Anthony Sanneh (born June 1, 1971) is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a defender or

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 ...

Club career

Youth and college

Tony Sanneh was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

to an African father from Gambia and an American mother from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He attended the

St. Paul Academy and Summit School St. Paul Academy and Summit School is a college preparatory independent day school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, for students in grades K–12. The school was established through a merger in 1969 of St. Paul Academy, a school for boys ...

and played for the local soccer team, St. Paul Blackhawks. He graduated in 1990 having been selected twice to the All State team. He went on to play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

for the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I

Milwaukee Panthers The Milwaukee Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. A total of 13 Panthers athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I. The Panthers have won the James J. McCafferty Trophy as the Horizon League's all-sports ...

, where, as a striker, he became the school's all-time scoring leader, with 53 goals and 32 assists from 1990 to 1993. He was named an NCAA Second-Team All-American in 1993.

Professional

In 1994, his first year out of college, Sanneh played with

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 ...

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 p ...

, where he scored 14 goals and 14 assists while teaming up with

Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham and Chicago Fire. He is the fifth-highest all-time leading goalscorer for the United States national team. For m ...

. His partnership with McBride was highlighted by a goal that the latter scored during the opening

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

match against Portugal, which originated from a cross by Sanneh. During the winter 1994 season, Sanneh joined the indoor soccer

Chicago Power The Chicago Power were an indoor soccer club based in Chicago, Illinois that competed in the American Indoor Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League. After the 1995–96 season, the team was sold to Peter Pocklington, moved ...

of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). He played 34 games, scoring 27 goals in the 1994–95 season. He also played

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 four games for a total of 79:15 minutes. In the 1995–96 indoor season, he played in only nine games, scoring four goals, but also played 4:19 minutes as a goalkeeper. In 1995, he played with a former

teammate,

Manny Lagos Manuel "Manny" Lagos (born June 11, 1971) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He and is the former head coach of Minnesota United FC. Club career Early career Born in St. Paul, MinnesotaMinnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home ...

, amassing 18 goals and 22 assists with the team. He also played the 1995–96 indoor season with 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 ...

. In 1996, midway through the inaugural MLS season, Sanneh was signed by

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 ...

. Originally a forward, Tony played a variety of positions for United, mostly at right midfield. He went on to score goals in the first two

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

s, leading D.C. to consecutive titles. Sanneh ended his original MLS stay after the 1998 season, signing with

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club Hertha BSC in January 1999. Sanneh spent the next three years with Hertha, where he was a starter when healthy. His playing time was limited at times due to many injuries and a national team tug of war. He scored just one goal in league play, and is remembered for assisting on

Ali Daei Ali Daei ( fa, ; born 21 March 1969) is an Iranian football manager and former player. A striker, he was the captain of the Iranian national team between 2000 and 2006 and played in the German Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich ...

's first

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

goal in a 2–1 victory over

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. He transferred to 1. FC Nürnberg in 2001, where he played nearly every game the first year and a half leading the back line until he sustained a back injury that kept him out of action for 13 months. During his injury layoff Nürnberg was demoted to the second league. Upon his return Sanneh started the last seven games, winning five in a row, to give Nürnberg promotion and the second Bundesliga crown. He tallied a total of five goals. In 2004, he came back to MLS, signing with the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

, to play alongside long-time friend, college and Thunder teammate

Ante Razov Ante Razov (born March 2, 1974) is an American soccer coach and former player who is an assistant coach for Los Angeles FC. One of the leading goal scorers in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the all-time leading goal scorer for t ...

and part of an allocation. He played out the 2006 season assisting on the final goal of the Fire's 3–1 Open Cup win over the L.A. Galaxy. Sanneh's MLS league totals stand at 16 goals and 27 assists. However, following the 2006 season, Sanneh and the Fire failed to reach a new agreement on his contract, prompting his release from the team. On July 24, 2007,

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

team

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home ...

announced that they had signed Sanneh. The

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

then acquired his rights from the Fire. He made his debut for the Rapids on August 16, 2007 against the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

Dick's Sporting Goods Park Dick's Sporting Goods Park, also known as DSG Park, is a soccer-specific stadium located in Commerce City, Colorado that is home to the Colorado Rapids men's professional soccer team. The stadium seats up to 18,061 people for soccer matches, bu ...

