Stephen "Steve" Trittschuh (born April 24, 1965) is an 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 who most recently served as head coach of

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

side

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wide ...

. As a player, he played as a defender in the Major Indoor Soccer League,

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

and

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. He also earned thirty-eight

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

including one game 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 ...

Player

Youth

Trittschuh is a native of

Granite City, Illinois Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and S ...

. He played at Granite City High School North for the Steelers under former U.S. national coach Bob Kehoe. He earned All State honors his junior and senior year and was a Parade Magazine All American as a senior. Coming out of high school, he was heavily recruited by several top schools, but selected

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. Located within the Metro East of Greater St. Louis, SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Ca ...

which he attended on a full ride soccer scholarship. He played for four years for SIUE, scoring 12 goals and assisting 11 others. He earned second-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n honors his junior year and first team his senior year. He was a 2011 inductee into the

SIUE Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. Located within the Metro East of Greater St. Louis, SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Ca ...

Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional

In 1987, the

St. Louis Steamers St. Louis Steamers has been the name of two different indoor soccer franchises based in St. Louis, Missouri: *St. Louis Steamers (1979–88); American soccer team which played in the first Major Indoor Soccer League *St. Louis Steamers (1998–2006 ...

selected Trittschuh in the second round of the Major Indoor Soccer League draft. He played one season with the Steamers, then filed for free agency in April 1987 when the Steamers ceased operations. That summer, he played for the U.S. national team as it prepared for and then played at 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 ...

. In October 1988, the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

signed American players to the national team. Trittschuh was among fourteen players signed by the USSF. From the spring of 1988 through the spring of 1989, Trittschuh played for the amateur Busch Seniors of St. Louis when not playing for the Olympic or national teams. On May 4, 1989, he signed on loan with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

of the American Soccer League. He continued with the Rowdies as the team played in the newly formed

. In 1990, his career took an unexpected turn. Trittschuh played a single game for the

at the

in a 5–1 loss to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. While the national team was thrashed, Trittschuh caught the attention of the Czechoslovakia's assistant coach, the head coach of Czech powerhouse club

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

. Sparta Prague offered Trittschuh a contract, which he accepted. At the time the Soviet Union and its eastern bloc allies, including Czechoslovakia were transitioning from communism to democracy. This brought an exceptional level of turmoil which also affected professional soccer in the region. As a result, eastern teams were searching for talent to replace players who were moving to play in Western Europe. While Trittschuh played only a single season for Sparta Prague, he helped them win their league championship. He also became the first U.S. player to play in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

. At the end of the season, he returned to the Rowdies for two seasons. In the fall of 1992, Trittschuh signed with Dutch club SVV Dordrecht. As he recounts it, he was in competition with two Finnish players for a spot on the club and he won. He became a regular starter for the team, but towards the end of the season the club ran out of money and stopped paying Trittschuh, so he returned to the U.S. In the spring of 1993, he rejoined the Tampa Bay Rowdies. On April 6, 1994, he moved to the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

of the

. On November 30, 1994, he signed with the St. Louis Ambush of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). That year he earned another championship when the Ambush took the NPSL crown. In 1995, he moved to the Montreal Impact of the APSL. In 1995, the new U.S. soccer league,

(MLS) approached Trittschuh about joining the league. He agreed but had to buy out the final year of his contract with the Impact, for $10,000. When he left the Impact, he finished his APSL (now

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

) as a 5 time all star. In November 1995, he joined the

Tampa Bay Terror The Tampa Bay Terror is the name of an indoor soccer team based in the Tampa Bay, Florida area that competed in the defunct National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). The team existed for two seasons before folding: 1995–1996 and 1996–1997. ...

of the NPSL. In 1996, Trittschuh joined the new

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

. In 1997, the team reached the

1997 MLS Cup MLS Cup 1997 was the second edition of the MLS Cup, the post-season championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. It was played on October 26, 1997, between D.C. United and the Colorado Rapids to determine the champion ...

, falling to 2–1 to

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. He had a solid three seasons with the Rapids playing in the sweeper position. At the beginning of the 1999 season, Rapids coach

Glenn Myernick Glenn "Mooch" Myernick (December 29, 1954 in Trenton, New Jersey – October 9, 2006 in Thornton, Colorado) was an American soccer player and coach. He won the 1976 Hermann Trophy as that year's outstanding collegiate player. He then spent eig ...

moved

Marcelo Balboa Marcelo Balboa (born August 8, 1967) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender in the 1990s for the United States national team, becoming its captain. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. After r ...

into the sweeper position. As a result, through the first 8 games of the 1999 season, Trittschuh never left the bench. On June 14, 1999, the Rapids traded Trittschuh to the

Tampa Bay Mutiny The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...

for midfielder/forward Guillermo Jara. Trittschuh would go on to play 64 regular and post-season games for the Mutiny. In 2001, he retired from active playing and was hired by the Colorado Rapids as an assistant coach, serving for four years and leading the reserve team to the 2006 MLS reserve title. As of 2013, he is the technical director of Denver's Colorado Storm youth team.

National team

Trittschuh also had a long and successful national team career. In 1987, he was selected to play for the U.S. national team. He made his national team debut against Egypt at the 1987 President's Cup. He also played for the national 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 ...

. In 1988, he was a member of the U.S. team which went 1–1–1 at the

Seoul 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 ...

. As previously mentioned, he was a member of the U.S. team at the

and played the full 90 minutes in their opening game against Czechoslovakia. He was also a member of the 1991 Gold Cup championship team. In 1995, he played his last game with the national team, against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Coach

In 1989, Trittschuh served as an assistant coach with the

men's soccer team. In 2003, he became an assistant coach with the

. He was named head coach of

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional Association football, soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference in the USL Champions ...

in advance of their inaugural 2015 season. In January 2020, Trittschuh was named head coach of

References

External links

MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trittschuh, Steve 1965 births Living people 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players AC Sparta Prague players All-American college men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Czechoslovakia American expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands American men's futsal players American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American men's soccer players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC coaches Czechoslovak First League players Eredivisie players Expatriate men's footballers in Czechoslovakia Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada FC Dordrecht players Men's association football defenders Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Major League Soccer players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Footballers at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games footballers for the United States Olympic soccer players for the United States Sportspeople from Granite City, Illinois Soccer players from Illinois SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's soccer players St. Louis Ambush (1992–2000) players St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players Tampa Bay Mutiny players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Tampa Bay Terror players United States men's international soccer players American soccer coaches 20th-century American sportsmen