute.
USA - Details of International Matches 1970-1979
References
External links
Rochester Lancers Wall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seissler, Manfred
1939 births
Living people
1. FC Pforzheim players
American Soccer League (1933–1983) players
American expatriate sportspeople in Canada
American expatriate men's soccer players
American men's soccer players
SV Eintracht Trier 05 players
Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
Men's association football forwards
West German expatriate sportspeople in Canada
German men's footballers
German emigrants to the United States
Kansas City Spurs players
KSV Hessen Kassel players
Montreal Olympique players
National Professional Soccer League (1967) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players
Pittsburgh Phantoms (NPSL) players
Rochester Lancers (1967–1980) players
Syracuse Scorpions players
United States men's international soccer players
West German expatriate men's footballers
West German expatriate sportspeople in the United States
West German men's footballers
Player-coaches
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches