Antonio Michael Meola (; ; born February 21, 1969) 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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he played in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, the U.S. top soccer division, where he obtained multiple honors. Meola is currently a radio host on SiriusXM FC.

Early life

Meola was born in Belleville, New Jersey. He grew up in Kearny. He played boys' soccer for Kearny High School. He learned his love for the game from his father, Vincenzo, who played for Italian second division club Avellino before immigrating to the U.S. Meola was All-State both as a goalkeeper (1985) and a forward (1986). He had a part in 41 clean sheets and scored 42 goals during his high school career. In 1999, Meola was named by '' The Star-Ledger'' as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1980s. Meola not only excelled at soccer, he was a three-sport varsity letterman. He was the captain of the school's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team and was named an All-State

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player in 1987. The

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

drafted him out of high school, though Meola did not sign a contract with them.

College

Meola attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

on a soccer/

athletic scholarship. While at Virginia, he played under coach Bruce Arena. By the time he was playing for the Cavaliers, he had already begun to make a name for himself on the international scene. In October 1987, he backstopped the U.S. U-20 national team at the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship. He earned first team All American honors both his freshman and sophomore years. He also won the Hermann Trophy as a freshman in 1988 and the MAC Award as a sophomore in 1989. On December 15, 1989, he announced that he was leaving U.Va. to pursue a career with the U.S. national team. Meola also lettered for the U.Va. Cavaliers baseball team his freshman year of 1988 as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

Professional career

Early soccer career

Meola had signed with the U.S. Soccer Federation before the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

. Following the cup, Meola signed on loan with English second division club Brighton & Hove Albion where he played eleven games; only two were league games. He gained his first start when he replaced the injured Perry Digweed and promptly won man of the match honors. On September 14, 1990, Meola was transferred to second division club

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

before moving back to the U.S., which he did when he was unable to renew his work permit due to his inability to gain first team time with Watford. In 1991, Meola played for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the American Professional Soccer League. He shared the goal with Arnie Mausser.

American football and acting

Meola attempted to become a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

with NFL's

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in July 1994 but didn't pass the try-outs and was cut. Although Meola signed with the Buffalo Blizzard of the NPSL on December 14, 1994, for the 1994–95 indoor season and became the team's starting keeper, he left in mid-February 1995, as he had taken a lead role in the off-Broadway play '' Tony and Tina's Wedding'' and needed to join the cast.

United Soccer Leagues

In February 1995, Meola joined the Long Island Rough Riders for its upcoming 1995 USISL season. That year the Rough Riders claimed the USISL championship.

MetroStars

Meola spent three weeks in February 1996 training with Italian club

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. Upon the creation of Major League Soccer, he was allocated to the NY/NJ MetroStars, for whom he played between 1996 and 1998, starting almost every game. During his time with the MetroStars, he set a league record with nine shutouts in 1996. He did not win the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, however; the honor went to Mark Dodd.

Kansas City Wizards

Meola was traded to the Kansas City Wizards (with Alexi Lalas for Mark Chung and Mike Ammann) in 1999, but missed most of his first year in the midwest due to injury. Chris Snitko and David Winner backstopped during Meola's absence. The team struggled for results and wins with both Winner and Snitko. In 2000, Meola was named League MVP, Goalkeeper of the Year, and MLS Cup MVP as he led Kansas City to the

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

. He set a new league record by recording 16 shutouts. Meola was voted into the 2000 MLS All Star Game playing the first half in goal, and made a cameo in the 2nd half up top as a forward. Meola played for the Wizards through the 2004 MLS season. That year, an injury forced him out of contention. Bo Oshoniyi took over the goalkeeping position, although Meola recorded a shutout in the Wizards' U.S. Open Cup final win over the Chicago Fire, and Meola was not asked back for next season, instead stuck with Oshoniyi as the starting goalkeeper.

MetroStars/Red Bulls return

Meola was re-acquired by the MetroStars in June 2005. He was named to the MLS All-Time Best XI after the season. Following the 2006 season, Meola was waived by the team, now known as the New York Red Bulls.

New Jersey Ironmen

Meola signed a contract in summer 2007 with the New Jersey Ironmen, an indoor soccer expansion team based in Newark, NJ that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. As starting goalie, Meola led the team to the playoffs in its first year.

