Mike Ammann (born February 8, 1971) is an American former professional
soccer player who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
in England and
Major League Soccer.
Youth
Ammann was born in
Orange, California
Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before 1920. While many other ...
. The younger brother of
Bob Ammann
Bob "Bobby" Ammann (born May 27, 1965) is a retired Swiss-American soccer goalkeeper. Being a competitive NCAA Division I collegiate and professional athlete has helped Ammann develop a strong work ethic and competitive drive. Ammann's athletic ...
, he played for the
Los Angeles Heat
Los Angeles Heat joined the Western Soccer Alliance in 1986. They joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the WSL merged with the American Soccer League, then folded in 1990. The club played in Torrance, California at West H ...
in the
Western Soccer League
Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer All ...
in 1989. In 1989, Ammann graduated from
Mater Dei High School. He entered
Cal State-Fullerton where he played on the men's soccer team from 1990 to 1993. In 1993, the Titans went to the NCAA
Final Four. That year, he also played for the
East Los Angeles Cobras
The East Los Angeles Cobras were an American soccer team that played in East Los Angeles, California. They joined the USISL in 1993 and later became affiliated with the Los Angeles Salsa of the American Professional Soccer League
The American P ...
in the
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 ...
.
Professional
After Mike Stevens, the director of
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
, saw Ammann play in the 1994 NCAA Final Four, he offered him a trial. Ammann played for Charlton Athletic in the second tier of English football from 1994 to 1996.
When
Major League Soccer started in 1996, Ammann was initially not signed, but late in the inaugural season he signed with the then-
Kansas City Wiz
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the we ...
. In 1997, he set a league record (since broken) of twenty-one wins, and ranked fourth in voting for the
MLS Goalkeeper of the Year
MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkepeer of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer award established in 1996. It is voted on by media, MLS players and club management based on regular ...
award.
Before the 1999 season, Ammann was traded to the
MetroStars with
Mark Chung
Mark Chung (born June 18, 1970) is an American former soccer midfielder who played ten seasons in Major League Soccer. He also earned twenty-four caps, scoring two goals, with the US national team.
Youth
Chung was born in Toronto to Hakka Ch ...
for
Tony Meola
Antonio Michael "Tony" Meola (; ; born February 21, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990, 1994, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he ...
and
Alexi Lalas
Panayotis Alexander "Alexi" Lalas ( el, Αλέξης Λάλας; born June 1, 1970) is an American retired soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer te ...
. That season the MetroStars squad finished with the worst record in league history. However, Ammann played well despite the lack of success, and was named Defensive Player of the Year two seasons in a row.
The 2000 season was Ammann's best as the Metros went through a rebirth. Ammann was selected to the 2000 MLS All Star game and started in goal for the Eastern Conference.
Injuries and retirement
Ammann missed the last five weeks of the 2000 MLS season after
Mamadou Diallo collided with him in a game against 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 ...
. Diallo stepped on Ammann, resulting in three broken three ribs, a punctured lung, and a concussion. The incident, which was dubbed "Crime of the Century" by Metro teammate
Mike Petke
Mike Petke (born January 30, 1976) is an American former soccer player and coach who was most recently head coach of Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. Prior to his tenure with Real Salt Lake, he was head coach of the New York Red Bulls, ...
, saw Diallo receive no punishment. Ammann missed the rest of the regular season because of these injuries, returning for the playoffs and shutting out the
Chicago Fire 2–0.
With the emergence of
Tim Howard for the MetroStars, Ammann was traded to
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 ...
for
Richie Williams
Richard "Richie" Williams (born June 3, 1970) is an American former professional soccer player and coach.
Known for his diminutive height and his dogged tackling, Williams spent the vast majority of his playing career in the United States, pla ...
and an
allocation before the 2001 MLS season. Injuries dogged him, however, and he retired after not playing a minute in 2002. Ammann's doctor had never performed the procedure prior to operating on Ammann and left him permanently disabled. Ammann suffers disabilities in his right and left arms and hands. Dr. Hazel was found guilty by a jury of malpractice in D.C. Courts.
Post-soccer career
Since 2003, Ammann worked in
information technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...
and became the director of channel sales at
Tintri. Ammann worked for Hitachi, ViON and EMC. In 2010,
Ammann founded Twenty-Four Seven Goalkeeper, a goalkeeper academy in the Northern Virginia area, which taught both boys and girls of all ages. Ammann then merged 247GK with GK Icon and founded GK Icon USA some time before 2013.
Ammann is currently the President of Purechannels, a global B2B Channel Marketing Agency. www.purechannels.com
References
External links
Q&A with Metro great Mike Ammann*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ammann, Mike
1971 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Orange, California
American expatriate soccer players
American expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Cal State Fullerton Titans men's soccer players
D.C. United players
East Los Angeles Cobras players
Expatriate footballers in England
Association football goalkeepers
Sporting Kansas City players
Los Angeles Heat players
Major League Soccer players
New York Red Bulls players
Soccer players from California
Western Soccer Alliance players
Major League Soccer All-Stars
American soccer players