Michelle Anne Akers (formerly Akers-Stahl; born February 1, 1966) is an American former

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 starred in the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

and

1999 Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

and

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

victories by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. At the 1991 World Cup, she won the Golden Shoe as the top scorer, with ten goals. Akers is regarded as one of the greatest female football players in history. She was named

FIFA Female Player of the Century FIFA Female Player of the Century was a one-off award created by the global governing body FIFA to decide the greatest football female player of the 20th century, announced at the annual FIFA World gala, held in Rome on 11 December 2000. Americ ...

in 2002, an award she shared with

China's China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones ...

Sun Wen. In 2004, Akers and Mia Hamm were the only two women named to the

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fou ...

, a list of the 125 greatest living soccer players selected by

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...

and commissioned by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

for that organization's 100th anniversary. Akers is a member of the (U.S.)

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 (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors Association football, soccer ...

; she was inducted in 2004, along with

Paul Caligiuri Paul David Caligiuri (born March 9, 1964) is an American former soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder. Caligiuri's professional career spanned 16 years, during which he played for numerous teams in the United States and Germany, ...

and

Eric Wynalda Eric Boswell Wynalda (born June 9, 1969) is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and retired player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach ...

Early life

Born to Robert and Anne Akers in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

on February 1, 1966, Akers grew up in the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, Washington suburb of

Shoreline A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

, where she attended and played soccer for Shorecrest High School. Early in her career, she was not sure whether she was willing to do the training necessary to excel. After losing a youth game, she was frustrated and walked off the field in tears. Her father asked her "Did you have fun". Her answer was "yes" which led to the realization that this was the real reason she played, and that helped turn her into the fierce competitor she became. She was named an All-American three times during her high school career. At in height and , Akers had an imposing physical presence on the soccer field and was noted for her aggressive and physical style of play.

University of Central Florida

Akers attended the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State Universi ...

on a scholarship where she was selected as four-time NCAA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. She was Central Florida's Athlete of the Year in 1988–89, was the all-time leading scorer in UCF history, won the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

in 1988 as the nation's top college soccer player, and had her #10 jersey retired by the school.

International career

Akers was a member of the 1985 United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) for its first-ever game, at a tournament in Italy in August 1985. Due to an ankle injury, she did not play in the first game. However, in the U.S.'s second-ever international game, she scored the first goal in the history of the program, in a 2–2 tie against

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. Akers scored 15 goals in 24 games for the U.S. from 1985 to 1990, before scoring a team-record 39 goals in 26 games in the 1991 season. In 1990 and 1991 she was named the Female Athlete of the Year by the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

(USSF). Akers was also the lead scorer in the inaugural

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's international governing bod ...

in China in 1991, scoring ten goals, including five in one game. This led the U.S. women's team to the first women's world championship, defeating

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

2–1 in the final. Akers scored both U.S. goals in the final. After the 1991 World Cup, she shifted from striker to

central 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 ...

, in part to minimize the beatings doled out by opposing defenders. Despite the precautions, Akers suffered a concussion and a knee injury early in the 1995 World Cup, and was hampered by the knee in the U.S.'s semifinal loss to Norway. In 1996, Akers was again a member of the U.S. women's national team at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, Georgia, where it won the first gold medal in Olympic Women's Soccer. She played with a torn

medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. Its primary function is to resist outwar ...

in the holding central midfielder role, anchoring the team's defense, dominating in the air, and playmaking out of the back to maintain possession and generate goal-scoring opportunities. After the tournament her knee required reconstructive surgery for the third time. She was also a member of the gold medal-winning

1998 Goodwill Games The 1998 Goodwill Games was the fourth edition of the international sports competition the Goodwill Games, which were created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. The competition was held i ...

team. On June 7, 1998, she was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit, FIFA's highest honor in the global game of soccer, for her contributions to the game of soccer on and off the field; she was the first woman ever to receive it. Akers again was a leader and member of the

team, where the team won their second World Cup championship. Despite playing with a dislocated shoulder, caused by a fan in the quarterfinals, she was awarded the Bronze Ball of the tournament by FIFA. Shortly before the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, Australia, Akers retired from the game due to injuries incurred before and during the 1999 FIFA World Cup. She was the U.S. national team's second all-time leading scorer (behind Mia Hamm) with 105 goals, 37 assists and 247 points.

Coaching career

On January 19, 2022, the

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the US, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to th ...

announced Akers as an assistant coach for the 2022 season, serving under head coach

Amanda Cromwell Amanda Caryl Cromwell (born June 15, 1970) is an American professional soccer coach and former player, and former head coach of Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League. Cromwell was previously the coach at the University of Central ...

. She will also serve in a player development and mentorship role, and will assist with community outreach.

Personal life

From 1990 to 1994, she was married and was known as Michelle Akers-Stahl. Later she married again (2003–2007) and had a son in Orlando, Florida. As of 2011, she resided near Atlanta, Georgia, with her son Cody on a small farm doing horse rescue and animal welfare work. Since her retirement from the USWNT in 2000, she has also continued to promote the game of soccer as a spokesperson, advocate, and leader on various platforms.Scavuzzo, Diane. (12 juni 2015)
Women in Soccer: Michelle Akers.
Goal Nation. Retrieved June 10, 2018.

Career statistics

References

;Match reports

External links

National Soccer Hall of Fame biography
*

Michelle Akers horse rescue website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akers, Michelle 1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Santa Clara, California United States women's international soccer players FIFA 100 National Soccer Hall of Fame members Women's Olympic soccer players of the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in soccer Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics UCF Knights women's soccer players Soccer players from Orlando, Florida FIFA Century Club American women's soccer players 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players Tyresö FF players FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players Women's association football midfielders Women's association football forwards Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Hermann Trophy women's winners Damallsvenskan players Women's United Soccer Association commentators Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games American women's soccer coaches Orlando Pride non-playing staff