Janusz Michallik (born April 22, 1966 in
Chorzów,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
) is a Polish-American retired
soccer defender, current soccer coach and television sports commentator.
Youth
Michallik moved to the United States with his father
Krystian, 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
The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 19 ...
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.
Professional
In 1983, Michallik began his professional career with
Gwardia Warszawa
Gwardia Warszawa was a Polish sports club based in Warsaw. The club was founded in 1948. It participated in the Polish 1st League from 1953–1960 (8 seasons), 1962–1966 (5 seasons), 1967–1968, 1969–1975, 1978–1979 and 1981–1983. The ...
. 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 The Canton Invaders was an indoor soccer club based in Canton, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League.
After the 1995–96 season, the team relocated and became the Columbus Invaders.
History
The Canton Invaders were a p ...
of the
American Indoor Soccer Association
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
(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
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
of the AISA. In 1992, he played for the amateur Gremio Lusitano. In 1995, he signed with the
Connecticut Wolves
The Connecticut Wolves were an American soccer club that was founded by the Clifton Onolfo, the Onolfo Family, and several investors including Tony DiCicco. The Club's inaugural match was attended by 5,200 plus fans and competed in the United Soc ...
of
USISL
United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...
. He played several early season games with the Wolves, then went on loan to the
New York Centaurs
The New York Centaurs were an A-League professional soccer club, based in New York City. The team played only one season in 1995. The New York Fever of the USISL Pro League, debuted in 1994, playing two seasons in the league before merging with ...
of the
A-League.
In 1996, the
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
of
Major League Soccer drafted Michallik in the 7th Round (61st overall) of the
Inaugural MLS draft. He played two seasons with the Crew before signing with the
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...
on January 16, 1998, for whom he played one season before being released on October 31, 1998.
National team
Michallik became a U.S. citizen on March 8, 1991. U.S. coach
Bora Milutinovic quickly called him into the national team. That year, he was part of the team which won the 1991
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...
championship. In August 1991, he signed a contract to play exclusively for the national team. In 1992, he tasted victory again when the U.S. team won that year's U.S. Cup. He went on to earn 44
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 Ja ...
and score a single goal as a tough defender. He was key to the U.S. preparation for the
1994 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
, playing in 12 pre-tournament games and starting in seven. As hosts of the 1994 World Cup, the United States qualified automatically, thus not having to qualify through the CONCACAF region's
qualification tournament, and he was frequently summoned for friendlies, which he scored his first and only international goal for the United States in a 2–0 away triumph over
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...
. However, he was left off the roster for the tournament itself and retired from the national team later that year.
;International goals
Futsal
In 1995, Michallik earned five caps and scored 1 goal with the U.S.
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.
Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...
team.
Life after retirement
He currently lives in
Glastonbury, Connecticut
Glastonbury ( ) is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, formally founded in 1693 and first settled in 1636. It was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is on the banks of the Connecticut River, southeast ...
, with his wife, Marzena and son, Daniel, who played collegiate soccer for the
DePaul Blue Demons
The DePaul Blue Demons are the athletic teams that represent DePaul University, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Blue Demons participate in NCAA Division I and are a member of the Big East Conference.
DePaul’s Athletic Director is DeWayne P ...
.
He is a soccer commentator, currently working for
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
and
SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sa ...
. He is also an expert for the Polish Television, TVP Sport. He also is a frequent guest on Polish
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel
Kanał Sportowy.
Honors
*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
References
External links
U.S.SoccerPlayers.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michallik, Janusz
1966 births
Living people
American Indoor Soccer Association players
American Professional Soccer League players
American soccer players
American men's futsal players
American soccer coaches
American sports announcers
Atlanta Attack players
Boston Bolts players
Canton Invaders players
Cleveland Force (original MISL) players
Columbus Crew players
Connecticut Wolves players
Gremio Lusitano players
Gwardia Warsaw players
Association football commentators
Association football defenders
Louisville Thunder players
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
Major League Soccer players
Major Soccer League players
National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players
New York Centaurs players
New England Revolution players
Polish footballers
Poland youth international footballers
Sportspeople from Chorzów
Polish emigrants to the United States
USL Second Division players
United States men's international soccer players
1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
1992 King Fahd Cup players
CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players