Michael Collins (born in Hicksville, New York) is an American former professional

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 who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Collins played for at least twelve teams in nearly half a dozen leagues over his seventeen-year career. He also earned two caps with the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in 1988. Collins currently serves as president and general manager of

California United Strikers FC is an American professional soccer club based in Orange County, California. History The club was founded by Bronwyn & Pete Capriotti and Michael Collins, who have had connections to the adult amateur United Premier Soccer League. California U ...

Youth and college

Collins grew up in Hicksville, New York where he played on the Hicksville Americans youth club. In 1979, the Americans went to the McGuire Cup final where it lost to Imo's Pizza of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. Collins also played soccer at

St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School , motto_translation = In Faith and in Gentleness , address = 1170 Montauk Highway , city = West Islip , county = ( Suffolk County) , state = New York , zipcod ...

in West Islip, New York. Following his graduation of St. John's in 1979, he spent the fall semester playing college soccer at Mercy College before turning professional.

Professional career

In January, 1980, Collins signed with the

New York United The New York Greeks was an American soccer club based in New York City that was a member of the American Soccer League (1933-1983), American Soccer League. The team began as the amateur Greek-Americans. The club played lower Premier Division of th ...

of the American Soccer League. He spent two seasons with the team, seeing very little playing time, before the team folded at the end of the 1981 season. Collins moved to the

New York Arrows The New York Arrows were an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978 to 1984. They won the first four MISL championships. History Preparing for the first season In 1978, the New York Arrows beg ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He made his playing debut on December 3, 1981, and remained with the Arrows until they folded following the 1983–1984 season. In 1984, he signed with the New York Nationals of the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

. The Nationals folded at the end of the season. That winter, he returned to MISL, this time with the Baltimore Blast. The Blast went to the championship series before losing to the San Diego Sockers. Collins left the Blast and signed with the expansion New York Express on August 27, 1986. The Express went 3-23 before folding during the season. On March 4, 1987, the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Strings of Tea ...

purchased Collins’ contract from the Express.
/sup> The Lazers folded in 1989. He played at least the 1991-1992 MISL season with the San Diego Sockers. On January 9, 1993, the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

of the National Professional Soccer League signed Collins for the remainder of the 1992–1993 season.
/sup> He then moved to the

Milwaukee Rampage The Milwaukee Rampage are a former defunct professional American soccer team, that was located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which played in the A-League. History Founded in 1993 by Milwaukee area businessmen Dan Doucette and Jim Hock, the Rampage play ...

for the 1994

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 ...

.
/sup> That winter, Collins signed with the Buffalo Blizzard (NPSL) for the 1994–1995 season. At the end of the season, he moved to the Seattle SeaDogs for the 1995

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

(CISL) season. In 1996, he played with the

Sacramento Knights Sacramento Knights were an indoor soccer team that played from 1993 to 2001 in ARCO Arena and were owned by the NBA's Sacramento Kings. The team played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League from 1993 to 1997. The team then moved to the Wo ...

of the CISL. That winter, he was back with the Buffalo Blizzard, then played with the Detroit Safari for the 1997 CISL season.

National team

Collins earned two caps with the U.S. national team in 1988. His first game cap was a 3–0 loss to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

on June 5, 1988. He came off for Chris Sullivan. His second game was a 1–0 loss to

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

on June 7, 1988.USA - Details of International Matches 1980-1989

References

External links

* ttp://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/C/Collins.Michael.htm MISL stats {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Michael American soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Atlanta Chiefs players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Buffalo Blizzard players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Detroit Safari players Los Angeles Lazers players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Milwaukee Rampage players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players New York Arrows players New York Express players New York Nationals (USL) players New York United players Pennsylvania Stoners players Sacramento Knights players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Seattle SeaDogs players Soccer players from New York (state) St. Louis Storm players United Soccer League (1984–85) players United States men's international soccer players USISL players Living people 1961 births People from Hicksville, New York Men's association football midfielders Mercy Mavericks College men's soccer players in the United States