Paul Andrew Stalteri (born October 18, 1977) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder.[3] He spent most of his professional career in Germany, winning the league and cup double with Werder Bremen in the 2003–04 season. Stalteri also played football in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham.[4]

Paul Stalteri
Stalteri captaining Canada in 2008
Personal information
Full name Paul Andrew Stalteri[1]
Date of birth (1977-10-18) October 18, 1977 (age 46)[2]
Place of birth Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Wing-back, midfielder
Team information
Current team
Canada (assistant)
Youth career
1992–1995 Malton Bullets
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Clemson Tigers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997 Toronto Lynx 16 (7)
1998–2005 Werder Bremen 151 (6)
2005–2008 Tottenham Hotspur 42 (3)
2008Fulham (loan) 13 (0)
2009–2011 Borussia Mönchengladbach 19 (0)
Total 241 (16)
International career
1993 Canada U17 3 (0)
1996–1997 Canada U20 9 (0)
1998–2000 Canada U23 7 (2)
1997–2010 Canada 84 (7)
Managerial career
2020–2021 York United (assistant)
2022–2023 Toronto FC (assistant)
2023– Canada (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

A regular for the Canada national team, Stalteri made a national record 84 appearances at the senior level, scoring 7 goals.[5] He was part of the squad that won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000.[5]

He serves as an assistant coach for the Canada national team.

Early life edit

Stalteri was born to an Italian father and a Guyanese mother.[3] While growing up, Stalteri says his favourite player was Paolo Maldini and the first live football match he ever saw was Toronto Blizzard. He also considered Physical Education to be his favourite subject.[6]

While playing youth soccer in Ontario with the Malton Bullets, won a Robbie International Soccer Tournament Championship.[citation needed]

Club career edit

A defender who can play either side of the field as well as in midfield, Stalteri began his soccer career playing one year of college soccer at Clemson University in 1996. Following his first year, he elected to turn professional, signing a contract with the Toronto Lynx while attending York University. After playing one season with the Lynx, alongside fellow Canada national team teammate Dwayne De Rosario, where he led the team in scoring with eight goals and two assists, Stalteri was noticed by a scout from Werder Bremen and purchased from the team. After two and a half seasons in the reserves,[7] Stalteri made his debut with the club in August 2000, scoring in the first game of the season against Energie Cottbus.

During the 2001–02 season, Stalteri established his role in the first team at Bremen and went on to cement his role as a regular in the 2002–03 season. In 2003–04, Werder Bremen won the Bundesliga.

In May 2005, Stalteri transferred to English Premiership club Tottenham Hotspur.[8] He featured heavily in the 2005–06 campaign as Spurs narrowly missed out on a Champions League place, but the arrival of full back Pascal Chimbonda at White Hart Lane the following season limited his chances.

On March 4, 2007, after coming on as a substitute, he scored a dramatic last minute winner against London rivals West Ham United to complete an extraordinary 4–3 win.[9] He had hardly featured in the first team all season up to that point. His other Spurs goals came against Manchester City in the league[10] and Leicester City in the FA Cup.[11]

On January 31, 2008, Stalteri moved to Fulham on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for Fulham away at Middlesbrough on February 9, 2008 where his team lost 1–0.[12] Having returned to White Hart Lane, his contract was terminated by mutual consent on December 21, 2008.[13]

Stalteri returned to the Bundesliga, having been immediately signed by Borussia Mönchengladbach where he joined fellow international Rob Friend.[4]

He announced his retirement as a player at the age of 35 on March 20, 2013.[14]

International career edit

Stalteri was a regular starter for the Canada national team for over ten years from making his debut on August 17, 1997 against Iran. In total, he won 84 caps and scored seven goals for the national team.[15] That made him the most capped Canadian of all time until this record was surpassed by Julian De Guzman in 2015.[16] He was named team captain for a friendly on June 1, 2007 against Venezuela, and remained captain for international fixtures for the rest of his international career including for the entirety of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. On September 7, 2010 Stalteri earned his 83rd cap for Canada in a 2–1 win over Honduras making him the all-time leader in appearances for the Canada men's national team.[17]

In May 2017, Stalteri was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.[18]

Coaching career edit

In February 2020, Stalteri joined Canadian Premier League club York9 FC (later renamed York United) as an assistant coach.[19] He departed the club after the 2021 season.[20]

In January 2022, he joined Major League Soccer club Toronto FC as an assistant coach.[21]