. He played in 10 out of their final 12 games but did not agree to terms the following season. After sitting out the 2008 season, he signed with

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

in February 2009. He made 13 appearances with the Western Conference champions (including five starts) but struggled with injuries the latter half of the season and was not invited to 2010's training camp.

International career

Sanneh made his debut for the United States national team on January 29, 1997 in a 2–1 loss to China but failed to make Steve Sampson's final squad and was left out of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. Sanneh then had very good seasons from there on out, enough to impress new U.S. coach

Bruce Arena Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Arena has had ...

scoring his first international goal in a shock 3–0 win over Germany. Eventually, he became an important part of the team by the time the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

came around and was one of the US best players in the tournament, playing every minute of every game. In the US first game of the tournament, a 3–2 upset of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, his precise cross from the right side of the field provided an assist to

's goal. He was also instrumental, both defensively and offensively, in the US narrow 1–0 loss to Germany in the quarterfinals, barely missing an equalizing goal on two occasions in the 47th and 89th minute. After the

, Sanneh was rarely picked due to injury and an influx of young talent into the national team pool. However, after playing impressively for the

and Chicago Fire in MLS, he was recalled for the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious ...

, starting in group games against Cuba and Costa Rica. The US later won the tournament upon beating Panama in the final. Following the tournament he was never called back into the national team and Sanneh finished his career for the US national team with three goals in 43 appearances.

International goals

:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sanneh goal.''

Post-playing career

Sanneh operates his own soccer camp system in the Midwest and U.S. Virgin Islands. He also is a coach and consultant for the club soccer team Minneapolis United. In addition to overseeing youth development, he is the founder and Executive Director of his own charitable foundation headquartered in St. Paul (www.thesannehfoundation.org) which, among other initiatives, aims to help urban youth and also assists in recovery efforts in Haiti. As of 2013, Sanneh has been playing with Brits Pub FC a local recreational team in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the summer of 2013, Sanneh formed a Minnesota Thunder Legends team for a match against the Stegman's Old Boys of Minneapolis in partnership with The Free Beer Movement to help raise money for The Sanneh Foundation. Sanneh has also been an active participant in the

Sports Diplomacy Politics and sports or sports diplomacy describes the use of sport as a means to influence diplomatic, social, and political International relations, relations. Sports diplomacy may transcend cultural differences and bring people together. The us ...

Sports Envoy program for the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

. In this function, he has traveled to Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cyprus, Haiti, and Malaysia, where he worked with to conduct soccer clinics and events that reached more than 3000 youth from underserved areas. In so doing, Sanneh helped contribute to Sports Diplomacy's mission to reach out to youth populations in order to promote growth and a mutual understanding through sports. In November 2014, Sanneh received the Athletes in Excellence Award from The Foundation for Global Sports Development, in recognition of his community service efforts and work with youth. In 2017, Sanneh was inducted into the United States Amateur Soccer Association (USASA) Hall of Fame. In February 2018, Sanneh received the Community Advocate for Change Award from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.

Honors

;United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

Champions: 2005 United States: On October 21, 2017 Sanneh was inducted into the United States Amateur Soccer Association (USASA) Hall of Fame.

References

External links

The Sanneh Foundation

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanneh, Tony 1971 births Living people African-American soccer players American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Germany American soccer players Soccer players from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Chicago Fire FC players Chicago Power players Colorado Rapids players Columbus Crew players D.C. United players Expatriate footballers in Germany Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Hertha BSC players 1. FC Nürnberg players LA Galaxy players Milwaukee Wave players Milwaukee Rampage players Minnesota Thunder players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Major League Soccer players USISL players USL First Division players Milwaukee Panthers men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players Association football defenders Association football midfielders American people of Gambian descent 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople