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 Michael
made his mark on American soccer history as captain of the first
U.S. team to reach the World Cup finals since 1950. At the time
of his retirement from the U.S. national team in 1990, his 51
caps were a national team record. The U.S. had not qualified for
the World Cup finals in the 40 years before the team, led by
Windischmann, reached the final tournament in 1990 in Italy. He
captained the U.S. team in all three of its games at that 1990
World Cup.
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Personal Information |
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Class of 2004 |
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Born:
December 6, 1965 - Nuremberg, Germany |
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Position:
Defender |
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Int'l
Caps: 51 |
Int'l
Goals: 0 |
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Windischmann was captain in every one of the eight World Cup
qualifying games that the U.S. played in 1989 as it campaigned
successfully for a World Cup place. The key game was, of course,
the clinching upset over Trinidad & Tobago on November 19, 1989.
Earlier in his national team career, Windischmann had played in
three World Cup qualifying games in 1985 and two in 1988.
Windischmann holds the record for most consecutive appearances
(37) and most consecutive starts in a career for the men's
national team.
The first of his appearances came on November 30, 1984 against
Ecuador in Hempstead, NY, not far from where he had starred in
college at Adelphi University. The last was on November 21, 1990
against the Soviet Union in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. In addition
to his appearances in the full national team, Windischmann
played in one of the games the U.S. played at the 1988 Olympic
Games in South Korea, as well as in five Olympic qualifying
games in 1987.
Windischmann, a product of the Ridgewood area of New York City
where he now coaches, played several seasons for the Brooklyn
Italians in New York’s Cosmopolitan League. He also played with
the Albany Capitals of the American Soccer League. Currently he
is the Technical Director of the Met Oval/Brooklyn Knights team
of the Cosmopolitan Jr. Soccer League and Super-Y League.
Where Are They Now:
Michael
entered the National Soccer Hall of Fame in October 2004 in a
“star-studded class” that included Eric Wynalda, Michelle Akers,
and Paul Caliguiri.
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U.S. National Team
Statistics |
