Wisconsin Soccer Central

Two players who played a lot of soccer in Milwaukee are on this year's ballot for the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Former U.S. national teamer Tony Sanneh (UW-Milwaukee) and longtime Milwaukee Wave goalkeeper Victor Nogueiraare among the 22 players up for consideration for the Class of 2013, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Friday. Voting continues through Feb. 22.

Sanneh, on the ballot for the first time, starred at UWM from 1990 to '93 before starting a 15-year professional career that saw him play in Germany and with five Major League Soccer teams. He ranks first in Panthers history with 32 assists and 138 points and second with 53 goals, and was a second-team All-American in 1993.

In his first pro season, he had an incredible 14 goals and 14 assists in 18 matches for the Milwaukee Rampage in the USISL and he also played for the Wave before joining D.C. United midway through the inaugural 1996 MLS season – the team won the first two MLS Cups, with Sanneh scoring in each match. He joined German club Hertha Berlin in 1999 and played in the UEFA Champions League, then spent three seasons at 1. FC Nuremberg.

Sanneh earned 43 caps with the U.S. national team, including all five matches at the 2002 World Cup – he was a vital member of the squad that advanced to the quarterfinals, being one of only three players to play every minute.

He returned to MLS in 2004 and spent time with the Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles Galaxy before retiring after the 2009 season. Sanneh finished his MLS career with 16 goals and 28 assists in 130 regular-season appearances and six goals and four assists in 20 playoff matches.

Nogueira won seven league championships, four MVP awards and was named Goalkeeper of the Year 12 times in his 19-year indoor career, which spanned parts of three decades. He played 11 seasons in Milwaukee and is the Wave's career leader in nearly every goalkeeping category.

In 1998, he was named the league MVP, Goalkeeper of the Year, playoff MVP, All-Star Game MVP and made the all-league team as Milwaukee won the National Professional Soccer League title – it was the Wave's first championship.

A native of Mozambique, Nogueira spent time with English club Newcastle United and played in the North American Soccer League with the Atlanta Chiefs, Montreal Manic and Chicago Sting – he was part of the Sting's championship team in 1984, the league's final season.

Nogueira also earned 16 caps with the U.S. National Futsal team and was named the top goalkeeper at the 1992 FIFA Futsal World Championship, where the Americans finished second.

In order to be eligible for election to the National Soccer Hall of Fame as a player, an individual must be retired as a player for at least three years, but for no more than 10 years and have either played in at least 20 international games for the U.S. or played at least five seasons in an American first division professional league and have been named to a postseason all-league or all-star team at least once.

The pool of voters includes all past and present men's and women's national team coaches, all active MLS and National Women's Soccer League head coaches with a minimum of four years of experience as a head coach in a first division league, MLS and NWSL management representatives, MLS commissioner Don Garber, NWSL executive director Cheryl Bailey, U.S. Soccer CEO/Secretary General Dan Flynn, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati, all Hall of Famers and selected media members.

Voters can list as many as 10 candidates on their ballot. Players appearing on at least 66.7 percent of ballots earn election, while players who don't appear on at least 5 percent of ballots will be dropped from future ballots. The panel also will consider 15 candidates in the Veterans category – the standards for that category are the same as the Player category, except it is for players who have been retired for more than 10 years – and the Builder category.