TORONTO — As a player, Steven Beitashour lifted trophies with Toronto FC. Now an assistant coach, he hopes to help bring the ailing MLS franchise back to its glory years.
Beitashour, who retired in December 2023 after 14 successful seasons with his hometown San Jose Earthquakes, Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto, Los Angeles FC and the Colorado Rapids, joined Toronto's coaching staff in January.
Under head coach Robin Fraser, Beitashour is working with Toronto's backline and wide players.
"I didn't think I'd enjoy it this much," said the former fullback. "You never know until you do something. And I'm really enjoying it. It's really fun."
It helps that the 38-year-old Beitashour is in familiar surroundings, working with people he likes and respects.
Fraser was an assistant coach to Greg Vanney when Beitashour played for Toronto in 2016 and '17. He recalls Beitashour making his mark quickly as a player.
"Within the first maybe four or five games of that year, I was like 'This guy has a better sense of danger than 99 per cent of the defenders I've ever been around.' And on top of that, he's a fantastic team guy and really sacrificed himself for the team."
In June 2017, Beitashour required pancreas surgery after a life-threatening on-field collision with Montreal Impact defender Kyle Fisher in the Canadian Championship final.
Beitashour finished out the match but couldn't sleep that night because he couldn’t find a position that didn’t hurt.
The next day he went in early to the Toronto training centre where team officials immediately ordered him to the emergency room. Amazingly he drove the 17.5 kilometres himself, throwing up on the way.
Doctors later told him it was the kind of internal damage they typically see as a result of a car crash.
Beitashour, married with two young boys, started work on his coaching licences while still playing, knowing he wanted to stay involved in the game once his body told him it was time to retire.
"I loved loved loved the game … I was living my dream. It was my hobby, it was my everything," he said. "Soccer, since as long as I can remember, since four years old, since I was a little kid, it was all I really loved to do."
Fraser, who left Toronto in 2019 to take over Colorado, added Beitashour to the Rapids roster knowing he would help on and off the field.
"He was very upfront with me … A veteran leader on the team, playing some games but no longer the starter at right back," Beitashour said.
Fraser is amazed at how quickly Beitashour has adapted to a coaching role.
"I know what a good player is, I know what a good thinker he is," said Fraser. "But normally new coaches are a little bit hesitant, I think, to impose themselves on a team because they're not really sure. It's really interesting to watch him coach because he's so sure of the things that he is saying, especially on the defensive side, that the conviction comes across in every conversation when I see him talk to individuals, when I see him in group meetings.
"He's going to be a very good coach. He already is a good coach and he's only going to continue to get better."
Beitashour, who started as a ballboy for the Earthquakes, ticked off a lot of boxes during his playing career, including going to the 2014 World Cup with Iran.
Beitashour, who speaks Farsi, was proud to represent the country where his parents were born. And he drew worldwide attention doing so, with the New York Times profiling him in a feature titled "Born in the U.S., Playing for Iran."
But there was disappointment in Brazil.
Beitashour was set to start at right back the opening game against Nigeria. But the coach told him the night before that he was going with a centre back in his place because of concern over Nigeria's height at set pieces.
The teams drew 0-0 and the coach elected to stick with the lineup for the remaining group games. Iran went home after losing 1-0 to Argentina, on a 91st-minute Lionel Messi goal, and 3-1 to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"As much as I wanted to play, I understood," said Beitashour. "The team comes first.
"It was difficult. It was difficult not to play and you have, I'm talking thousands, not hundreds, thousands of messages from friends, from family, from colleagues, from people you haven't spoken to in forever. … It made me feel worse and worse and worse about not playing, like 'Man I'm letting them down.'"
Now he hopes Toronto fans will be equally understanding abut the current rebuild.
"As long as they can understand that and still support the club that I know they love and they're passionate about good things will come," he said. "The fans, they just want results and I get it. They just want something to be proud of again."
---
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
