Janusz Michallik (born April 22, 1966 in Chorzów, Poland) is a retired U.S. soccer defender and current soccer coach and television sports commentator.

[edit] Youth

Michallik moved to the United States with his father, a former Polish national team player, at the age of 16. His father had previously spent time in the U.S. in 1976 when he played for the Hartford Bicentennials of the North American Soccer League. While Michallik played for the junior Polish national team, he never played for the senior team, making him eligible for the U.S. team once he gained his citizenship.

[edit] Professional

In 1983, Michallik began his professional career with Gwardia Warszawa. He played 10 games before his family moved to the U.S. In 1984, he signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) and played a single season with the team. He continued to play indoor soccer with his next two teams, the Louisville Thunder and Canton Invaders of the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA), winning championships with them both despite only playing one season with each team. In 1988, he tried out with the Dallas Sidekicks of MISL, but while he played in the pre-season he was not offered a contract by the team. In 1990, Michallik moved to outdoor soccer with the Boston Bolts of the newly established American Professional Soccer League (APSL). In the fall of 1990, he signed with the Atlanta Attack of the AISA. In 1992, he played for the amateur Gremio Lusitano.^[1] In 1995, he signed with the Connecticut Wolves of USISL.^[2] He played several early season games with the Wolves, then went on loan to the [[New York Centaurs of the A-League.^[3]

[edit] National team

Michallik became a U.S. citizen on March 8, 1991. U.S. coach Bora Milutinovic quickly called him into the national team.^[4] That year, he was part of the team which won the 1991 CONCACAF Championship. In August 1991, he signed a contract to play exclusively for the national team.^[5] In 1992, he would taste victory again when the U.S. team won that year's U.S. Cup. He would go on to earn 44 caps and score a single goal as a tough defender. He was key to the U.S. preparation for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, playing in 12 pre-tournament games and starting in seven. As hosts of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the United States qualified automatically, thus not having to qualify through the CONCACAF region's 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament. However, he was left off the roster for the tournament itself and retired from the national team later that year.

In 1995, Michallik earned 5 caps and scored 1 goal with the U.S. Futsal team.

In 1996, the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer drafted Michallik in the 7th Round (61st overall) of the Inaugural MLS draft. He would play two seasons with the Crew before signing with the New England Revolution on January 16, 1998, for whom he would play one season before being released on October 31, 1998.

He currently lives in Glastonbury, Connecticut with his wife and family where he is the Technical Director for SoccerPlus Connecticut FC and the National FieldPlayer Director for SoccerPlus Camps (founded by Tony DiCicco, former Women's National Team Coach) and works as a soccer commentator for ESPN.

In 2002, he was inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was inducted into the New England Soccer Hall of Fame.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S.SoccerPlayers.com bio

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