Michael Burke (born February 25, 1977) is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player.

Career

College and Amateur

Burke attended

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the ...

, playing two seasons of college soccer. In 1997, he left college early for personal reasons. His professional soccer career started in his hometown of Jacksonville, FL. He spent time with Deportivo Cali in Colombia and Nottingham Forest in England.

Professional

Burke began his professional career in 1998 when he signed with the

Jacksonville Cyclones The Jacksonville Cyclones were a professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They played in the A-League from 1997 to 1999. The team originated as the Tampa Bay Cyclones, who played in Tampa, Florida from 1995 to 1996 before moving ...

of the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

. Late in the season, Michael Burke asked to be released to pursue other teams. After Burke sat out for a week of training, the club agreed to trade him to the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

and Burke was named the 1998

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

Rookie of the Year. Burke was drafted in the fourth round (41st overall) in the

2000 MLS SuperDraft The 2000 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 6, 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and consisted of six rounds. One of the most successful draft picks was goalkeeper Nick Rimando, a third round pick, who went on to hold the record ...

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 ...

. He played seven games for United before being released on June 2, 2000. He then signed with the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

on June 15, and played two games in Dallas before being released on June 30. Burke signed with the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

the next day and has remained with that team since then, playing over 200 games and scoring over 25 goals during his tenure. Burke earned Supporter’s Choice MVP honors in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. He garnered the MVP award of the USL2 Championship game in 2006, was the USL2 Most Valuable Player and was named Kickers' captain in 2007, was a USL-2 MVP Finalist in 2006, 2007, and 2008 and All-League First Team midfielder in 2006-09, and led the Kickers to his second USL2 championship in 2009. He also had a loan stint with

when he was called up as a backup for injured players early in 2002 for the 2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. He then played the game against

Comunicaciones F.C. Comunicaciones Fútbol Club S.A., better known as Comunicaciones F.C. or Comunicaciones, are a football club based in Guatemala City. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football. The most popular and successful footba ...

on March 6.Comunicaciones rolls over nine-man D.C. United
/ref> Burke came out of retirement in 2012 to make a final push for the playoffs. He recorded 2 assists during this short stint.

Honors

*1998 USL 1 Rookie of the Year *1999 Charleston Battery Supporters Choice MVP *2005-2009 USL 1 Richmond Kickers Supporters Choice MVP *2006 USL 2 Champion, USL 2 MVP Finalist, USL All League First Team, Richmond Kickers Supporters Choice MVP, Richmond Kickers Players Choice MVP, USL 2 Championship Game MVP *2007 USL 2 MVP Finalist, USL 2 All League First Team, Richmond Kickers Supporters Choice MVP, USL 2 Assist Leader *2008 USL 2 MVP, USL 2 All League First team, USL 2 Richmond Kickers Supporters Choice MVP, USL 2 Richmond Kickers Players Choice MVP, USL 2 Assist Leader * 2009 USL 2 Champion, USL 2 All League First Team, Richmond Kickers Supporters Choice MVP

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Michael 1977 births Living people American soccer players Charleston Battery players D.C. United players FC Dallas players Jacksonville Cyclones players Loyola Greyhounds men's soccer players Richmond Kickers players A-League (1995–2004) players Major League Soccer players USL First Division players USL Second Division players USL Championship players D.C. United draft picks Soccer players from Jacksonville, Florida Association football midfielders