Charleston Reporter

After close to three decades with the team, including the last 17 at the helm, Michael Anhaeuser is out as head coach of the Charleston Battery.

The Battery announced Anhaeuser’s departure in a Nov. 1 team press release after he team's recently concluded 2021 campaign failed to produce a playoff berth.

“On behalf of my family, our ownership group and the entire organization, we thank Coach Anhaeuser for the immense impact he has had on this club and the community, both as a player and coach,” Rob Salvatore, Battery co-owner and executive chairman, said in the release.

Anhaeuser’s relationship with the Battery in the USL Championship lasted close to three decades.

According to ABC4 News, Anhaeuser joined the Battery as a player in 1994, before becoming a coach five years later. In 2004, he was elevated to head coach and was where he remained for 17 seasons.

Under Anhaeuser’s watch, the Battery earned a U.S. Open Cup Final berth in 2008, and won a pair of USL Championships in 2010 and 2012.

Anhaeuser was present when the team developed a reputation as a haven for players from the Caribbean nation of Cuba. The Charleston Reporter said last month 10 Cuban players have donned a Battery kit since 2008, with forward Geobel Pérez the latest member of the hallowed fraternity.

Anhaeuser’s last game as Battery head coach was a 4-0 loss to Miami FC.

The team has commenced a national search for his successor.