By Canadian Press

Toronto FC adds Canada Soccer Hall of Famer Paul Stalteri to coaching staff

Jan 18, 2022 | 3:33 PM

Toronto FC head coach Bob Bradley has added former Canadian international Paul Stalteri to his coaching staff.

A club spokesman said Bradley, who doubles as TFC’s sporting director, has also brought Mike Sorber on board as technical director while Carlo Valladares will serve as video analyst coach. Bradley is retaining incumbent goalkeeper coach Jon Conway.

The MLS team escaped snowy Toronto on Tuesday, flying south in search of warm weather in California where it will hold the first portion of training camp. The club will finish camp off in Austin, Texas, before opening the season Feb. 26 at FC Dallas.

While TFC has already signed Italian star Lorenzo Insigne to a pre-contract that will see him in Toronto in July when his current deal with Napoli expires, there are still many questions to be answered on a roster that disappointed in a 6-18-10 campaign last season.

The status of designated players Jozy Altidore and Yeferson Soteldo remains up in the air, with the club linked to Mexican defender Carlos Salcedo. Canadian striker Ayo Akinola reportedly is close to signing a deal to stay in Toronto.

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Goalkeeper Luka Gavran and forward Reshaun Walkes, acquired in the recent MLS SuperDraft, will both be at camp, as will some Toronto FC II players.

Stalteri, a Canada Soccer Hall of Famer, won 84 caps for Canada in an international career that stretched from 1997 to 2010.

Most recently he was an assistant coach at York United FC while fellow former Canadian international Jim Brennan was in charge of the Canadian Premier League team.

With Canada Soccer, Stalteri has served as a youth coach and assistant coach to the senior team under Colin Miller, Michael Findlay and Octavio Zambrano.

Stalteri made his senior Canadian debut at 19, coming on at the start of the second half of a 1-0 friendly loss to Iran at Toronto’s Varsity stadium. His other 83 appearances were all starts and he went on to captain Canada 30 times.

Stalteri announced his retirement as a player in March 2013 after undergoing two hip surgeries.

The veteran fullback exited as Canada’s most capped men’s player — an honour that now belongs to captain Atiba Hutchinson with 90 caps — and with one of its most glittering club pedigrees. Stalteri played overseas for Werder Bremen and Borussia Moenchengladbach in Germany and Tottenham and Fulham in England.

He played with current TFC captain Michael Bradley at Moenchengladbach. 

Playing for Werder Bremen, Stalteri was the first Canadian to score in the Bundesliga and the first to earn a Bundesliga winner’s medal.

Stalteri was twice named Canadian Player of the Year, in 2001 and 2004. 

A former striker — he teamed with Dwayne De Rosario up front at the Toronto Lynx — he eventually shifted to fullback where his speed and energy served him well.

Sorber, a former assistant coach in Montreal, worked with Bob Bradley at Los Angeles FC and the U.S. national team. A former U.S. international, he finished off his playing career under Bradley at the Chicago Fire.

Valladares also worked with Bradley at LAFC.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2022

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press