Caanen was born in
Geleen, Netherlands. Aside from a few years in the amateur Dutch leagues, he never played professional football. He got his start as a manager in his hometown club
FC Geleen Zuid while also working as a salesman for the local
Toyota dealership. After two years with FC Geleen Zuid he started to work as the youth manager of
Roda JC.
Metalurh Donetsk In January 2004 he made his way to the
Ukrainian Premier League as he signed as manager of
Metalurh Donetsk. He left the club at the end of the season.
Beitar Jerusalem When
Arcadi Gaydamak bought the Israeli
football club,
Beitar Jerusalem, he looked for someone who would be able to give the club a look over and see what changes needed to be made. Caanen was brought in and after a short time was given the reigns of the club after
Eli Ohana, stepped down from the manager position. Continuing with the same squad as Ohana had, Kaanen was able to produce good results making him a 'lifeline' to hopes in the club that they would be able to qualify for a continental competition (
UEFA Champions League or
UEFA Cup). When
Luis Fernandez was appointed general manager over Caanen, there was a lot of friction over Caanen's qualifications to manage a club looking to become a European power. Caanen was soon fired but made a lasting impression on the Israeli public that would later pay dividends.
Replacing Nir Klinger When the
Maccabi Tel Aviv boardroom had enough of the poor results on the pitch during the club's 100 year anniversary, it was evident that Israeli manager
Nir Klinger was on his way out. Caanen was appointed interim manager. Despite two big money "name" signings the team were a disaster typified by a 4–0 loss to Second Division
Hapoel Acre in the Cup.
Maccabi Netanya On 4 June 2006, Caanen was appointed as the manager of
Maccabi Netanya but never managed a single game after being sacked a week later.
Stal Alchevsk Caanen made a quick return to management later that month with a one-year deal to manage
Ukrainian Premier League club
Stal Alchevsk.
Valletta In June 2009 Caanen signed a contract as the coach of the Maltese club
Valletta. "The objective in the country is the championship and the connection to get to Europe", said Caanen in Limburg. He took
Jordi Cruyff with him to the island as an assistant coach and player. The two worked before together at
Metalurh Donetsk.
AEK Larnaca In summer of 2010
Jordi Cruyff announced his retirement from professional football and joined
AEK Larnaca as Director of Football. He signed Caanen as head coach, and the pair worked to establish the team as a new football powerhouse in Cyprus.
Veria On 1 September 2013, the Greek superleague side
Veria F.C. announced that Caanen was appointed as the team coach. After a few weeks he quit.
Aris Limassol At the end of October 2013, he signed with
Aris Limassol until the end of the season.
De Treffers In June 2014, Caanen became manager of Dutch
Topklasse side
De Treffers. ==Managerial stats==