Manfred "Manny" Schellscheidt (born January 17, 1941) is a German-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 t ...

coach and former player. Born in

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...

in the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. I ...

, he emigrated to the United States in the 1970s. He spent three seasons in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league ba ...

and one in the American Soccer League. He won two

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Ope ...

and one American Soccer League title as a player as well as two professional championships as a coach. Schellscheidt is a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...

Playing career

In 1964, Schellscheidt was visiting his aunt in New York when he was recruited by the coach of

Elizabeth S.C. Elizabeth SC is an American soccer club based in Union County, New Jersey that is an inactive member of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League. History Elizabeth SC was founded in 1924 as Elizabeth Germans in Elizabeth, New Jersey by a group of Germ ...

He played a handful of games before returning to Germany. After graduating from the

German Sport University Cologne German Sport University Cologne ( German: Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, DSHS, Spoho), is a sport university in Cologne, Germany. History The Sport University Cologne was founded in 1947. After the Sport University had changed its name to " ...

(Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln) in Cologne, Germany, in 1967, he played professionally for

Union Solingen SG Union Solingen was a German association football club from Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia. History The side can trace its roots back to an earlier ''Union Solingen'' club founded in 1897 out of the merger of a number of clubs from the d ...

and SC Fortuna Köln before moving to the United States. When he arrived in the United States, he immediately rejoined

of the

German American Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...

. He was a member of the team when it won both the 1970 and 1972

s. In 1973, he signed with the

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors we ...

of the

(NASL). The Atoms won the NASL title that year. In 1974, he became a player-coach with the

Rhode Island Oceaneers Home field was Pierce field East Providence RI Rhode Island Oceaneers was a soccer team. History The original Rhode Island Oceaneers soccer team was established in 1974. That season, they won the league title after a 16-2 regular season. U.S. Socc ...

in the American Soccer League. He took the team to the ASL championship and was named the 1974 ASL Coach of the Year. He returned to the NASL the next season with 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 197 ...

Coaching career

After playing two seasons in Hartford, Schellscheidt became the head coach of the

New Jersey Americans New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in 1977 winning another league title that season. He also coached in the North American Soccer League and in 1975 became coach of the United States national team. He also led the U.S. team in the 1984 Olympics qualifying. However, Schellscheidt was replaced four months before the start of the tournament, with a record of nine wins, 14 losses and 11 ties, by

Alketas Panagoulias Alketas 'Alkis' Panagoulias ( el, Αλκέτας 'Άλκης' Παναγούλιας; 30 May 1934 – 18 June 2012) was a Greek association football player and manager. He managed the national teams of both Greece and the United States. He also ...

. The departure was contentious, with Schellscheidt saying of Gene Edwards, the USSF president at the time, " etold me they couldn't afford two coaches. That's funny, because they hadn't been paying me recently." In 1988, Schellscheidt was named coach of the

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan u ...

men's team. The Pirates initially experienced success under Schellscheidt, winning two

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

championships, eight NCAA tournament berths, seven conference title game appearances and a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2001 while having had only one losing season during his first eighteen seasons at the helm. The Pirates, however, have not been successful recently, posting losing records in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 consecutively. Schellscheidt stepped down as the coach of Seton Hall on November 28, 2011. In 1990, Schellscheidt was inducted into the

Personal life

Schellscheidt resides in

Union Township, Union County, New Jersey Union Township is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township population was 59,728, the highest rec ...

with his wife, Annette. Their son Karl Schellscheidt played soccer at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

. They also have two daughters, Jackie and Janet. In 1992, Schellscheidt published a book, ''Youth League: Soccer Skills – Mastering the Ball''.

References

External links

Seton Hall Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schellscheidt, Manfred 1941 births Living people American non-fiction writers American Soccer League (1933–1983) coaches American soccer coaches American soccer players German-American Soccer League players German footballers German emigrants to the United States German non-fiction writers Connecticut Bicentennials players National Soccer Hall of Fame members North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches People from the Rhine Province People from Union Township, Union County, New Jersey Philadelphia Atoms players Rhode Island Oceaneers players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer coaches SC Fortuna Köln players Elizabeth S.C. players United States men's national soccer team managers Sportspeople from the New York metropolitan area Soccer players from New Jersey German male non-fiction writers Association football midfielders People from Helmstedt (district) Player-coaches New Jersey Americans (ASL) players Princeton Tigers men's soccer coaches