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 Michael
Windischmann entered the National Soccer Hall of Fame in October 2004 in a
“star-studded class” that included Eric Wynalda, Michelle Akers,
and Paul Caliguiri. At the time of his retirement from the U.S.
National Team following the World Cup in 1990, he held a team
record with 51 caps. The U.S. had not qualified for the World
Cup finals in the 40 years before the team, led by Windischmann,
reached the final tournament in 1990 in Italy. Windischmann was
captain in every one of the eight World Cup qualifying games
that the U.S. played in 1989 as it campaigned successfully for a
World Cup place, and then captained the U.S. team in all three
of its games at that 1990 World Cup.
Can you talk
about the 2004 induction ceremony into the Hall of Fame? A lot
of the more “recognizable” names are starting to pop up -
yourself, Eric Wynalda, Michelle Akers, Paul Caligiuri. What was
it like to enter the Hall with this year’s class?
It’s great because
these guys had longevity. When I was playing, Michelle was the
first true superstar of women’s soccer. Then, getting inducted
with my two teammates, Paul and Eric, who played in the 1990
World Cup with me and before that was really incredible as well.
It was a great weekend.
You were the
captain of the first U.S. team to reach the World Cup final
tournament since 1950. Can you talk about the position of
captain and what it means to you?
 It was a great honor
to be the captain. I started in '84, and continued through the
qualifiers in '86. There were a lot of veterans, and I was a
younger guy, but I was chosen to be the captain. It was an
honor. Basically, the duties were dealing with the players,
providing leadership for us to make it to the World Cup, and
move on further. Sometimes the players come to you to be an
intermediary between the players and coach. For example, if the
team is training a lot of hours, and the guys want to go out a
couple of nights before the game, that won’t always work out. I
remember a situation with Bob Gansler, who is a very disciplined
guy. Some players approached me to go and talk to him about
letting up on the training. I went over to him, and he said
basically, to tell them forget about it. I think that the
consistency is the reason that I was the captain. It was good to
have the same guy in that spot for the run.
How do you
think being a captain impacts a younger player such as Landon
Donovan?
I mean, for a young
guy, you have to take leadership. Sometimes, it’s good and bad.
When you’re not playing well and then you lose the captain’s
band, then there’s nowhere to go. It can be hard. The thing I
was proud of was having it for three and a half years straight.
Nowadays, a guy has it maybe a couple of games. Landon is
perfect for the band right now. He’s a young responsible guy.
Can you talk
about your post-retirement work? You are a coach and also
involved administratively with the Super-Y League and the
Cosmopolitan Jr. Soccer League in New York?
 I deal with an
organization called the MetOval/Brooklyn Knights, I’m a
Technical Director there, and I’m an ODP coach for the Super-Y
league. For me, my career is over, and I’m trying to have
someone else from our area make the National Team. Besides
myself and Chris Armas, in the last 15 years, there haven’t been
any New Yorkers. I think one advantage that kids in other states
have is that they get to play all year round in nice weather,
but that’s no excuse. Some New York guys made it to the youth
national team, and then we didn’t hear from them anymore. I
don’t know why exactly that is.
Are your family
members involved in soccer?
Not yet. My son is
five months old. He’s kicking a lot, though.
What are some
of your favorite soccer memories?
I scored a goal in
the Olympics against Argentina - that was a big moment for me.
Probably the biggest moment was qualifying for the 1990 World
Cup, though. We had to win against Trinidad and Tobago, not tie,
and we did it. That is my best memory.
- December 2004 -
Where
Are They Now
Jill Beauchesne of the the U.S.
National Soccer Team Player Association and the on-line journal
Round Not Oval reports her conversation with Hall of Famers in
our newest feature.
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