The player who delivered one of our most memorable moments in the Premier League at Upton Park almost 20 years ago enjoyed a stellar career taking in 13 years in Germany and England at Werder Bremen, Spurs, Fulham and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
At the same time, he earned 84 caps for Canada between 1997-2010, won the prestigious CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000 and was inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame in 2017.
However, he never made it to a World Cup.
Now, 13 years after retiring, Paul is finally getting set for the biggest stage of all – the 2026 FIFA World Cup – where not only is he Canada’s assistant manager going into the tournament, but at a World Cup being co-hosted by his country.
What must that be like?
Speaking to us earlier this week, ahead of Canada’s pre-World Cup warm up win against Uzbekistan in Edmonton, there appeared very little time for Paul to take it all in.
“You know what, even when I played, those thoughts never really entered my head,” he said. “You're playing at a huge club in Germany, fortunate enough to sign with Tottenham, a massive club in England, playing in the Premier League and so forth. Even at that time, I kind of don't even think of it in that moment.
“Of course, later on, when people ask the questions and you reflect on stuff, it's special. It's a special time. There's no doubt that I have a lot of appreciation and gratitude for the chances I've had, both as a player and now as a coach.
“This will be something special and something we'll probably reflect on a little bit more when things are done. But you just live in the moment, you live day to day, and you prepare yourself. In the back of your mind, it'll be a special event. Having it in Canada, having the first game in Toronto, where I grew up, is something extra special as well.”
So, our main question…
What’s it like to help prepare a team to compete at the World Cup?
“It’s way different than as a player!” he said. “As a player, you go in and you're done. On the other side, it's early mornings, late evenings, a lot of preparation and a lot of attention to every single detail. That’s preparing for anything and everything that could possibly happen from now to the games, dealing with players that might be coming off of injuries, all that kind of stuff.
“Also, preparing every little detail on the opponent and how they play and what they do. Then, how we want to play and what we want to do, making sure that we're picking the right squad - just trying to pick the 26 guys that are going to play in the tournament is really tough. That's a hard thing to do. There's a lot of detail, a lot of thought and a lot of process that goes into that – and not just in the last couple of weeks, that's been in the last six months to a year of preparing this team.
“So, a lot of preparation, a lot of meetings, a lot of things going on in the background. Also, you're preparing every day for training, you're preparing videos, you're preparing all the stuff for the team to understand what the opponent is going to be like and what we want every day, leading up until that first game - busy days, but amazing.
“It's been amazing, and working with Jesse (Marsch, manager) has been awesome. He's great to have around. I think he's a great guy to have leading this group of young men right now. It's been a great experience and I’m really looking forward to the next stretch leading up until the first game (Canada face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Group B on 12 June). It's exciting. It's in Toronto, my home city. That will be something extra special as well.”