| dbpprop:abstract
|
- Mike Ammann is a retired American soccer player. During his career he played for Charlton Athletic F.C. , Kansas City Wiz, MetroStars, and D. C, United. Ammann played college soccer at Cal State-Fullerton, finishing with a trip to the NCAA Final Four in 1993. He was spotted by a scout of English club Charlton Athletic and earned a transfer to England, backstopping the Addicks for two seasons. When Major League Soccer started in 1996, Ammann signed with the then-Kansas City Wiz late in the inaugural season. In 1997, he would set a league record (since broken) with twenty-one wins. Before the 1999 season, Ammann was traded to the MetroStars with Mark Chung for Tony Meola and Alexi Lalas. That season the MetroStars squad finished with the worst record in league history. However, Ammann played well despite the lack of success, winning Defender of the Year honors in both the 1999 and 2000 seasons. 2000 was Ammann's best season as the Metros went through a re-birth. Ammann was the leading vote getter for the 2000 MLS All Star game and starting in goal for the Eastern Conference. However, Ammann missed the last five weeks of the season after an incident involving Mamadou Diallo. In a game against the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Diallo stepped on the Metro goalie, breaking three ribs, puncturing his lung, and giving him a concussion. The incident, which was dubbed Crime of the Century by Metro teammate Mike Petke, saw Diallo receive no punishment. Ammann, on the other hand, had to miss the rest of the regular season, returning for the playoffs and shutting out the Chicago Fire 2-0. With the emergence of Tim Howard for the MetroStars, Ammann was traded to D.C. United for Richie Williams and an allocation before the 2001 MLS season. Injuries dogged him, however, and he retired after not playing a minute in 2002. Ammann's doctor had never performed the procedure prior to operating on Ammann and left him permanently disabled. Ammann suffers disabilities in his right and left arms and hands. Dr. Hazel was found guilty by a jury of Malpractice in D.C. Courts. Although Ammann received a favorable decision, his fees outweighed the verdict adding another hardship to his removal from the game. He has since been outspoken about some of the problems of MLS. As of 2004, Ammann is working as a manager for Hitachi Data Systems within their Federal Division.
|
| rdfs:comment
|
- Mike Ammann is a retired American soccer player. During his career he played for Charlton Athletic F.C. , Kansas City Wiz, MetroStars, and D. C, United. Ammann played college soccer at Cal State-Fullerton, finishing with a trip to the NCAA Final Four in 1993. He was spotted by a scout of English club Charlton Athletic and earned a transfer to England, backstopping the Addicks for two seasons.
|