Michael Windischmann (born December 6, 1965, in Nuremberg, West Germany) is an American retired

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

defender who played in both the Major Indoor Soccer League and the American Soccer League. He earned fifty caps with the U.S. national team and was the captain of the U.S. team at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...

. He is a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...

Youth

Although born in Germany, Windischmann's family moved to the United States when he was an infant. He attended Thomas Edison High School in New York City. He began playing soccer when he was six years old and developed as a player, not in the school system, but playing for local New York City clubs. These included Blau-Weiss Gottschee, S.C. Gjoa and Queens United. He played college soccer at Adelphi University. In 1986, Adelphi University inducted Windischmann into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional

After graduating from Adelphi University
/sup> in 1986, Windischmann chose an alternate career from most of his peers. At the time, the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) was the destination of choice for collegiate soccer players. Windischmann decided instead to play for the Brooklyn Italians of Cosmopolitan Soccer League, New York City's Cosmopolitan League. He played two seasons with the Italians before joining the Los Angeles Lazers of MISL. His single season with the Lazers ran the 1988 to 1989 season when the team folded at the end of the season. Windischmann then moved to the Albany Capitals of the American Soccer League for another single season. At the end of the 1990 season, Windischmann retired from professional soccer.

National team

Windischmann played for the U.S. at the U-16 World Cup. Windischmann earned his first cap with the senior national team in 1984. He also played for the U.S. at the 1985

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

. Two years later, in 1987, he again played at the World University Games. That year, he was also on the U.S. team at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

. The U.S. went 1-1-1 and did not make the second round. The three years of 1988 to 1990 saw his international career reach its height. It began with the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

where Windischmann was a member of the U.S. team. Windischmann considers one of his all-time career highlights, scoring a goal in a 1–1 tie with Argentina. Despite this excellent result, the U.S. finished the first round at 1-1-1 and did not qualify for the second round. Windischmann saw more personal success the next year when he was chosen as the 1989

U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year The U.S. Soccer Player of the Year is given by the United States Soccer Federation to the American soccer players judged best in the calendar year. It is considered the highest accolade for American soccer players. The U.S. Soccer Male Player ...

. He was also named as the captain for the

qualification games. Windischmann's greatest achievement came when he captained the U.S. team at the

. This was the first time the U.S. had made it to the World Cup since 1950. By the time Windischmann retired in 1990, he held the national-team record for the most consecutive games played (36) and started (33). Windischmann also played for the U.S. at the 1989 and 1992

FIFA Futsal World Championship The FIFA Futsal World Cup is an international futsal competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. Since the first edition that took place in 1989 in the Netherland ...

which finished third and second respectively. He earned 24 caps and scored 4 goals for the United States national futsal team between 1986 and 1992. In 2004, he was elected to the

Coaching

He currently teaches and coaches at the Susan B. Anthony Academy, New York.

References

External links

*
USSoccerPlayers.com bio

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Windischmann, Mike 1965 births Living people 1990 FIFA World Cup players Adelphi University alumni Adelphi Panthers men's soccer players Albany Capitals players American men's futsal players American soccer players American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Blau-Weiss Gottschee players Brooklyn Italians players Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics German emigrants to the United States Footballers from Nuremberg Los Angeles Lazers players National Soccer Hall of Fame members Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Olympic soccer players of the United States Footballers at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for the United States United States men's international soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players Association football defenders