Joe Mihaljevic
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| Joe Mihaljevic | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Maurice Mihaljevic | |
| Date of birth | September 19, 1960 | |
| Place of birth | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |
| Playing position | Forward | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Hartwick College | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1982-1987 1988 1986-1987 1988 1990-1992 |
Pittsburgh Spirit (indoor) Fort Wayne Flames (indoor) San Jose Earthquakes Miami Sharks San Jose Oaks |
12 (2) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 2007- | Folsom High School | |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Joe Mihaljevic (born September 19, 1960 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a retired U.S. soccer forward. He runs a year-round soccer school in Folsom, California and in 2007, became a high school soccer coach.
Contents |
[edit] Youth
His father, George Mihaljevic, a native of Croatia, played professionally in Europe before immigrating to the U.S. He eventually settled in St. Louis, Missouri where he became the first coach of the North American Soccer League's St. Louis Stars. George also established the first soccer school in St. Louis. When Mihaljevic was eight, he began learning to play at his father’s school. From 1971 thru 1973, Mihaljevic's competitive youth team, the Missouri Mules, won back-to-back Missouri/Illinois State Championships and two consecutive International Youth Tournaments in Holland and Cananda, going undefeated.
[edit] College
After graduating from high school, Mihaljevic was sent to live with relatives in the former Yugoslavia for a year to play soccer. After only three weeks of training, he was offered a four year contract with First Division club Red Star Belgrade. Mihaljevic's parents declined the offer due to the country's pending civil turmoil and insisted he return to the United States to attend college. Mihaljevic was offered a full NCAA scholarship at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York in 1978. He was voted "First Team All-American" in 1981 and the same year won the Silver Medal at the Olympic Sports Festival in Syracuse, New York. In addition to playing collegiate soccer, Mihaljavic played on amateur clubs. In 1981, he was on the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Club when it won the U.S. Amateur Cup, scoring the winning goal in the title game.
[edit] Professional career
In 1982, the Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) drafted Mihaljevic as its 2nd-round draft pick. In 1988, joined the Fort Wayne Flames of the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA) for the Challenge Cup Playoffs.
In 1986, the San Jose Earthquakes of the Western Soccer Alliance (WSA) signed Mihaljevic. The next year, he was the Alliance’s leading scorer with seven goals and two assists. He moved east to the Miami Sharks for the 1988 American Soccer League (ASL) season. Mihaljevic scored an unprecedented five goals in the last twenty-five minutes of a game against the Washington Diplomats, 5-1. Mihaljevic's feat was featured on the George Michael's Sports Machine. Mihaljevic also made his mark in United States Professional Soccer History as the "Leading Goal Scorer" in 1987.
In 1990, he joined the San Jose Oaks Soccer Club and remained with the team through the 1992 season when the team took the U.S. Open Cup. He was selected as the tournament MVP with 1 goal and 2 assists in the final.
[edit] Coaching
After retiring from playing professionally, Mihaljevic opened a soccer school in Folsom, California in 2003. In Spring 2007, Mihaljevic coached his first high school soccer team with the Folsom High School Bulldogs. Mihaljevic took the Freshmen Girls Team to an undefeated season, winning the Alliance League, 16-0-2, with 85 "goals for" and 8 "goals against".
