Ton Caanen

Caanen was born in Geleen, Netherlands. Aside from a few years in the amateur Dutch leagues, he never played professional football. He got his start as a manager in his hometown club FC Geleen Zuid while also working as a salesman for the local Toyota dealership. After two years with FC Geleen Zuid he started to work as the youth manager of Roda JC. In January 2004 he made his way to the Ukrainian Premier League as he signed as manager of Metalurh Donetsk. He left the club at the end of the season. 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. Caanen was brought in and after a short time was given the reigns of the club after 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).