In October 2023, he joined the Canada national team as an assistant coach.[22]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Toronto Lynx 1997[23] USL A-League 16 8 16 8
Werder Bremen II 1997–98[23] Regionalliga Nord 14 3 14 3
1998–99[23][24] 29 7 1 0 30 7
1999–2000[23][24] 28 4 2 0 30 4
Total 71 14 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 74 14
Werder Bremen 2000–01[24] Bundesliga 31 1 2 0 5[c] 2 38 3
2001–02[24] 22 3 2 0 1 0 25 3
2002–03[24] 33 0 5 0 4[c] 0 1[d] 0 43 0
2003–04[24] 33 2 6 1 4 0 0 0 43 3
2004–05[24] 32 0 5 0 8[e] 0 2[d] 0 47 0
Total 151 6 20 1 0 0 22 2 3 0 196 9
Tottenham Hotspur 2005–06[24] Premier League 33 1 1 1 1 0 35 2
2006–07[24] 6 1 3 0 2 0 3[c] 0 14 1
2007–08[24] 3 0 1 0 0 0 3[c] 0 7 0
Total 42 2 5 1 3 0 6 0 0 0 56 3
Fulham (loan) 2007–08[24] Premier League 13 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2008–09[24] Bundesliga 16 0 0 0 16 0
2009–10[24] 3 0 0 0 3 0
Total 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0
Career total 312 30 28 2 3 0 28 2 3 0 374 34
  1. ^ Includes DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Football League Cup
  3. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Cup
  4. ^ a b Appearances in DFL-Ligapokal
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International edit

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Stalteri goal.[23]
List of international goals scored by Paul Stalteri
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 June 2, 1999 Edmonton, Canada   Guatemala 1–0 2–0 Canada Cup
2 November 14, 2001 Paola, Malta   Malta 1–1 1–2 Friendly
3 May 15, 2002 St. Gallen, Switzerland    Switzerland 2–0 3–1 Friendly
4 February 12, 2003 Tripoli, Libya   Libya 3–1 4–2 Friendly
5 March 29, 2003 Tallinn, Estonia   Estonia 1–0 1–2 Friendly
6 July 12, 2003 Foxboro, United States   Costa Rica 1–0 1–0 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
7 March 25, 2007 Hamilton, Bermuda   Bermuda 3–0 3–0 Friendly

Honours edit

Werder Bremen

Tottenham Hotspur

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "Quick Facts and FAQ's". Paul Stalteri official website. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream Publishing. p. 393. ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8.
  3. ^ a b Nicola Sparano (November 14, 2004). "Paul Stalteri Goes Big League". Tandem News (Canada). Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Spurs release defender Stalteri". BBC Sport. December 22, 2008. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Canadian soccer star Stalteri retires". Rogers Sportsnet. March 20, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  6. ^ "Paul Stalteri on Past, Present and Future". Fulham Official Website. April 8, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  7. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (June 23, 2016). "Paul Stalteri – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  8. ^ "Spurs snap up defender Stalteri". BBC Sport. May 16, 2005. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
  9. ^ "West Ham 3-4 Tottenham". BBC. March 4, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  10. ^ "Tottenham 2-1 Man City". BBC. April 8, 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
  11. ^ "Leicester 3-2 Tottenham". BBC. January 8, 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
  12. ^ "Fulham bring in three new players". BBC Sport. January 31, 2008.
  13. ^ "Stalteri departs". Tottenham Hotspur. December 21, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
  14. ^ "Former Canadian captain Paul Stalteri retires from soccer". The Globe and Mail. March 20, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  15. ^ Mamrud, Roberto (June 23, 2016). "Paul Stalteri – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  16. ^ "Canada - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Stalteri sets all-time record for national appearances". Canada Soccer Association. September 7, 2010. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  18. ^ "Former captains Paul Stalteri, Amy Walsh named to Canada Soccer Hall of Fame". CFJC-TV. May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  19. ^ "Canadian stalwart Paul Stalteri joins York9 coaching staff". Canadian Premier League. February 4, 2020.
  20. ^ "Paul Stalteri departs York United FC". York United FC. January 19, 2022.
  21. ^ Jacques, John (January 18, 2022). "Toronto FC Adds Paul Stalteri To Coaching Staff". Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  22. ^ Jacques, John (October 5, 2023). "Two Former CPL Coaches Named To Canada's Coaching Staff". Northern Tribune.
  23. ^ a b c d e "Paul Stalteri". National Football Teams.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Paul Stalteri » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  25. ^ "Former Canadian men's soccer captain Paul Stalteri retires | CBC Sports".

External links edit