SUITED & REBOOTED
Former Scotland ace Stevie Caldwell on his transition from player to businessman at Toronto
The only numbers Stevie Caldwell used to have to worry about were the ones on the backs of the strikers he was marking.
These days he’s dealing in millions and billions rather than nines and 10s.
The former Scotland defender retired from playing last year, the final three seasons of a 15-year career spent in the burgeoning MLS in the colours of Toronto.
Rather than taking the traditional post- playing path though, the 35-year-old has gone sharp suit instead of tracksuit, taking on the role of Director of Corporate Development with the big-bucks parent company of all of Toronto’s major sports franchises.
Because ultimately he sees himself leading the surge in Canadian and North American soccer from the office rather than the dugout.
Not that it’s stopped him broadening his previous skill set, returning to Scotland last week to begin his UEFA ‘A’ Licence with the SFA at St Andrews – but he insists it’s all part of the plan to grow the game in his new home.
Caldwell told MailSport: “I’m not coaching at all actually, although I’m still working with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, who own the Toronto FC franchise as wel l as the Maple Leafs in the NHL and the Raptors in the NBA, who have had a fantastic season.
“They are a two- bil lion dollar business so I’m learning a lot about the numbers. This came about because of our previous CEO, Tim Leiweke, who is a respected sports business guy in North America and who had been with AEG and LA Galaxy before us.
“He seemed to think he saw something in me I could be good at it and grow into being a general manager or a president in the future.
“In North America, the set-up is really different from here – the head coach of ten just coaches and gets given players to play.
“It’s dif ferent at every club but very early on I wondered if I actually wanted to coach over there if I didn’t have control of the kind of culture I was used to.
“So I opened mysel f up to a business role and it was exciting for me. I could use my brain for once and hopefully bring my ex per ienc e s and expertise in football into a developing market and use it to help their business move forward. We got a new president in October, Michael Friisdahl, and I work closely with him, leading our grassroots partnerships. “It’s a crazy area for footbal l . There are 450,000 kids in Ontario playing football so we’re trying to tap into that market. “It’s the future of everything for us and I’m leading that. Eventually I want to be in a more football oriented role.” Caldwel l spent a 400- game career at or close to the top level in
England. He was a stalwart for Sunderland, Burnley, Wigan and Birmingham after coming through the ranks at Newcastle with his brother Gary.
But he insists the MLS – now in its 21st season – is learning fast, and he’s desperate to help them close the credibility gap.
Caldwell said: “The numbers associated with MLS clubs striving for success, spending huge sums on three designated players, are staggering for s uch a growing league.
“It’s only our 10th season in Toronto so we’re new to it but we’re get t i ng there.
“It’s very difficult to gauge the standard though. There’s a lot that’s different – the fact it’s played in the summer, the travel involved. There are some very good players and, because of the salary cap, there are some players who quite obviously aren’t up to it.
“So as we move forward as a league we must raise the salary cap to attract the 26 to 30-year-old European or South American players who are getting more money in their native country than they would in North America.
“It’s not an easy league to play in. Even the top guys who have gone there recently would attest to that.
“It’s maybe Championship standard, maybe Scottish Premiership.
“We get 30,000 to our games though. We spent $150million developing our stadium. It’s a cool place.”
There’s no hiding place from the numbers either. Like all American sports, player salaries are an open book , published by the league every year.
And they’re big. At l ea s t . some of t h em are – and therein l ies the problem, Caldwell believes.
Toronto’s three designated players – named stars who can breach the salary cap – are Italian Sebastian Giovinco, the league’s reigning MVP, and American idols Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore. Between them, they pull in $16.4m a year.
Caldwell said: “They publish everyone’s sala r ies every year. The first time it happened to me was pretty strange. You walk into the locker room and the guys are all ‘I can’t believe you’re on what you’re on!
“There’s a lot less banter in North American changing rooms than there is in the UK or Europe. I wasn’t a
designated
player but I was a high salary. “The problem is the salaries range from $60,000 at the league minimum to the highest DP, Kaka, who’s on more than $7m a year.
“It’s a weird system. If you’re a guy on 60 grand a year in Toronto, it’s really difficult to live.
“You’ll be at least $2000 a month for your rent, food’s expensive, everything’s expensive. Most of the franchises are the same because most are in big cities – LA, New York, Chicago – because
they’re big marketplaces.
“It’s a challenge we have as a league to meet and progress because we have to make soccer a viable occupation for kids leaving college.
“If you’re smart enough to go to university, why would you leave to play soccer for 60 grand when your degree might get you a job earning a lot more?
“It’s slow progress. They have done a great job over 20 years but for me it needs to pick up now.
“I was 32 when I went over. It would make a difference if they started bringing someone of my standard in at 27 or 28 and incentivise me to give up English Championship football for the MLS earlier.”
Despite the obvious trappings, Caldwell acknowledges it’s not for
everyone.
He said: “I didn’t speak to Shaun Maloney at the time when he was in Chicago but him and Gary are close and the two of them had conversations about it.
“It didn’t work out as he had hoped and he wanted to come back early. I’ve seen it happen. Everyone’s different. Jermain Defoe was another example. “But for me, from the minute I got there, I always felt that I was in a development role. “I played a couple of seasons but it was about bringing on players in my team and the league in general. “I never for a second thought about coming back. I knew I would retire there, even though I didn’t know what would happen after I finished playing. Thankfully I found a role.”
The previous CEO seemed to think he saw something in me I could be good at and grow into being a general manager or a president