International career

Meola made his U.S. national team debut on June 10, 1988, against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. Meola's second cap came in a June 4, 1989 victory over Peru in the Marlboro Cup which won the U.S. the cup. The team took the trophy to the Scots-American Club in Kearny, New Jersey. After the party, Meola drove back to the team's hotel, dropped the trophy at the front desk and drove home. As he remembers it, "A week later Doug Newman called me up and asked where the cup was. I told him I'd left it at for him at the hotel. . . . I'm sure they got it back. Back then there weren't too many cups in U.S. Soccer." Later in the summer, the national team went on a tour of Italy, playing several

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

teams. At the time, David Vanole was the main goalkeeper of the U.S., but over the previous month, he had fought with the U.S. Soccer Federation over a contract dispute and traded his place on the field with Meola to get his burgeoning weight under control. U.S. coach Bob Gansler wanted to start Meola against A.S. Roma, but Meola was injured in a freak accident when a ball struck his head during practice. Vanole started in his place, but let in three goals in a 4-3 U.S. victory. This bad performance led Gansler to drop Vanole, who never again played for the U.S., thus making Meola an undisputed starter between the sticks. He played the remaining qualifying games for the

, including the famous 1–0 victory over

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

that sealed a spot for the U.S. in the final tournament, where he also played every minute in goal. Meola remained the keeper of choice for the U.S. national team from 1990 through the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At that tournament, his play and ponytail made him a recognizable face around the country. After the U.S. loss to Brazil in the second round of the World Cup, Meola informed the U.S. coach Bora Milutinović that he intended to pursue a professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

career as a

. Milutinović never called Meola back to the U.S. team. In a 2024 interview with CBS, Meola claimed that this lack of callback was actually related to leave he took for family reasons and that an unnamed USSF official effectively told him he was being blackballed as a result. https://megaphone.link/CAD5252121166 It was not until January 1999 that Meola again played for the U.S. By that time, Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel were competing for the starting goalkeeper spot on the team and Meola never regained the first team place he had enjoyed in the early 1990s. However, he continued to play for the U.S. and earned his 100th cap in 2006. He was the third-choice goalkeeper at the 2002 FIFA World Cup behind Friedel and Keller.

Coach

Jacksonville Armada

On November 24, 2015, Meola was hired for his first coaching position in the NASL with Jacksonville Armada FC. Meola recorded his first managerial victory in the club's home opener against Miami FC on April 15, 2016. Meola was fired on August 7, 2016, after posting an overall record of 2W-6D-10L, including a 1-2-5 record in the Fall Season and 1-4-5 showing in the Spring Season.

Coaching record

Personal life

Meola's non-soccer ventures include appearing

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in '' Tony and Tina's Wedding'' in 1995, and running his own

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...

firm. Meola was the original drummer for New Jersey's cover band Mushmouth and still plays with the band on occasions. A soccer video game for the SNES with Meola's name, '' Tony Meola's Sidekicks Soccer'' (also known as ''Super Copa'' in Latin America and '' Ruy Ramos' World Wide Soccer'' in Japan), was released in 1993. In 2012, Meola was inducted into the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a public-private partnership among FC Dallas, the City of Frisco, Frisco Independent School District, and the U.S. Soccer Federation, and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, T ...

. Meola now lives in Toms River, New Jersey and has three children, Jon, Kylie, and Aidan. Jon Meola was a member of the University of Virginia baseball team during the 2016 season, before transferring to

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson. The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...

. His son Aidan is a member of the Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team. On March 4, 2025, Aidan hit a home run against Wintrop in the bottom of the 2nd inning.

Broadcasting

Meola worked on beIN Sports coverage of Copa America. He also commentates MLS games for FOX when their lead commentators weren't available. In 2018, he was a featured commentator on FOX and FS1 for their

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

broadcasts of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

. In 2020, he was announced to be the color commentator for the Chicago Fire FC.

Career statistics

Honors

Professional

;Kansas City Wizards *

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

: 2000

International

;United States * CONCACAF Gold Cup: 1991, 2002

Individual

* MLS All-Star: 1996,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

* MLS Goalkeeper of the Year: 2000 * MLS Most Valuable Player: 2000 * MLS Cup Most Valuable Player: 2000 * MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award: 2000 * MLS 10th Anniversary Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meola, Tony 1969 births Living people Expatriate men's footballers in England All-American college men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Buffalo Blizzard players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1993 Copa América players 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players Men's association football goalkeepers Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Sporting Kansas City players American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players American people of Italian descent American expatriate sportspeople in England Kearny High School (New Jersey) alumni Long Island Rough Riders players New Jersey Ironmen (MISL) players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars New York Red Bulls players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Sportspeople from Belleville, New Jersey Sportspeople from Kearny, New Jersey Sportspeople from Toms River, New Jersey United States men's international soccer players USISL players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players Virginia Cavaliers baseball players FIFA Men's Century Club Watford F.C. players New Jersey Ironmen players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Soccer players from Hudson County, New Jersey Jacksonville Armada FC coaches National Soccer Hall of Fame members Hermann Trophy men's winners Footballers who switched code English Football League players 20th-century American sportsmen