Steven Beitashour

Steven Mehrdad Beitashour ( ; , ; born February 1, 1987) is a former professional soccer player who played as a right-back, and is currently the assistant coach at Toronto FC. Born in the United States and previously called up to the United States national team, he represented the Iran national team. During his playing career, Beitashour made over 300 club appearances across five different MLS teams, and notably helped them win trophies such as the MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield, and the Canadian Championship.

Background Steven Beitashour was born to Edward and Pari Beitashour in San Jose, California, and played youth soccer for Fremont Fury. He has an older brother, Tony, and two sisters, Tina and Stephanie. Beitashour is of Assyrian Christian descent from his father's side and Shia Muslim Persian descent from his mother's side, enjoying support from both communities in the United States. He has Iranian-American dual citizenship, The couple announced the birth of their son Brayden on February 1, 2019, their son Zayne in May 2022, and their daughter Kaylyn on Christmas Day in December 2025.

Club career

College and amateur

Beitashour graduated from Leland High School in 2005 where his number 3 jersey was later retired, becoming only the second Leland athlete after Pat Tillman to have a jersey retired. Steven was the captain of his high school's varsity team and was their leading goalscorer his junior and senior years in the number 10 role. In his graduating year at Leland, Beitashour received the inaugural Pat Tillman Award, given to a Bay Area student for outstanding achievements in both athletics and academics. During his late college years, Beitashour also played for the San Jose Frogs in the Premier Development League. He graduated from San Diego State in December 2009. He made his professional debut on April 10, 2010, in a 2–1 win against the Chicago Fire, and scored his first professional goal on April 24, 2010, against Chivas USA. Beitashour was selected for the 2012 MLS All-Star Game and played the full 90 minutes against Chelsea in the 3–2 win. The Earthquakes won the 2012 MLS Supporters' Shield with Beitashour starting in all 33 of his regular season appearances and leading the league with 110 crosses that season. He provided 16 assists in his last 3 years with the Earthquakes, more than any other MLS defender during the same time period.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Vancouver Whitecaps FC acquired Beitashour for an undisclosed amount on January 27, 2014. On March 8, Beitashour played his first match for the Whitecaps in their season opener against the New York Red Bulls, providing a secondary assist to Kenny Miller in their 4–1 win. Beitashour was named in the MLS team of the week after his performance against the LA Galaxy on April 19. On April 26, he provided a game-tying assist to Sebastián Fernández in the last minute of the match against Real Salt Lake. Beitashour was nominated for the 2014 MLS All-Star Game against Bayern Munich. On September 27, he provided a game-winning assist to Pedro Morales in a 2–1 win against Real Salt Lake. On October 10, the Whitecaps won the 2014 Cascadia Cup with a 1–0 win at Seattle Sounders FC. The Whitecaps also qualified for the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League as the best Canadian team of the regular season.

1.Includes Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship. 2.Includes CONCACAF Champions League.

Honors San Jose Earthquakes Supporters' Shield: 2012

Vancouver Whitecaps Canadian Championship: 2015 Supporters' Shield: 2017 Canadian Championship: 2016,