Canadian defender Paul Stalteri, left, has earned 81 caps since making his national team debut in 1997. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)It all began in Toronto for Paul Stalteri.
The current captain of Canada's national soccer team cut his teeth with the Toronto Lynx before earning a move to Europe. He played his first game for Canada in a 1997 exhibition match at Toronto's Varsity Stadium.
And if all goes well, he'll make history in Toronto.
Canada hosts Peru on Saturday night at BMO Field in an international friendly, its first game in the Ontario capital in just over two years. With 81 caps already, Stalteri will tie Randy Samuel for the national team record if he sees any action against the South Americans.
Stalteri has travelled all around the world in service of the Canadian team, playing in countries as far away as Libya and South Africa, and often at the expense of his pro career — Canadian players who ply their trade in Europe often land themselves in their club's doghouse for answering the call of their country.
But the veteran defender doesn't have any regrets about playing so many times for his country, and the fact that he's on the verge of becoming Canada's most capped player is a testament to his amazing longevity.
"It's something that's very special," Stalteri said. "If you look back at it, it's a sign of dedication and loyalty to the country, so it's obviously something I'm very proud of."
Cap No. 1 was earned 13 years ago when he was 19 years old, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1-0 loss to Iran.
European career
Since then, Stalteri has helped Canada win the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, participated in three World Cup qualifying campaigns and carved out a successful career for himself in Europe with London-based Tottenham Hotspur and German outfits Werder Bremen and Borussia Moenchengladbach, his current club.
The competitive fires still burn inside him. A lot of players on the wrong side of 30 choose to retire from their national team to prolong their pro careers. Not Stalteri. The Brampton, Ont., native wants to keep playing for Canada with an eye toward helping his country qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
"I'll make myself available as long as I'm fit enough," Stalteri said. "My contract [with Borussia Moenchengladbach] is up in a year. We'll see what transpires after that, but that's obviously an important part in what will happen [in determining] if I can continue to play after that."
Luckily for Stalteri, his advancing age won't count against him as long as coach Stephen Hart remains in charge.
"I don't look at [a player's] birth certificate," Hart stated. "If the player is performing and performing well, that's all I care about."
Canada's lone World Cup appearance came in Mexico in 1986. Twenty-four years of futility has followed, with one failed qualifying campaign followed by another.
There was great hope that Canada would break the cycle last time around, but the team fell embarrassingly short, failing to make it to the final stage of the CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
What went wrong for a Canadian side that many touted as the most talented in recent history? According to Stalteri, the team failed to play with a sense of urgency and live up to the hype.
That's something he and his Canadian teammates will have to address in two years time when the CONCACAF qualifiers begin for the 2014 World Cup.
"We have to show up and play a lot better than we did in the last one," Stalteri stated. "Without a doubt, we have to give ourselves a chance to qualify — that means getting into that final stage, and then you never know what happens."
