Dean Gorre

The Suriname coach on a rule change that could revolutionise the national side

Due to tough citizenship laws that forbid dual nationality, Suriname has never been able to dip into the talent that exists in former colonial power Holland, with Dutch internationals Edgar Davids, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Clarence Seedorf, Virgil Van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum all of Suriname heritage.

But with the interpretation of the citizenship act having recently changed, Suriname coach Dean Gorre now has the chance to select a squad from a much bigger pool.

And the timing could not be better as Suriname have qualified to compete in the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the first time next year.

What will be the impact of the rule change that allows Dutch players of Suriname heritage to play for you?

It’s huge. We’ll be going from an amateur team to a professional squad. It’s a massive difference. All the locally based players are amateurs with regular jobs and just two days of training. Now we have access to players from elsewhere in the world, mainly Europe, Holland, who are all pros.

Are you now going into battle with the Dutch FA to persuade the better players of Surinamese heritage to play for you rather than Holland?

No, not at this moment in time. Everybody can understand the first objective is to play for Holland for those who have been brought up in the country. I can understand that they pick to play for Holland first. But there are so many players who haven’t been picked by the Netherlands and still have the quality to play at a decent level.

How big is your list of players to try to recruit for the Gold Cup next year?

Most of the players I know. There are about 150 players around Europe, in different countries, who qualify now to play for Suriname. A few in South America as well. Of course, I have a short list who are ready and have been asked the question if they want to join us.

Presumably this will make you much more competitive at the Gold Cup?

Yes, that’s true, but now we have first to secure the international clearances. We are in the process of doing that now. Only once we’ve got those clearances can we be 100 per cent sure that they can play for us.

What was the impact of Suriname securing Gold Cup qualification?

It was wonderful. Football is, of course, the number one sport in the country and people are delighted to see Suriname doing well. I’ve been there for a year and a half as coach and you can see the impact of the players and the team going from strength to strength. You can see that in the crowds, as well. Before, when the national team played, there could be as little as 100 people in the stadium. Now the last game we had some 3,000 – the stadium was full.

Are there the resources for proper preparation for the Gold Cup, as well as the start of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers?

We will have friendlies in March and June to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers in September and it will be good then to get the balance with the new players right. We have 18 months to get ready for the Gold Cup.

It is a long wait for the Gold Cup...

Yes, I wish it was this year rather than next year, but, on the other hand, we can work towards it and create a better balance.

How have you enjoyed the job?

It’s been like a roller coaster, really. I was born in Suriname but was only two years old when I left; growing up in the Netherlands but the past 20 years living in England. Now, 18 months living in Suriname has been quite challenging because they were not used to professional football, with professional discipline and all those sorts of things. It was a change for me to come to a new environment and try and change the things that they do for the better. Looking back it’s not been easy, it’s been hard, but because we qualified everything is now totally different. I’ve been in professional football my whole life and suddenly you come into an amateur environment, so that’s always going to be hard. It’s not easy, you have to change your expectations and standards. But I was also lucky that the league was finished in July/August and I could train with the players from then on, on a full-time basis. They trained with me all the time and that’s probably why we’re able to achieve the success.

Do you get support from some of the bigname Surinamese players in Holland?

I get a lot of recognition from ex-players and current players. Some help to raise money for the squad to get extras, like boots. It’s difficult for players in Suriname to get proper footwear, they cannot afford them. Players like Georginio Wijnaldum, Jeremain Lens, Quincy Promes have all helped.

Interview by Mark Gleeson