Michael Windischmann (born December 6, 1965, in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

) is an American retired

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 ...

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 Association football, 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 ...

. He 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 ...

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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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 Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

. In 1986, Adelphi University inducted Windischmann into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional

After graduating from

/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 The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los ...

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 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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

with the senior national team in 1984. He also played for the U.S. at the 1985 World University Games. 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 ...

. 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 the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

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 Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. 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. 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 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 men's 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 Emigrants from West Germany 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 for 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 Men's association football defenders 20th-century American sportsmen