Full name Michael Anhaeuser Name Michael Anhaeuser Position Midfielder Years Team Current team Charleston Battery | 1988-1991 Indiana University Height 1.80 m Playing position Role Soccer manager Date joined 1994 | |
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Date of birth (1969-08-13) August 13, 1969 (age 46) Place of birth Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States Education Indiana University Bloomington | ||
Mike Anhaeuser (born August 13, 1969 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is an American soccer coach who currently manages USL club Charleston Battery. He has spent his entire professional career with the Battery, playing five seasons for the club as a midfielder before moving into the coaching staff.
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Player
Anhaeuser grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended Indiana University where he played on the men's soccer team under Jerry Yeagley from 1988 to 1991. The Hoosiers won the 1988 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship in his freshman season.
Following his college career Anhaeuser trialed in Germany with Bundesliga clubs Schalke 04 and VfL Bochum and played in their reserve teams. In 1994, he signed a professional contract with the Charleston Battery of the USISL. He spent five seasons a midfielder with the Battery, making over 100 appearances and winning the 1996 league championship while also working a day job in research and development for the club's corporate parent Blackbaud. Anhaeuser tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the 1999 pre-season and retired from playing professionally.
Coaching career
Anhaeuser spent much of his playing career coaching Lowcountry junior clubs and to this day continues to handle teams in the Battery's youth system. After retiring from playing in 1999, he moved into an assistant coaching role with the Battery under managers Alan Dicks and Chris Ramsey. After the departure of Ramsey in 2005, he was elevated to the position of head coach.
In 2006, he was named the USL-1 Coach of the Year after he took the Battery to the post-season semifinals and the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. Anhaeuser has led the Battery to league championships in 2010 and 2012 and was the coach of the 2008 Battery team that remains the most recent non-MLS side to reach the final of the Open Cup.
In 2008, he was also given the title of general manager of the Battery, overseeing all soccer operations at the club. Following the 2013 season, Anhaeuser was inducted to the USL Hall of Fame.