Waiters made Canadians proud
Coached Canada’s soccer squad to its only World Cup appearance and led Vancouver to an NASL crown
Tony Waiters, who coached Canada in its only appearance at the World Cup and led the Vancouver Whitecaps to the North American Soccer League championship, has died. He was 83
Waiters will be forever linked to one of Canada’s biggest soccer memories — the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. The Canadian men failed to score a goal or register a point but held their own against mighty France, Hungary and the Soviet Union.
Canada has been trying to get back to the World Cup since.
“It’s with heavy hearts and much sadness that we must inform of the passing of our beloved Tony,” his family said in a statement T u e s d a y. “He achieved a great deal in his life, his legacy speaks volumes. Our family is beyond devastated with the loss of a wonderful husband and a hero of a father.”
Canada Soccer called Waiters “a tremendous ambassador for the game.”
“His passion for football and the people he touched throughout his career is unparalleled in Canada,” added former Canadian international goalkeeper Craig Forrest.
“This one hits hard. … He gave so much to Canadian soccer and so much to me personally,” said former Canadian ’keeper Paul Dolan.
“Tony was a gentleman, leader, mentor and one of the most significant people in Canada football history,” said HFX Wanderers FC coach Stephen Hart, a former Canada coach himself.
Waiters, a former England goalkeeper, is also remembered as a coach who always had his teams organized and prepared.
Going into the ’86 World Cup, Waiters admitted to being “a little bit nervous.” Star-studded France was European champion and Hungary had beaten CONCACAF’s El Salvador 10-1 at the ’82 tournament.
“My fear was we could get blown out of the water and it would just reflect on the game in Canada,” Waiters said in an April interview with The Canadian Press. “The way that we prepared was that we were going to be combative and competitive. And that wasn’t difficult with the Canadian players because they worked very hard in practice, to get themselves fit, to get themselves right.
“We played a high-pressing game and we competed. … It was a great experience. What I was concerned about was being embarrassed. And we weren’t embarrassed.”
Under Waiters, the Canadian men also reached the quarterfinals of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, eventually losing to Brazil in a penalty shootout
Waiters came to Canada to coach the Whitecaps during the 1977 NASL season after being fired as manager of Plymouth Albion. At the time, he thought he might only stay for a few months.
But Canada became his home, with the Whitecaps becoming a sensation after defeating the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 1979 Soccer Bowl.
Waiters lived most recently on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast where he built a home three years ago.
He remained closely involved with the game. He was president of the National Soccer Coaches Association of Canada at the time of his death and
served as an adviser to soccer organizations on both sides of the border. He worked with Cliff Avenue United FC, a team in Burnaby, B.C., looking for ways to bring inner-city kids to the game he loved.
He also operated World of Soccer, a long-standing company that offered a wide array of coaching manuals. It was a family affair, with wife Anne overseeing the operation and daughter Victoria handling the graphics.
“It keeps me out of mischief,” said Waiters, who also has a son, Scott
Waiters never lost his eye for talent, enjoying the growth of Canadian international Alphonso Davies. “He’s quite remarkable.”
Waiters was born Feb. 2, 1937, in Southport, just north of Liverpool, on the English coast. He served in the Royal Air Force and earned his teacher’s certificate in physical education from Loughborough College.
“Liverpool’s my team in the sense that I was brought up 18 miles (29 kilometres) from Anfield,” Waiters said.
“I spent two seasons on the staff, which was the best soccer experience that I’ve ever had. Because (manager Bill) Shankly was there, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, the whole Merseyside atmosphere,” he added.
“It was terrific, actually. I think I learned more than at any other time in the game.”
He started his playing career as an amateur with Bishop Auckland in 1957 before moving to Macclesfield Town. But he spent the bulk of his career with Blackpool, making more than 250 appearances from ’59 to ’67.
He won five caps for England in ’64 under Sir Alf Ramsey at a time when Gordon Banks was early in his career as England No. 1.
Waiters retired at 30, eventually working for England’s Football Association. He recalled doing a goalkeeping presentation in Blackpool, which one participant called “naive in concept.”
He ended up at the English national training centre that summer at Lilleshall. When an instructor was called away, he did the same presentation on short notice and was offered a job at Liverpool.
“It was simple and to the point,” Waites said of his presentation. “And that’s what I continued to learn when I went to Liverpool football club. Shankly, he’d say ‘Play it to the nearest red shirt. The giving and taking of passes is the essence of football.’ ”
Shankly made Waiters Liverpool’s youth coach. After a year, Waiters looked at Paisley and Fagan and wondered how he would get past them. “And I knew I couldn’t. I had no right to do so.”
Instead of going into management on his own, he got an offer from Jimmy Adamson of Burnley. The Burnley goalkeeper at the time was Peter Mellor, who had a dislocated shoulder.