Michelle Akers

Michelle Anne Akers (born February 1, 1966 in Santa Clara , California ) is a former American football player .

biography

Career start

Akers initially played soccer at the University of Central Florida and was on the All American team four times during that time, was Athlete of the Year at that university in 1988 and 1989 and received the Hermann Trophy in 1988 . She is the most successful goalscorer at the University of Central Florida.

International success

Michelle Akers has been a player in the women's national football team since it was founded in 1985 , where she scored the team's first official goal against Denmark on August 21, 1985 .

Akers took part in three world championships and was twice world champion. The 1991 Women's World Cup was her most successful participation. There she became world champion, top scorer with ten goals and won the silver ball as the second best player in the tournament. She was the first player to score five goals in a World Cup game, which her compatriot Alex Morgan did not manage again until 2019 . In 1995 she only played in the opening game of the Women's World Cup , as she was eliminated with a head injury and a torn ligament. At the 1996 Summer Olympics she reached first place with the national team and at the 1999 Women's World Cup she was world champion for the second time and won the bronze shoe as the third best player in the tournament. Before the World Cup, she played with the national team against a FIFA World Cup in February 1999 when the groups were drawn for the World Cup. The game is not counted as an official international match.

With twelve goals at world championships, she is the fourth most successful world championship scorer after Marta (17), Birgit Prinz and Abby Wambach (14 each) . Akers scored 107 goals in 155 games for the US national team. The number was only set to 155 games and 107 goals in August 2016 after the US association had come across two international matches played in January 1995 when reviewing its statistics, which had not been taken into account until then. In some statistics that have not yet been updated, it is still listed with 153 international matches.

Resignation as an active player

On August 24, 2000, Michelle Akers ended her career as a soccer player due to physical setbacks.

In 1991 she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome , which she had to fight against during her active time as a soccer player. In addition to this illness, Akers suffered numerous injuries during her career, she had to undergo knee operations a total of twelve times.

Additional activities

On June 7, 1998, Akers was the only woman to be awarded the FIFA Order of Merit , the highest FIFA award, for her services to international football. In 1997 she founded the organization Soccer Outreach International to teach children from all over the world the qualities of leadership players and to encourage them to show fairness in everyday life. She is also a member of the FIFA Future Committee.

societies

• Tyresö Football Club , Sweden (1990, 1992, 1994)
• Orlando Caliber Soccer Club , USA (1993)

successes

• World Champion (1991, 1999)
• World Cup third (1995)
• CONCACAF tournament winner (1993, 1994)
• Olympic Games : Gold (1996)
• Goodwill Games Winner (1998)

Special awards

• Athlete of the Year (1990, 1991, 1999)
• FIFA Order of Merit (1998)
• FIFA Player of the Century (2000)
• Induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame (2004)
• Honored as one of only two women among the 125 best living football players ( FIFA 100 , 2004)
• 2013: Election to the All-Time Women's National Team Best XI

literature

• Michelle Akers, Judy Nelson: Face to Face with Michelle Akers . Integrated Resource, June 1, 1996 ISBN 1-5790-2049-6
• Michelle Akers, Gregg Lewis: The Game and the Glory . Zondervan Publishing Company, April 1, 2000, ISBN 0-3107-0025-6
• Christin Ditchfield: Eyes on the Prize . Good News Publishers, October 2000, ISBN 5-5500-4702-0

Web links

• German-language biography

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ussoccer.com: "FIFA World Stars Defeat US Women's National Team, 2-1, at 1999 Women's World Cup Final Draw"
2. ↑ ussoccer.com: Case of the Missing Caps
3. ↑ FIFA Hunderterklub (as of January 7, 2011, no further update thereafter)
4. ↑ US Soccer Announces All-Time Women's National Team Best XI ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

predecessor	Office	successor
April Heinrichs Mia Hamm	Player of the year in the USA 1990, 1991 1999	Carin Jennings-Gabarra Tiffeny Milbrett