OTTAWA – Paul Stalteri has been appointed head coach of the Canada men’s under-17 national team, it was announced Thursday.
The 38-year-old, a coach in Canada Soccer's national youth program since 2013, served as an assistant at the 2015 CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship.
“I am pleased to announce that Paul Stalteri has been appointed our U-17 Coach," said Tony Fonseca, Canada Soccer's technical director. "Paul has served as one of our U-15 coaches over the past three years and has played an integral role in connecting with our Canadian MLS/NASL academy partners and local technical directors from provinces and territories."
As a player, Stalteri (1997-2010: 84 caps, 7 goals) was a long-standing member of the national team program. The two-time Canadian Player of the Year participated in three FIFA World Cup Qualifying cycles and five editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, lifting the trophy in 2000.
At the club level, he played in Canada (Toronto Lynx), Germany (Werder Bremen, Borussia Monchengladbach) and England (Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham), winning German Bundesliga and German Cup titles with Werder Bremen in 2004.
At the youth level, he represented Canada at both the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup and 1997 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Stalteri was also a member of the side that captured the 1996 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship crown.
"Having represented Canada with great pride and passion at all levels of competition as a player, I am now truly honored to continue my commitment to Canada Soccer and lead the U-17s as the new coach," said Stalteri. "It will take dedication, commitment, hard work, and attention to detail from every player and staff member to ultimately reach our goal of qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017."
