John Maessner (born June 2, 1969 in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jers ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, two in France, two in

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 ...

, two in the National Professional Soccer League and one in Germany.

Player

Youth

Maessner was a 1987 Parade Magazine High School All American soccer player. In 1987, he entered the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

where he played on the men's soccer team until 1990. In 1989, the Cavaliers won the

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

. He lost much of his senior season with a broken foot, but came back in time for the post-season tournaments. Although he turned professional in 1991, he continued to work on his degree, graduating in 1992. In 1991, he was a member of the U.S. soccer at the 1991 World University Games.

Professional

On May 2, 1991, Maessner turned professional when he signed with 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), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

of the

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. It ...

. He played eleven games as the Strikers went to the playoff semifinals. On September 22, 1991, the Harrisburg Heat selected Maessner in the National Professional Soccer League draft. He played only seven games for the Heat that season. In 1992, he moved south to the

Miami Freedom The Miami Sharks were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team was renamed the Miami Freedom and joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soc ...

before moving to France where he signed with fifth division

ES La Ciotat ES La Ciotat are a football club based in the town of La Ciotat in France. History The club were originally formed in 1921 Stadium The club currently play in the Stade Jean Bouissou stadium, Boulevard de Clavel, 13600 La Ciotat. The stadium ha ...

. He then moved to

FC Istres Football Club Istres Ouest Provence (; commonly referred to as simply Istres) is a French association football club based in Istres. The club was formed in 1920 and currently play their home matches at the Stade Parsemain in Fos-sur-Mer, a com ...

in the French

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

. He returned to the United States in 1994 where 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 ...

in the

. In January 1995, he signed with the

Buffalo Blizzard The Buffalo Blizzard was a soccer club that existed from 1992 to 2001 in Buffalo, New York. History The team was originally owned by the Knox brothers who owned the Buffalo Sabres at the time, and additionally by the Riches who owned the minor l ...

of the NPSL. In 1995, he returned to the Wolves for a second season before moving to Germany to play for

FC Saarbrücken FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

during the 1995–1996 2. Fußball-Bundesliga season. On May 13, 1996,

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

acquired Messner from FC Saarbrücken.D.C. United Transactions
/ref> He played three seasons in D.C., winning the 1996 MLS Cup and 1997 MLS Cup. On November 9, 1997, the

Miami Fusion The Miami Fusion was a professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for four seasons, from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one of the league's first two expansion teams, their best seas ...

selected Maessner in the 1997 MLS Expansion Draft. July 19, 1999, Miami sent Maessner back to D.C. United in exchange for Brian Kamler and future considerations. The future considerations turned out to be

Roy Lassiter Roy Lee Lassiter (born March 9, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He played the first few years of his professional career in Costa Rica. He returned to the United States to play in Major League So ...

. On May 26, 2000,

traded Maessner, two first round picks in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft and a 2002 MLS SuperDraft second round pick to the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

in exchange for

Raúl Díaz Arce Raúl Díaz Arce (born February 1, 1970 in San Miguel, El Salvador) is a Salvadoran former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is El Salvador's most prolific goal scorer, with 39 goals in just 68 appearances. Playing career 1 ...

. He spent the remainder of the 2000 season as well as the 2001 season in Tampa Bay. He retired at the end of the 2001 season.

Coach

After retiring, Maessner returned to the University of Virginia as an assistant soccer coach. In January 2007, D.C. United named Maessner as the club's Director of Youth Development for D.C. United. Maessner is no longer with D.C. United as the technical director. John Maessner named interim head women's soccer coach at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on July 25, 2012.

Notes

External links

John Maessner: Director of Youth Development
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maessner, John 1969 births Living people American expatriate soccer players American Professional Soccer League players American soccer players Buffalo Blizzard players Connecticut Wolves players FC Istres players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Harrisburg Heat players Major League Soccer players Miami Freedom players Miami Fusion players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Sportspeople from Hackensack, New Jersey Tampa Bay Mutiny players D.C. United players 1. FC Saarbrücken players USISL players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players Soccer players from New Jersey ES La Ciotat players Association football midfielders Association football forwards Expatriate footballers in France American expatriate sportspeople in France American expatriate soccer players in Germany