Janusz Michallik (#3) before the International Friendly match against Chile on 30th April 1994 at the University of New Mexico Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States (Photo by Mike Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)
After arriving from Poland as a teenager, Janusz Michallik competed in a number of indoor and outdoor American soccer leagues and earned 44 caps with the US Men’s National Team over a three-year period. In 1996, he was drafted by the Columbus Crew with the 61st pick of the inaugural MLS draft, quickly emerging as one of the first names on the team sheet and making 42 appearances for Columbus before eventually heading to the New England Revolution in 1998, where played 12 times. Rather than prolong his playing career, the then 32-year-old Michallik chose to hang up his boots at the end of the 1998 campaign and make the permanent switch to punditry – a career that began during the start of the decade when he’d commentate matches during the offseason for ESPN.
Michallik has remained in the New England area ever since and lives in Glastonbury, Connecticut with his wife Marzena, whilst his son Daniel played collegiate soccer for DePaul University and currently works as a social media manager for FIFA. In 2002, Michallik worked alongside USMNT manager Bruce Arena as an opposition scout, analyzing the Polish national team prior to their upcoming encounter in the FIFA World Cup. That same year, he was inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame, and in 2009, he was voted into the New England Soccer Hall of Fame.
Today, Michallik is employed as a regular soccer analyst for the biggest sports channel in the US – ESPN – and the biggest sports channel in Poland, TVP Sport, whilst he also works with Polish YouTube channel Kanał Sportowy and American radio outlet Sirius XM. RG’s Zach Lowy spoke to Janusz about a number of topics, including:
You played in the first-ever season of MLS…three decades later, what’s surprised you the most about where it is today?
“What’s surprised me the most is the fact that it’s still here. I remember how skeptical all of the players were, especially those like myself who were used to bouncing around from one league to another…we knew the money was there, but we also knew there would be some issues, as we saw with Tampa Bay folding early on. If you told me in 1996 that MLS was going to be here 30 years from now, I’d have said ‘no chance.’”
What are your proudest moments as a soccer player?
“Being called up to the Polish youth team at 15 and playing with them in East Germany, signing my first professional contract with Gwardia Warszawa and joining the first team at 16, and debuting with the US at 25. It was so unexpected. Bora Milutinović called 40 players to Colorado Springs, Colorado. He said: ‘After two weeks of training, 18 of you are going to be called up for the matchday squad, three or four will be in the stands, and the rest of you will go home.’
I remember thinking, I’d be happy even if I’d be in the stands, and I ended up starting that game vs. Uruguay and the next week vs. Argentina in Palo Alto, California.”
Atlético Madrid have won each of their last 13 matches, a run that has included their first victory at Barcelona in 18 years. How impressed have you been with their recent form under Diego Simeone?
“I remember when Atlético would go up 1-0 and immediately park the bus, but now, they’ve got a great balance, they have everything. They’ve scored 25 goals in their last eight matches, they’ve got a great leader and a tremendous core of players. They know how to negotiate two-legged matches, they’re good defensively and sound in the midfield. I don’t see why they couldn’t go far in LaLiga or the Champions League and make a push to win either competition.”
Despite signing Dani Olmo in the summer for €60 million, Barcelona struggled to register him and had to wait eight days before finally being given temporary permission to do so…what have you made of this saga and how worried should Barça fans be about their club’s finances?
“If you’re fiscally irresponsible and don’t run a club like a business, that’s what happens. The desperation of selling VIP seats when the stadium isn’t even built yet. I’ve lost count of how many levers they’ve used. They knew this was coming, and yet, it seems they’ve left it to the last moment.
I don’t know if you can defend Barcelona with where they are right now. They’re selling their future.”
Robert Lewandowski began the season with 14 LaLiga goals in 11 matches, but he has quieted down recently and has been kept scoreless in four of his last five matches for Barcelona. Is Lewandowski past his prime?
“He’s almost 37 years old. There were times with the national team where he was incredible, but now, he’s finding it hard carrying the team, even though he’s still scoring goals and leading LaLiga’s top scorers chart. However, there’s still that casual fan who believes that Lewandowski is going to carry the Poland national team, which obviously hasn’t been the case in a long time. Lewandowski needs the other players to put in the service and create chances for him, which isn’t happening at the moment.”
After kicking off the 2024/25 season with a win at Scotland, Poland have since taken one point from their past five matches and finished bottom of their UEFA Nations League group. How concerned are you about their situation heading into the World Cup?
“Poland are finding it hard to produce top players because the moment a young player has half a good season in the Ekstraklasa, he’s being sold abroad where he ends up sitting on the bench. There are a lot of big-name players in the Polish national team who are sitting on the bench from Piotr Zieliński, Sebastian Szymański, Jakub Moder, Nicola Zalewski…you look at the whole starting XI for Poland, almost everyone’s on the bench and not getting minutes at the club level. There’s Jakub Kiwior, who’s barely played for Arsenal. He needs to leave, he’s not part of Mikel Arteta’s plans. They’ve had so many injuries that he should’ve been getting more minutes by now than he is. They want him to go, and he needs to leave.
A lot of these Polish players need to look at their situation and ask themselves: ‘Is it time for me to find another club?’”
Liverpool are clicking on all cylinders at the moment and one player who has been spectacular for them is Cody Gakpo. He’s scored 3 goals and 1 assist in his last 3 league matches..what have you made his transformation under Arne Slot?
“Louis van Gaal knew how to get the most out of Gakpo in the 2022 FIFA World Cup by playing him centrally for the Netherlands, but you also have to remember that when he joined from PSV Eindhoven for a big-money fee, he was coming off an unbelievable season on the left flank of attack. Jürgen Klopp already had Luis Díaz there and instead wanted to use Gakpo everywhere from #9 to midfield, but it took a fellow Dutchman in Slot to understand where he’ll feel most comfortable and benefit from playing as a center forward and interchanging with Díaz. Klopp left a very good team for Slot to tweak, and he’s been able to simplify things and give players like Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch the platform to shine.”
Arsenal have already dropped points in nine of their 20 league matches this season. They only dropped points in 10 of their 38 matches last season. Is Mikel Arteta being too defensive in his tactics and does he need to change it up?
“They’ve drawn seven Premier League matches so far…these draws will kill you if you’re trying to win a title. They’re having a tough time breaking down teams and instead having to rely on set-pieces to score goals. Bukayo Saka being injured doesn’t help them, but they really need to bring in a #9 who can score on a regular basis. They need someone who can provide a different profile than Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz. I don’t necessarily think Arteta is an overly defensive manager, I think the balance is there, but they’re still one or two elite players away…that’s what it’s going to take to win their long-awaited Premier League title.”
Mauricio Pochettino took charge of the US Men’s National Team after last summer’s Copa América and has since led the US to a win vs. Panama and a loss vs. Mexico in friendlies, as well as back-to-back wins vs. Jamaica in the Concacaf Nations League. How confident are you in his ability to get the most out of this team ahead of the upcoming World Cup?
“It’s the same situation that we had in 1994, preparing to host the World Cup and not really having any competitive matches to play. When Bora took over, we played friendlies against the best of the best, we played against every nation. He wasn’t afraid to play the likes of Spain and Brazil. We faced everybody and learned from playing friendlies against the best teams in the world. Now, when you look at the Concacaf Nations League and the FIFA Club World Cup, it’s so much harder for Pochettino’s side to face off against these heavyweights. We needed a managerial change, but we haven’t seen Pochettino’s tactics at work yet. We’ve just got to wait and see.”
Zach Lowy
