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 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Hartwick College | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1987 | Pittsburgh Spirit (indoor) | 9 | (0) |
| 1988 | Fort Wayne Flames (indoor) | 12 | (2) |
| 1986–1987 | San Jose Earthquakes | ||
| 1988 | Miami Sharks | ||
| 1990–1992 | San Jose Oaks | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 2007- | Folsom High School | ||
| – | Rio Americano High School | ||
| 2008- | Mihaljevic Soccer Club – Top Gun | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Joe Mihaljevic (born September 19, 1960 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a retired soccer forward. He runs a reputable year-round soccer school in Folsom, California since September 2003 and in March 2008, established the Mihaljevic Soccer Club – Top Gun, a champion competitive youth soccer club.
Youth
His father, Djuro 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 head coach of the North American Soccer League's St. Louis Stars. In 1966, George established the first soccer school in the United States in St. Louis,Missouri "Mihaljevic Soccer School", and developed many talented players. At age 8, Mihaljevic began attending his father's school and played for its competitive team, Missouri Mules. The team won 2 international youth tournaments in the Netherlands & Canada.
College
After graduating from high school in 1978, Mihaljevic was sent to live with relatives in the former Yugoslavia to train & play soccer. He relunctantly turned down a 4-year contract with 1st Division Teams, Red Star Belgrade and OFK Beograd due to the country's impeding civil war. Upon returning to the United States, Mihaljevic was offered a full NCAA, Division I scholarship at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York in 1978. In addition to playing collegiate soccer, Mihaljevic played on amateur clubs. In 1981, he was on the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Club when it won the U.S. Amateur Cup. Mihaljevic scored the winning goal.
Professional career
In 1982, the Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) drafted Mihaljevic as its 2nd-round draft pick. In 1988, Mihaljevic 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 Goal Scorer" and became the "United States' Leading Goal Scorer" in 1987 with seven goals and two assists. He moved east to the Miami Sharks for the 1988 American Soccer League (ASL) season, under the coaching of 1970's World Cup Captain, Carlos Alberto Torres, of Brazil where he established himself as a force on the team by scoring 5 goals in the last 25 minutes of his debut game, defeating the Washington Diplomats, 5-1, a record for "Most Goals Scored in a Game".
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. Mihaljevic was voted 1992 U.S. Open Cup "Most Valuable Player" with a goal and 2 assists in the final game (3-1).
Coaching
After retiring from playing professionally Mihaljevic re-opened his father's soccer school in Folsom, California in September 2003, also named "Mihaljevic Soccer School".
In Spring 2007, Mihaljevic successfully head-coached his first ever soccer team with the Folsom High School Freshmen Lady Bulldogs, going undefeated. The FHS Freshmen would win the Alliance League Championship with an incredible 17-0-2 record. The following Fall, Mihaljevic coached the Rio Americano High School Junior Varsity Boys Raiders in Sacramento, taking them to a 2nd-runner-up place finish.
March 2008, the Mihaljevics' expanded, creating Mihaljevic Soccer Club (MSC) Top Gun, a competitive youth soccer club that competes in the Region 6, NorCal Premier Soccer League with U.S. Club Soccer.
In August 2008, the MSC Top Gun-Alpha team (U9 Boys) made their first official tournament & game appearance in the Joe Ribaudo-Shootout in Sacramento. The Top Gun-Alpha team went undefeated in the preliminary rounds to play in the Championship game against the tournament's host team. With only one substitute player, Top Gun-Alpha lost to the host team, 3-1, but ended the host team's 19-straight games shut-out streak.
On November 23, 2008 – 8 months into MSC Top Gun's inaugural year, Mihaljevic and both of his U9 Boys' competitive teams won double U.S. Club Soccer sanctioned State Cup Championship titles. An outstanding feat by a first year youth soccer club. Top Gun-Alpha went undefeated in the tournament held in Manteca, California. Top Gun-Bravo, the club's 2nd team, won the State Cup in their division by points. This State Cup Tournament event was both teams only 2nd tournament appearance since the start of the club in March 2008.
On February 8, 2009, MSC Top Gun's U11 Girls, Air Strike, lost, 1-0, in a super tough and well-fought Semi-Final match for their bid for the U.S. Club & NorCal Premier Soccer League State Cup Tournament in Manteca, California. The girls went into the tournament undefeated in the preliminary rounds. This was MSC Top Gun-Air Strike's 2nd tournament appearance since the start of the club in March 2008. Mihaljevic's daughter, Dominique, was the team's leading goal-scorer with 14 goals for the season.
In November 2009, MSC Top Gun's U10 Boys Alpha team, again, made it to the Finals of the Silver Division of the U.S. Club / NorCal Premier Soccer State Cup Tournament in Manteca, California. After an excellently played match versus the Diablo Hurricanes, the game went into 2 "Golden Goal" over-time halves with both teams scoring 1 goal in regular time. MSC Top Gun-Alpha would lose in PKs, 3-1.
Personal
Mihaljevic has 4 children: Joey, Dominique, John Paul & Milan.