Ton Kaanen

Infobox Football biography
playername = Ton Kaanen


fullname =
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1966|03|18|df=yes
cityofbirth = Geleen
countryofbirth = Netherlands
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
nickname =
currentclub = FC Stal Alchevsk
manageryears = 2003-2004
2005-2006 2006 2006 2006-present
managerclubs = Metalurh Donetsk
Beitar Jerusalem
Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Netanya Stal Alchevsk

Ton Kaanen (born March 18, 1966 in Geleen) is a Dutch manager, who is the current head coach of FC Stal Alchevsk.

Personal History

Aside from a couple of games in the amateur Dutch leagues, Kaanen never played professional football. He got his start as a youth manager in his hometown while also working as a salesman for the local Audi dealership.

Managerial History

Beitar Jerusalem

When Arcadi Gaydamak bought the Israeli football club, Beitar Jerusalem, he looked for someone who would be able to give the club a look over and see what changes needed to be made. Kaanen was brought in and after a short time was given the reigns of the club after Jerusalem legend, Eli Ohana, stepped down from the manager position.

Continuing with the same squad as Ohana had, Kaanen was able to produce good results making him a 'lifeline' to hopes in the club that they would be able to qualify for a continental competition (UEFA Champions League or UEFA Cup). When Luis Fernandez was appointed general manager over Kaanen, there was a lot of friction over Kaanen's qualifications to manage a club looking to become a European power. Kaanen was soon fired but made a lasting impression on the Israeli public that would later pay dividends.

Replacing Nir Klinger

When the Maccabi Tel Aviv boardroom had enough of the poor results on the pitch during the club's 100 year anniversary, it was evident that Israeli manager Nir Klinger was on his way out. A replacement in a short amount of time was hard to find, but pressure from the fans to appoint Ton Kaanen as manager worked. He was appointed as interim manager and continued until the end of the season despite continued efforts to bring in a new manager.

Maccabi Netanya

Ton Kaanen never got a chance to manage a single game at Netanya and was fired from his position due to allegations against him in the Israeli media that he had been verbally assaulting the wife of his assistant manager at Beitar Jerusalem, Guy Azuri [http://www.one.co.il/cat/articles/article.aspx?id=78957&bz=11] .