30 January to 5 February: Happy Birthday to our Canadian Footballers!
Posted on 29 January 2012 in Around the Soccer World
2 February 1937 - Tony Waiters
Head coach Tony Waiters led Canada to the 1986 FIFA World Cup, helping the country qualify for the first and only time to date with a first-place finish in the CONCACAF Championship in 1985. The team was unbeaten with five wins and three draws in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers that year, including a historic 2:1 victory over Honduras on 14 September 1985 in St. John's, NL. Waiters' tenure as Canada's head coach lasted from 1983 to 1986 and from 1990 to 1991. He also served as Canada's Olympic coach, helping the team finish fifth at the Los Angeles 1984 Men's Olympic Football Tournament. In 2001, Waiters became an honoured member of Canada's The Soccer Hall of Fame. Born on 2 February 1937, the former Blackpool goalkeeper turns 75 years old this year.
Photo: Tony Waiters, second from left, celebrates Canada's qualification for the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico / Canada Soccer Archives - Dan Hamilton
MORE BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK (from 30 January to 5 February):
Tony Fonseca 30-January-1965
Joseph Di Chiara 30-January-1992 (Richmond Hill, ON)
Monica Lam-Feist 31-January-1991 (Surrey, BC)
Shannon Woeller 31-January-1990 (Vancouver, BC)
Chris Turner 1-February-1960 (Vancouver, BC)
HOF - Tony Waiters 2-February-1937
Tina Romagnuolo 3-February-1990 (Stouffville, ON)
Geoff Aunger 4-February-1968 (grew up in Coquitlam, BC)
Taryn Swiatek 4-February-1981 (Calgary, AB)
Bryce Alderson 5-February-1994 (Kitchener, ON)
(HOF = Honoured members of The Soccer Hall of Fame)
